Horsetail Fall

Beautiful waterfall with a firefall effect for a few weeks in February. Highly recommended to come during the peak of the phenomenon, ask the park rangers when that happens and place at least 2 weeks in advance.

Amazing nature wonder! Absolutely worthy to have a 1.5-2.1 mile walk from the Yosemite fall parking lot, very tired though since we were dragging the wagon with two kids inside.

We’d been here for 3days, rainy, snowy and sunny. The last day(Thursday, Feb22), the weather was very good, very sunny and finally we did it!!!! We arrived there around 3.30pm and the parking lot was full already, packed of people and crowded. They allow parking only at Yosemite valley lodge, for others parking (included El capital picnic area) there are reserved only disabled permit. There is one way drive so if you passed it, you have to drive around spend time about 20-30mins for finding parking spot again. The greatest view was start around 5.15pm. but it’s depend on that day. It’s very beautiful and worth to wait!!

I had a visit to Yosemite National Park on 2/28/21. I went and used Hwy 140 Merced river in and out. Since Hwy 120 and Hwy 108 are currently closed along with some other roads so make sure to check on the Yosemite/NPS website for current road closures etc. Merced River has a lot of water, wildflowers, I was capturing some images while I was on the way there. The park was mostly empty with few visitors per COVID restrictions. It was great to have most of the trails and vista points to myself. It is a very unique sight, because in the winter months so the air crispy and the Covid restriction makes it so quiet at the same time, it’s very peaceful. One of the world's most beautiful wonders, outstanding, incredible, very powerful place. Snow, rain, water flows, clouds, green trees, deer, birds, etc... amazing. My love ingredient for California nature is completely subdued while I’m in this park. The highlight of my trip was Firefall. It was a stunning show from Mother Nature. In a very short time but I was able to watch Horsetail Fall glows from orange to red at sunset. It incredible show to record some beautiful videos. Memories from Yosemite!!!

Firefalls were glowing, lots of people so be prepared for the slow walk, if you catch the falls you'll be back to lodging in the area with 2 to 3 hours because of traffic and the number of people walking back too. Stunning though,a beautiful site, but not serene if that's your goal for you February trip to Yosemite. Try tunnel view too while your here. Looks like a postcard.

The annual firefall gathering in the park has grown bigger and bigger. Some professional photographers are abandoning the event altogether due to the crowd. But it is still a great event that worth your time to fool around the park for a whole day, waiting for the spectacular moment. With the new regulation, park rangers close all the parking spot and vista points near the south drive road after 12:00 AM and the only open vista point is near the El capitan picnic area. The designated parking place is the the Yosemite fall parking lot near Yosemite Lodge. Gone with the good old day, where you can choose your preferred view points around the park. To enjoy the event more, avoid the weekend, if you must go at the weekend: 1. Arrive the designated parking lot before 1:00 PM to secure a parking spot 2. Start hiking to the Picnic area before 2:30PM to secure a good tripod place 3. Wear warm clothes, and carry a portable chair. 4. Don't forget the binocular (horse tail fall can be hardly seen with naked eyes) and a flash light because it will be pitch dark when the event ends and you need to walk more than 1 mile back to the parking lot Some tips: 1. Some people ride bicycle, or drag a cart to carry their stuff, not a bad idea, because a whole lane was reserved for pedestrian. 2. At the end of events, so many cars are leaving the park at the same time, it will take more than 30 minutes before you can leave the parking lot. You can take the time to take some shot of moon-lit half dome, and sentinel meadow. it is really beautiful. 3. Don't forget to carry some food and snacks unless you want to walk to the visitor center, or grocery store, otherwise you will lose your parking space. 2022 update: there has been no rain or snow for about 50 days in the valley. The horsetail fall barely has any water flowing as 02/20/2022, not a good year to see the fire fall.

Amazing experience. Park a little far and walk around 1.5 miles. Arrive early since people gather around especially if you are a photographer. The view from most of the points are very open and easy to spot. Recommended lenses 200-500mm and a 24-70 is good. If you want to make the waterfall shine use a cpl filter.

Visited yesterday and it was worth visiting there. There was a huge crowd especially for this. Getting parking near Lodge was very difficult but lucky I got it after 10 minutes of waiting. Plz plan to park near Lodge and it’s approx. 1.5 Mile walk. There is no parking nearby this place. And one of the lane s closed for pedestrians so traffic was also moving very slowly.

Loved the Fire Fall of 2023. Such a privilege to be able to catch this once in a year natural phenomenon. California is the adventure of a lifetime!

It is a big waterfall that falls off the side of El Capitan and is best viewed when looking east. It is pretty big, so it is viewable from many different places. It is just personal preference as to where you want to view this waterfall. Last year they required a permit to park in the parking during the prime week to see that fall. This year there was no permit required. I do not know if that will be the case again next year. You can also park at the lodge and hike towards the fall, which is about a mile hike to get to a good viewing area. But know that hiking in the snow is hard and a mile will feel much more than a mile. What makes this waterfall special is that for the mid two weeks of February, IF the conditions are right, it will looking like the waterfall is on fire. I tried for 2 days to see it, but no luck. I was here last week, which is a week before "prime" viewing time but it was just way to cloudy with snow to be able to see the "fire" effects. The water however, was flowing beautifully. If I lived closer, I would try more days to see the firefall effect. Perhaps I shall try again next year as I will not be able to try again in the next couple weeks.

If my husband weren't so into photography, I don't think I would have ever found out about Horsetail. This is one spot in Yosemite that doesn't attract your average tourist, and it only gets attention one month out of the entire year. I can tell you why, but it would be much easier to read about it here: http://yosemitefirefall.com/the-natural-firefall-horsetail-fall It seems like the only people interested in capturing this phenomenon are photographers, professional and amateur. Don't come here with a point a shoot because you will feel foolish and your camera will feel dwarfed haha. I can certainly respect the desire to capture something somewhat elusive, but it is hard to appreciate the phenomenon when it doesn't happen (which in all likelihood is a great possibility due to uncooperative weather) and you've been sitting outside in 30 degree weather for hours. My husband "dragged" me here two years in row in hopes of capturing his coveted shot. The first year we had no luck at all, but just a few days ago, we saw a glimpse of something amazing. The effect is different every single time it happens, so really one can come here and, conditions willing, have a different experience every single time. Elusive, but worth it.

Dov - 2/11/2017: It's that time of year again when visitors flock to @yosemite_national_park to see the famous Horsetail Fall -- the waterfall that looks like lava flowing down the side of El Capitan. This rare phenomenon only happens for a short time in February (if the conditions are perfect). When the setting sun's rays hit the waterfall at just the right angle, it illuminates the water in brilliant reds and oranges. It's a spectacular sight reminiscent of Yosemite's historic Firefall! We were lucky to have witnessed this phenomenon! Nature is extra ordinarily beautiful when in yosemite!

Just came back from Yosemite last weekend and saw the Horsetail Fall light up into the elusive firefall. It only happens at the right conditions which is optimal during the last two weeks of February. There was also an amazing sunset which makes this combination quite rare since the firefall tends to occur during clear skies. Here's a video from my experience. https://youtu.be/XyDXE20z-Ng

Came on 2/25/2012- the day after the "last day" to see the firefall. Since it was such a dry winter, the waterfall was not really running anymore....but the rock still had splatters of water and so instead of the "fire fall" we saw a "lava rock" which was still pretty special in my opinion. =) Best viewing: East of El Capital near the picnic area I will try again next year! Get there early! Parking sucks so keep that in mind! Go early! Carpool or park across the loop and walk over.