Happy Isles - Nevada Fall - Vernal Falls - Happy Isles
- Distance: 12km
- Duration (with breaks): 4h 30min
- Duration (only hiking): 3h 00min
- Route type: loop
- Start/end: Nature Center at Happy Isles
- Highest point: Nevada Fall (1892m)
- Elevation gain/loss: 641m/591m
- Difficulty: moderate to difficult
- When to hike: all-year-round
- When did we hike: mid-September
Why this route?
Mist Trail is one of the most iconic trails in the Yosemite and no wonder why. On your way you will not only see two iconic and powerful waterfalls, but also the famous Half Dome. In fact, the Half Dome trail and Mist Trail share the same path for a while. Even the famous John Muir Trail is also sharing a section with the Mist Trail. All in all, it is a route full of celebrities 😊
How to get there?
The trailhead is at the far end of the Yosemite Valley, near the Upper Pines Campground, at the Happy Isles. You can gamble and drive to one of the nearest parking lots but be prepared to circle around if you don’t come early. The parking lots get full rather fast and there are traffic jams in the afternoon.
Otherwise you can leave your car at any less crowded parking lot on the west side of the valley and take a shuttle bus to the trailhead. We did that but I’m not sure if we won anything in terms of time. On our way back, we had to wait for a bus more than 30 mins, which kind of beats the purpose (and shows how unreliable shuttle schedules are).
We decided that driving with a car as close to the trailhead as possible is actually the quickest option. I’m sorry, shuttle services, I wish I could promote you more, but I was quiet dissapointed.
So how was it?
Although we started rather late (at roughly 13:00), there were still plenty of other people starting the trail. The first section is actually an asphalt path, climbing up a hill. Luxurious. When we visited, there were extensive repairs being done on the side of Vernal Falls and so the trail to these falls was closed until 16:00. Our only option was to continue climbing towards the Nevada Falls.
In ~ 45mins we reach Clark viewpoint, which has amazing views of the valley and the Nevada Falls. This is where many hikers turn back and the climb is quite taxing, expecially if you’re not used to hiking. After admiring the rocks and the waterfall for a few minutes, we continued up the trail which then leads to the top of the Nevada Falls.
I really liked this part as we could actually see how tall the waterfall is by literally standing on top of it and it also meant that we will be mostly descending for the rest of the trail. This is also where the John Muir Trail and Hald Dome Chains hike leave the Mist trail and go their own ways.
While I was excited to not have to climb anymore, the descend was rather steep and slow. The trail was mostly made out of uneven rocks and so I had to keep an eye on where I’m stepping to not tumble down the trail. Even so, I kept admiring the Nevada Falls as we descended quite close to it. All kinds of angles of this waterfall have been checked for sure.
Since it was already past 16:00, we could finish the hike with a trip to the Vernal Falls on the section that was previously closed. On normal year, this part of the trail would have left us at least mildly wet, but since there was an unprecedented heatwave, the water levels of Vernal Falls were really low. The usual power of the fall was not there but we still liked it. This fall reminded me of Skogafoss in Iceland.
From Vernal Falls we further descended towards the valley on some narrow and wonky rock steps. Some hikers were clearly not familiar with hiking etiquete and were blocking people coming up. That was my least favorite part of this hike. Instead of enjoying the trail and maybe being slower (because it’s a narrow section), some people made it into some pointless pushing and shoving activity which only gets everyone frustrated and NOT faster. Be patient on this trail. The waterfalls will not go away.
Overall, it was a nice trail. True, it attracts all sorts of people and not everyone is there for purely admiring the nature but hey, maybe going even later or very early can solve this issue. As for the views, you will definitely have numerous wow moments and many many views to admire. It is so popular not for nothing after all.
Tips
- As mentioned above, I would not rely on the shuttle busses and instead try to park the car as close as possible.
- If you want to experience the full power of the falls, I would suggest visiting this trail earlier than September.