TRAIL 39 Yosemite Valley’s South Rim
Glacier Point
TRAIL USE
Day Hike, Wheelchair
Access, Stroller
Access, Child-Friendly
LENGTH
0.5 mile, 15–30 minutes
VERTICAL FEET
Round-trip: ±90'
DIFFICULTY
TRAIL TYPE
Balloon
FEATURES
Waterfall
Great Views
Granite Slabs
Geological Interest
FACILITIES
Bear Boxes
Restrooms
Store
Tour Bus Stop
Water
This is more of a vista point than a walk, but it is included here because it is simply too phenomenal to miss. The attraction is the enormity of the view, not just the gushing waterfalls in spring, making it a must-visit location anytime Glacier Point Road is open, usually mid-May–October. It is also a location important to Yosemite’s history, from the seminal photo of President Theodore Roosevelt and John Muir to the infamous fire fall. From the early 1870s until January 1968, a large pile of embers was pushed off Glacier Point at evening darkness to create the renowned fire fall—a glowing “waterfall.”
Maps
This trail is covered by the Tom Harrison Yosemite Valley map (1:24,000 scale), the National Geographic Trails Illustrated #306 Yosemite SW map (1:40,000 scale), and the USGS Yosemite Valley map (1:24,000 scale).
Best Time
If your goal is a panoramic view of Yosemite’s falls, you should visit Glacier Point while the falls, and especially Yosemite Falls, are still flowing with considerable volume, which is mid-May–mid-July. If you are simply attracted to the aerial view of Yosemite Valley and the expansive peaks rising to the east, then head to this viewpoint anytime Glacier Point Road is open, usually from mid- to late May through at least October. But the real answer is that while the time of year doesn’t matter much, the time of day is essential: You should plan to arrive before 9 a.m. or after 4 p.m., when the crowds are much diminished and the lighting on the cliffs is most engaging; late afternoon lighting is best. You will also better enjoy the drive out here with fewer people on the road and more available parking spaces.
At their maximum, past glaciers were thick enough to reach at least the top of Royal Arches, but exactly how high the ice filled Yosemite Valley is a continued topic of research.
Finding the Trail
From a signed junction along Wawona Road, drive 15.5 miles up Glacier Point Road to a large parking lot at its end. There is a water faucet next to the Glacier Point store, en route to the vista point.
Logistics
Rather than drive up to Glacier Point, whose parking lot can be overflowing on summer weekends, consider taking a Yosemite tour bus. Check the bus schedule in the Yosemite Guide, a newsletter presented to tourists at all park entrance stations.
Trail Description
Leaving the large parking area, ▶1 follow the broad paved path past the front of the store and continue 150 feet around the east (right) side of the store to where the trail bends left (west). Just beyond, the trail forks—follow the signs slightly left toward Glacier Point (0.1 mile). ▶2 Continue right where signs point left for the Four Mile Trail, and you will soon reach Glacier Point (0.25 mile). ▶3 Note that if you have a wheelchair or stroller, at ▶2 continue a little farther to the left, and a ramp will lead you to Glacier Point by a more gradual path. On your return trip, fork left at a small junction (0.3 mile) ▶4 to visit the geology hut, with informative panels about Yosemite’s glaciation and excellent views to the east. From here, return to the parking area (0.5 mile). ▶5 You can add 0.1 mile to your return distance by detouring to a series of viewpoints along the east rim, eventually reaching an amphitheater, and then bending right on any number of small trails leading back to the parking area.
Vista to Half Dome with Tenaya Canyon and Clouds Rest to the left
Of more interest than the nonessential route description is the breathtaking panorama visible from the railings at Glacier Point. From west-northwest, clockwise you see the following readily identifiable features: Eagle Peak, Yosemite Falls (northwest), Indian Canyon, Royal Arch Cascade (before July), Royal Arches (north), Washington Column with North Dome above, Tenaya Canyon (northeast), and Half Dome with Clouds Rest behind it. Looking east from near the geology hut or the Glacier Point amphitheater, you stare up the Merced River canyon, gazing upon Vernal and Nevada Falls with Liberty Cap rising above Nevada Falls and smaller Mount Broderick to its left. Farther east is Little Yosemite Valley, and beyond, naked Bunnell Point, from which your eyes wander south to the sharp-tipped Clark Range. Straight up the Merced drainage is Mount Florence, with the tip of Mount Lyell (the park’s highest summit) just emerging to its right and Mount Maclure peering over its left shoulder. Finally, the unglaciated dome of Mount Starr King dominates the landscape to the southeast, with Illilouette Fall barely visible in the alcove below.
As I stand at these viewpoints, I cannot help but imagine what the valley looked like in times past—most notably at the various glacial maxima. While the eastern half of Yosemite Valley was likely filled to the brim with ice, ice may not have reached all the way to the top of the walls farther west in the valley. What is certain is that the glacier was thick, especially because the bedrock on the valley floor is covered in most places with more than 1,000 feet of sediment—sediment that was deposited after the glaciers retreated.
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▶1 | 0.0 | Start from the Glacier Point parking area |
▶2 | 0.1 | Left at south end geology hut loop |
▶3 | 0.25 | Glacier Point |
▶4 | 0.3 | Left at north end geology hut loop |
▶5 | 0.5 | Return to Glacier Point parking area |
MILESTONES