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Yosemite

California, USA · North America · northern hemisphere

HikingLakes & Coastline

Yosemite is at its best for lakes & coastline in May to June. Good but not prime in April and July. Crowds peak in July and bottom out in February.

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Crowds

Swipe the table sideways for the rest of the year.

primegoodpossibleoff-seasoncrowds, on this place’s own scale

The short version

The waterfalls are seasonal and most people do not know it — Yosemite Falls is at its best in May and is often bone dry by August, which is close to when the valley is fullest

What the walking is like

Valley-floor flats and very steep granite climbs. No guide needed; Half Dome needs a permit.

When not to come

Coming for the waterfalls in late summer. Snowmelt peaks in May or June; by August several of the famous falls have stopped completely.

Busiest

May through October in the valley, heaviest in July and August

With children

The valley floor is flat, cycleable and has shuttle buses. The famous climbs are long and exposed, and Half Dome needs a permit and a head for cables.

Where to stay

In-park lodging books a year ahead. Mariposa and Oakhurst are an hour out and far cheaper; Groveland is the quiet approach from the north. Timed entry is not in force in 2026 after several years of it — check the park’s page for your year rather than assuming.

What can go wrong

Wildfire risk

Late-summer fires and smoke can close roads and fill the valley with haze for days at a time.Jul · Aug · Sep · Oct

Kept out of the score on purpose. Averaging a rare catastrophe into a monthly number would tell you something false; the warning is the honest form.

Dates that matter

  • Peak waterfall flow (May–early Jun)
  • Firefall on Horsetail Fall (mid–late Feb) — a two-week window, weather and snowmelt permitting, and no reservation needed
  • Tioga Road opening (late May–Jun, snow dependent)

Walks

  • Mist Trail to Vernal and Nevada Falls — wet, steep, granite steps, and the best walk in the valley
  • Upper Yosemite Falls — 820m of switchbacks to the top of North America’s tallest waterfall
  • Tuolumne Meadows and the high country — gentler walking at 2,600m, open from late spring until the Tioga Road shuts for snow

Half Dome requires a lottery permit for the cables and is a 23km day. Tioga Road into the high country is closed by snow from roughly November to late May or June, which puts Tuolumne out of reach for half the year.

Crowds, month by month

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0 is this destination’s own quietest month and 100 its busiest. The scale never compares one destination to another. Source: NPS YOSE

See everything else at its best in Jun

Organised trips

Multi-day trips to Yosemite

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