- Stop at Horsetail Falls in Yosemite National Park to see this amazing cascade
- Just 2 ½ miles west of Yosemite Lodge on Northside Drive
- The best times to visit for the greatest flows are from December to April
- Catch a sight of the “firefall” in mid to late February
Overview
Horsetail Falls has been a popular place to stop in Yosemite National Park and obtain some amazing photos of this spectacular cascade of water flowing over El Capitan.
Location & Information
Horsetail Falls is located approximately 2 ½ miles west of Yosemite Lodge on Northside Drive. You can park in the El Capitan picnic area or in other turnouts east of the picnic area. There is no Horsetail Falls trail as such, thus no Horsetail Falls hike is needed to view the splendor of this waterfall. You can view it from the road.
Although Horsetail Falls is accessible all year, the best time to visit is during the seasons of its best flows, which is usually from December through April.
Contact Information:
Yosemite National Park
P.O. Box 577
Yosemite, CA 95389
209-372-0200 (8:30 am to 4:30 pm)
Activities
- Seeing the Fire Glow of Horsetail Falls
The most popular challenge of visiting Horsetail Falls Yosemite is to catch it at a certain time of year when the sun reflecting off the falls creates the appearance of fire falling from El Capitan. During the orange glow of sunset in middle to late February is said to be the best time to see this phenomenon. It was during this period of the day that Galen Rowell took his famous “Natural Firefall” photograph, and made this waterfall famous.
Fun Facts
Yosemite Horsetail Falls is actually two streams of water flowing down the rock cliff side by side. The stream to the east falls 1,540 feet and the western one drops 1,570 feet. Water then gathers and descends another 490 feet, making the full height 2,130 feet.
