When we plan hiking trips with our friends Chad and Shannon, waterfall destinations frequently make the list, even if sometimes we don’t end up finding the ones we set out to. 😂 At least we had good company and created hilarious memories along the way. But in this case, while visiting Yosemite National Park, we hiked to not one, but two waterfalls, including venturing up to the tops of both – taking the Mist Trail hike to Vernal Falls and Nevada Falls.

Because our Yosemite trip was in mid-April, it was a great time of year to experience the magnificent and thunderous falls within the park, but it also meant that some roads would still be closed for winter, and some trails or sections of trails would be inaccessible.

In the case of our mid-April Mist Trail hike route, a section of the “normal” loop route was closed on account of a trail repair effort, as well as the fact that the “winter detour” route was still in effect due to seasonal hazardous trail conditions. Needless to say, we ended up hiking over 3,400 vertical feet in over 7.5 miles, when we were expecting more like 2,000 vertical feet. But it was an amazing hike, and being so close to both raging waterfalls was a huge payoff.

Tunnel View in Yosemite

The morning of the hike, we got up early, prepared a quick breakfast at our rental house in Yosemite West, and headed north and then east on Wawona Road, where we stopped briefly for our first exposure to the immense expanse at Tunnel View. Early-morning light isn’t ideal for photographing Yosemite Valley from Tunnel View; nonetheless, we couldn’t help but make a stop.

Mist Trail Hike in Yosemite

In preparation for our trip, we researched hikes in Yosemite and learned that wearing rain gear on an early-season hike on the Mist Trail can be advantageous. We can attest that the Mist Trail lived up to its name, and we were glad we brought raincoats with us. In the middle of summer, the constant mist might be a welcomed reprieve, but in 50-degree weather, and a long day ahead of us, staying dry was a priority, so we packed our rain jackets in anticipation of needing them.

Getting to the Mist Trail

Our preferred parking for our hike was in the Yosemite Village lot, so once we reached that area on the Valley Floor, we found a parking space and headed on foot toward the nearest shuttle pick-up spot. To get to the Mist Trail hike, we needed to ride the shuttle to “Happy Isles” (stop #16).

However, this was the mistake we made: What we didn’t realize until we’d been on the shuttle for what felt like a very long time was that Yosemite Valley has two different shuttle “lines” designated by color. Green is the “Valleywide Shuttle,” which serves all stops and runs the entire Valley area, whereas purple is the “East Valley Shuttle,” which exclusively serves the east Valley destinations.

In hindsight, it would have saved us a lot of time had we sought out a purple shuttle, which would have taken just a few minutes to get to stop #16 from the Yosemite Village parking lot. Instead, we were on “the scenic route” via the green shuttle and took the long way around the Valley to stop #16.

Adding insult to injury, our shuttle bus driver was exceptionally talkative over the mic, with loads of pointed opinions he chose to share in mixed company, and that got old quickly while we were “stuck” on the extended route to our trailhead. Honestly, it wore me out before we even started the hike!

After probably 45 minutes on the green shuttle bus, we were finally able to exit at stop #16 and start our Mist Trail hike, which would bring us first to Vernal Falls and then up and over Nevada Falls.

Vernal Falls on the Mist Trail Hike

The hike to Vernal Falls was quite busy; much busier than we are used to encountering on trails. After hiking about 1.5 miles and ascending around 400 vertical feet, the first milestone was the Vernal Footbridge across the Merced River, where you can see Vernal Falls in the distance.

As we got closer to Vernal Falls, we eventually stopped to put on our rain jackets. The Mist Trail continued ascending for another 0.5 miles until we reached Vernal Falls. The trail along the falls consisted of narrow pathways, some lined on one side with a railing, and multiple series of massive stone steps. It wasn’t long before everything on and around the trail was saturated by the mist of the falls. Other hikers were coming up or down the trail, so safely navigating around each other on a steep, wet surface became a priority.

Once we reached the top of Vernal Falls (5,044 ft), after climbing over 1,000 vertical feet, we were ready for some snacks, not to mention ready to peel off a layer. So, we sat and enjoyed the views and the rushing Merced River for a few minutes while we refueled and dried out, and then we continued the climb up to Nevada Falls.

Nevada Falls on the Mist Trail Hike

Following the strenuous climb up to the top of Vernal Falls, we continued on the Mist Trail, ultimately ascending another 860 vertical feet to the top of Nevada Falls. This route winds along, paralleling the Merced River, which eventually opens up to boulder-laden views of the 594-foot Nevada Falls. As we stood to take some photos, we could feel the mist from the falls.

Beyond this amazing view, we still had yet more “stair-climbing” ahead of us to get to the top of Nevada Falls.

We finally reached the top of Nevada Falls (5,907 ft), where some people were wading barefoot in the pooling waters of the Merced River before it tumbled over the granite rock wall. It wasn’t quite warm enough to compel me to join them, but I’m sure it was refreshing!

The top of Nevada Falls has a lot of flat granite rock-face surfaces surrounding it, so we wandered around quite a bit, enjoying the views and taking photos.

Clark Point in Yosemite

As previously mentioned, due to some trail work, we weren’t able to complete the original return route as we’d hoped, but we did our best to turn this trek into a partial loop route. So, we double-backed and headed back down to the trail junction with the John Muir Trail, which led us down and then back up to the picturesque Clark Point (5,486 ft).

Along the way to Clark Point, we were afforded additional views of Vernal Falls with Half Dome in the background.

We reached Clark Point and were rewarded with incredible views of Half Dome, Mt Broderick, Liberty Cap, and Nevada Falls in the distance.

After Clark Point, the trail descends to the valley via a dozen or more switchbacks, some short while others long and sweeping. And the amazing views continued the entire way down.

This was such an awesome hike in Yosemite, but it ended up being quite strenuous because, with over 3,400 total feet of gain, we encountered a lot more vertical than we had planned, so we were exhausted after this one. Two massive waterfalls, rain (mist) gear, and incredible views made it worth the effort.

Mist Trail to Vernal & Nevada Falls & Clark Point
Total Distance	7.69 mi
Total Time	5:48:53
Total Ascent	3,425 ft
Max Elevation	5,996 ft

Bridalveil Falls

Despite our post-hike exhaustion, we made a quick stop at Bridalveil Falls before heading back to our rental in Yosemite West. Because if you have the opportunity to see three waterfalls in one day rather than just two, you should just go for it.

Thankfully, the round-trip “hike” to view Bridalveil Falls was about a half-mile with approximately 80 feet of elevation gain. It turns out the extra effort was worth it because we got to see a double rainbow at the base of the falls!

And the mist from the falls was intense!

Tunnel View Late-Afternoon Stop

We also couldn’t resist stopping at Tunnel View once more with better lighting in the late afternoon. One of the fun features to see from this vantage point was Clouds Rest, a very notable hike in Yosemite that we enjoyed a few years ago.

It was an excellent day of hiking in Yosemite National Park! Tomorrow’s adventure will take us 1.5 hours northwest of Yosemite Valley to the famous Hetch Hetchy and another incredible waterfall!