Bridalveil Fall is one of the first waterfalls visible when arriving in the Yosemite Valley of Yosemite National Park. The waterfall is located just east of the intersection of Wawona Road and Southside Drive. From a small parking area located off Wawona Road, a paved, ¼ mile trail leads to a view of Bridalveil Fall. This ½ mile round-trip hike does have a steep incline, so it is not ADA compliant. A kiosk along the route shows that a restoration project is in the works in an attempt to make more viewing points and alleviate some of the congestion on the trail and in the parking area. If the parking area is full, parallel parking is available on both sides of Southside Drive east of Wawona Road. A pair of gravel access trails lead back west to the paved trail. There is only one small viewpoint at the end of the trail. While we were there in March 2018, Ribbon Fall on the other side of the valley was barely flowing and visible from the viewpoint.
Because the trail was icy, we wore our MICROspikes® slip-on ice cleats and had no difficulty walking up or down the trail. Other visitors slipped and slid their way along the trail. Some chose to walk up the rip-rap rocks along the trail edge. At the viewpoint, some people sat down on the ice and attempted to slide down the trail. The background laughter in the video is in response to those visitor's antics. The people coming up the trail who became human bowling pins were not as amused.
 |
| Icy trail head |
 |
| Warning sign |
 |
| Upcoming restoration project kiosk |
 |
| Slippery trail |
 |
| Bridalveil Creek beside the trail |
 |
| Bridalveil Fall (617') |
 |
| Another view |
 |
| Creek below the base of the falls |
 |
| One last look before the sun blinds the camera |
 |
| Free-falling Ribbon Fall (1612') |
 |
| Another view of Ribbon Fall |
Entrance to Yosemite National Park requires an entry fee of $30 per passenger vehicle for a 7-day pass. The price increases to $35 per vehicle on June 1, 2018. Any of the America the Beautiful passes may be used instead.
The park website is https://www.nps.gov/yose.
No comments:
Post a Comment