Mist Trail to Vernal Fall and Nevada Fall, in Yosemite National Park, is one of the most incredible trails our family has ever hiked!
On this fantastic trail you will stroll along the beautiful Merced River and climb the stone steps right up next to Vernal Fall. Here you will feel its mist and witness its power up close. Then if you choose to continue on to Nevada Fall, your steep climb up the granite mountainside will more than reward you with absolutely jaw-dropping views as you stand at the top of Nevada Fall. It’s spectacular!
But before we visited and chose our hikes in Yosemite National Park, I had so many questions about what our family would be able to hike. I had heard that Mist Trail in Yosemite was incredible, but would it be too hard for our kids? (Our youngest was only 6 years old/ almost 7.) I also questioned if hiking to Nevada Falls would even be a possibility for our family, assuming we even made it to Vernal Fall? How hard would it be? And what could we expect?
These were just some of the questions I had before our family set out to visit & hike the famous Mist Trail in Yosemite National Park. And I’d love to share with you what we found.
TRAIL INFORMATION
Mist Trail to Vernal Fall
- Trailhead at Happy Isles Bridge
- 2.4 miles round trip (Out & Back)
- 1000 feet elevation gain
- 4.2 miles roundtrip (if you take the John Muir Loop back)
- 1500 feet elevation gain
- Strenuous, steps may be slippery near Vernal Fall (especially in the Spring)
- ~2-3 hour hiking time
For a Longer Hike: Continue to Nevada Fall and loop back on the John Muir Trail
- 7.3 miles round trip from Happy Isles Bridge
- More Strenuous
- 2,000 feet elevation gain
- ~5-6 hour hiking time
MIST TRAIL/ VERNAL FALL TO NEVADA FALL MAP
To help you get oriented, below is a trail map for hiking Mist Trail in Yosemite, along with options for taking the John Muir Trail loop.
First, the trailhead for Mist Trail is at Happy Isles Bridge:
- Take the shuttle to the Happy Isles Nature Center at (Shuttle Stop #16)
- If you are staying the night at Curry Village it’s only a 0.7 mile walk to the Happy Isles Bridge.
- This is what we did. We had a great time glamping at the Curry Village and we recommend checking it out if you are looking for a place to stay.
One thing I learned, that is great about hiking Mist Trail, is that you don’t actually have to decide ahead of time if you are going to hike all the way to Nevada Fall. (And honestly, I didn’t even think it was a real possibility, even on the morning of our hike, since our youngest was still only 6 years old.)
Here at Mist Trail you can hike as far as you want, and turn around to walk back. You can take the Vernal Fall bypass to the John Muir Trail for a shorter loop. Or you can hike all the way to Nevada Falls and take the John Muir Trail back for a longer hike.
But even if you don’t think you want to hike all the way to Nevada Fall, I would still make sure you bring plenty of water and snacks that would allow you to hike the entire way, just in case.
This is what we did, and I’m so glad we went prepared.
WATER FOR MIST TRAIL
If Hiking to Nevada Fall: 3-4 liters of water per person is recommended by the Yosemite National Park website.
- Water is available at Shuttle Stop 16, near the trailhead.
- Water is also available at the Vernal Falls Footbridge (from May to October.)
For our family, we each have our own water bottle (we love the 32oz Nalgene water bottles) and then my husband and I also carry this amazing 2-liter flexible water bottle in our pack so that we can easily refill everyone’s water bottles as we hike.
Read More:
15 Great Hiking Snacks for Families (That Our Kids Love!)
RESTROOMS FOR MIST TRAIL
- At the shuttle stop, near the trailhead
- At Vernal Fall Footbridge, about 1 mile up the trail (May to October)
- Vault toilets are available beyond the top of Vernal Fall (along the Mist Trail)
- Vault toilets are also available at the top of Nevada Fall (along the Mist Trail).
Please note: Portions of Mist Tail close in the winter.
Let’s Start Hiking Mist Trail in Yosemite!
Our family began our hike at 6:30am in mid-June from the Curry Village, where we had stayed the previous night. Our three children, ages 6 (almost 7), 8 & 10 years old were ready to start exploring.
Hiking Tip – Start early to beat the heat & beat the crowds.
From Curry Village to the Happy Isles Bridge/ Mist Trail trailhead, it was about a 0.7 mile easy walk past the campground and through a pretty forest.
As you cross the Happy Isles Bridge, over the Merced River to get to the trailhead, make sure you stop for a moment to enjoy this scenic view.
