Mist Trail

A steep granite staircase climbing through the spray of Vernal and Nevada Falls along the Merced River.

The Mist Trail begins at the Happy Isles trailhead on the floor of Yosemite Valley, tracing the tumbling path of the Merced River as it rushes down from the High Sierra. From its start at 4,000 feet of elevation, the trail presents a steady, paved climb before crossing the footbridge that offers the first clear view of Vernal Fall. Beyond this crossing, the pavement gives way to a monumental staircase of more than 600 granite steps, hand-carved directly into the canyon wall. This section of the path is defined by a perpetual, heavy spray of water, particularly during the peak snowmelt of spring and early summer. The moisture coats the granite steps, making them slick and nurturing a lush microclimate of ferns, mosses, and wildflowers that cling to the wet stone. This lower waterfall, known historically to the Southern Sierra Miwok as Yan-o-pah, or "little cloud," drops 317 feet over a sheer granite ledge, generating a constant roar that reverberates through the canyon. Along the way, hikers pass Lady Franklin Rock, a large flat boulder named in honor of Lady Jane Franklin, who visited the site in 1860.

Reaching the flat granite shelf at the top of Vernal Fall reveals a dramatically different landscape, where the Merced River pools in the deep green basin of the Emerald Pool. Just upstream, the river glides over the Silver Apron, a smooth, sloping sheet of granite where the water flows in a deceptively calm sheet before plunging over the fall. While the water appears inviting, swimming is strictly prohibited here due to powerful, invisible undercurrents that have historically swept unwary visitors over the edge. From this resting point, the trail continues its upward trajectory toward Nevada Fall, climbing another 1.3 miles through a drier, more open landscape dominated by Jeffrey pines and manzanita. The trail passes beneath the sheer, rounded facade of Liberty Cap, a 7,076-foot granite dome that stands sentinel over the upper canyon.

Nevada Fall, which the Miwok named Yo-wy-we, meaning "twisting water," plunges 594 feet in a dramatic, churning cascade. Unlike the clean drop of Vernal Fall, the water of Nevada Fall free-falls for the first third of its descent before crashing onto a steep, sloping face of slick granite, creating a turbulent, whitewater display that resembles an avalanche. At the top of the fall, a footbridge spans the rushing Merced River, offering a dizzying view down the throat of the canyon. To avoid descending the slick, crowded granite steps of the Vernal Fall staircase, hikers can connect with the John Muir Trail at Clark Point, creating a scenic 5.4-mile loop that leads back to Happy Isles. This alternative route provides panoramic vistas of the back of Half Dome and the valley below, offering a safer, knee-friendly descent during the late afternoon when the granite steps of the lower trail are packed with ascending hikers.