6 of the best hiking routes in Yosemite National Park

25.03.2024 - 13:27 / lonelyplanet.com / National Park

A dramatic area crammed with goose-bump-inducing vistas, shimmering lakes, towering waterfalls, soaring striped granite boulders, and vast emerald-green forests, Yosemite National Park is a beacon for the world’s hiking community.

Around 4 million people come to explore its 750 miles of trails each year. There are hikes for a range of abilities, from short punch-packing walks with staggering scenery to heart-racing overnight backcountry hikes for solitude and nature spotting (more than 400 species of animals reside in the park).

To help you narrow down your options, here's our guide to Yosemite National Park's best hiking routes.

Best hike for adventurers
17 miles (27km) round trip, 12–16 hours, strenuous

Half Dome has become the trail for thrill-seeking day-trippers visiting Yosemite National Park. The 4900ft climb is one of the most challenging and rewarding hikes in the US. It takes in the crowd-pleasing Vernal and Nevada waterfalls, before going through tranquil sequoia forests and above the timber blankets to a vertiginous 200ft cable-assisted nerve-testing granite climb to the 8844ft Half Dome peak.

The cables are only up between late May and October, and to prevent crowding, only 225 hikers are allowed beyond the base of the sub-dome each day. Permits are awarded by lottery via recreation.gov.

Reach Half Dome via the immensely popular – and steep – Mist Trail, which can be completed as a shorter day hike (see below). It’s also possible to break the hike up over two days and camp on the way to Half Dome, climbing up 4.8 miles from Yosemite Valley to Little Yosemite Valley Campground.

Best hike for waterfalls
5.4 miles (8.6km) round trip, 5–6 hours, moderate to strenuous

This belter of a hike climbs a long, slippery granite staircase, which winds along the Merced River as the towering falls spray mist on hikers. Many choose to start at Happy Isles in Yosemite Valley and just climb the 1000ft, 2.4-mile round trip to the plunging 317ft Vernal Falls. On many days rainbows can be viewed in the frothy cascade from the top. Continue on a little to view the fast-flowing Emerald Pool. 

Those with strength left in their legs can ascend the switchbacks a further 2000ft to the powerful and thunderous 594ft-high Nevada Fall. Climb above it for awesome views of the valley, then descend via the John Muir Trail for soaring views of the Liberty Cap granite dome and Nevada Fall beside it.

Best hike for major attractions
11.5 mi (18.5km) full loop, 5–7 hours, easy

Don’t walk this trail for the wow factor, but to soak up some understated Yosemite charm – and find a surprising amount of solitude. With little altitude change, the trail follows some of the first wagon roads in the area and is a great way to get acquainted