Yosemite Falls (739m, Tallest in North America): Lower Falls Walk, Cook's Meadow & Upper Trail

Dropping 739 metres (2,425 feet) from the northern rim of Yosemite Valley to the valley floor, Yosemite Falls is the tallest waterfall in North America and the fifth-tallest in the world. What looks from afar like a single waterfall is three distinct drops stacked one above another: Upper Yosemite Fall (436m), the turbulent gorge of the Middle Cascades (206m), and Lower Yosemite Fall (98m).

1. Walk 1 (Easy & Flat, 30 Minutes): The 'Lower Yosemite Fall Loop' (1.6 km)

Hop off the free Green Valley Shuttle at Stop #6 (Lower Yosemite Fall) right across from Yosemite Valley Lodge:

• Walk Clockwise for the Best Approach View: follow the paved loop trail in a clockwise direction (bear left at the fork first). Walking the eastern path first gives an open corridor view framing both Upper and Lower Yosemite Falls together through the ponderosa pines before bringing you onto the concrete footbridge at the base of the 98-metre Lower Fall. In April, May and June, snowmelt thunders into the boulder basin with such force that gusts of spray soak the bridge and create afternoon rainbows; by late August, September and October, Yosemite Creek slows to a trickle or goes dry until November rains return.

2. Walk 2 (Flat & Essential, 30 Minutes): The 'Cook's Meadow Loop' & Sentinel Bridge

Across Northside Drive from the Lower Yosemite Fall exit, step onto the raised wooden boardwalk of the Cook's Meadow Loop (1.6 km flat). Standing in the open middle of the valley floor gives an unobstructed 360-degree panorama: look north to see the 739-metre three-tiered height of Yosemite Falls, look east to Half Dome, and look south at Sentinel Bridge to see Half Dome mirrored in the Merced River.

3. Walk 3 (Strenuous): The 'Upper Yosemite Fall Trail' to Columbia Rock (3.2 km Round-Trip)

Starting from Camp 4 (Shuttle Stop #7), the Upper Yosemite Fall Trail climbs 820 vertical metres up over 100 stone switchbacks to the top of the waterfall (11.6 km round-trip, 6 to 8 hours). For a 90-minute outing, hike the first 1.6 km up to Columbia Rock (300m gain) for a high balcony view over Yosemite Valley.