HAPPY ISLES BRIDGE VIEW
The first mile of Mist Trail is paved, yet it is almost entirely up hill. This portion of the Mist Trail is considered moderate in difficulty.
Mist Trail begins by taking you alongside the beautiful Merced River. The path here is shady and you’ll pass pretty scenery, but do know that this is also the busiest section of Mist Trail and it can get quite crowded. To avoid most of the crowds, try to begin your hike early.
After 0.8 miles, you will reach the Vernal Fall Footbridge.
VERNAL FALL FOOTBRIDGE
So, honestly I thought the view from the Vernal Fall Footbridge was nice but nothing special, especially compared to the rest of this amazing trail. Here, Vernal Fall is way off in the distance and it’s kind of hard to see. (See photo above. Yes, Vernal Fall is that tiny waterfall off in the distance above my head.)
Vernal Fall Footbridge can also be very crowded. Yet, just know that it’s only shortly after this bridge that the crowds start to thin and the real beauty of this trail begins to shine.
What I did really enjoy at the Vernal Fall Footbridge and on the walk along the Merced River, was just watching the river’s powerful water quickly rush past the rocks. The churning, splashing and roaring sound of the water passing us was incredible and surprisingly calming to watch.
Important Note: The Merced River’s current is deceptively strong and definitely not one that you should try and wade into. Unfortunately several fatalities have occurred over the years, so please hold onto children’s hands and don’t try to wade into this river.
THE TRAIL TO VERNAL FALL
Only 0.2 miles after the Vernal Fall Footbridge, the Mist Trail and the John Muir Trail diverge. We recommend staying on Mist Trail and heading toward Vernal Falls first and then following the loop back down the John Muir Trail to this same point. By following the Mist Trail, the river will now be immediately on your left.
Family Tip: There are some steep drops along the side of this trail. (See picture below.) Have children walk close to the mountain wall or hold onto their hands so that they stay safe.
In less than 0.3 miles after the trail splits you will come to a steep granite stairway, with over 600 steps, that climbs to the top of Vernal Fall.
The Stairs
I thought this staircase was so picturesque with the brilliant green moss and grasses that line it.
Hiking Tip: Do you see how empty this trail was for us? Hiking early let us experience this incredibly popular trail almost on our own. The lack of crowds, to me, made it even more magical.
Also, can you see the mist coming from the top of the staircase above? That’s the mist from Vernal Fall on the other side. And it’s this mist, as this staircase gets close to Vernal Fall, that makes this section of the trail more dangerous.
The stairs, close to Vernal Fall, can get very slippery from the tremendous amount of water spray that hits the trail here. This is especially true in the spring and early summer.
This section of the trail was my biggest concern for hiking with our kids.
But our children have hiked a lot and they are good listeners. They stayed close to the mountain wall as we climbed the stairs and we went slow. In the very wet/ slippery sections my husband held onto our 6 year old’s hand and I held onto our 8 year old’s hand as an extra safety measure.
When you get near the wettest and most slippery part of the trail, there is also a metal pipe railing for you to hold onto as you climb up the misty canyon side to the top of the falls. Even though there was a railing, my husband and I also held onto our children’s hands here, just in case someone slipped.
By taking the above precautions, our family had no problems hiking this part of Mist Trail in Yosemite, even with a 6 (almost 7) year old, and it was a ton of fun! We just took our time and enjoyed the experience of walking through the fun mist of Vernal Fall.
VERNAL FALL
As we continued to climb, the trail rounded the corner and there it was, the 317 foot Vernal Falls. And it was fantastic!
In the picture above we were definitely being misted upon (hence the name of the trail) and we were loving every minute of it.
Tip: If you want to take any pictures right by the falls, you’ll want to make sure your camera has some kind of water resistance because it probably will get heavily misted on here.
Some people will bring ponchos or rain jackets so that they don’t get wet on this part of the trail. But luckily for us, the wind was blowing most of the mist away from the trail on the morning we visited.
What We Did: We had our kids put back on their jackets (it had been cool in the morning when we first started our hike) and that way they could take their jackets off after Vernal Fall and be dry for the rest of our hike.
THE DECISION
After Vernal Falls, our family had to make the decision as to whether we were going to head back or continue on to Nevada Falls.
But at this point, there wasn’t even a question for our family. This hike was so incredible that all five of us (even our 6 year old) couldn’t wait to head to Nevada Falls.
I was so glad that we had prepared in advance, our food and water for the day, to hike this entire trail.
NEVADA FALLS
So now we were on our way to Nevada Falls.
Mist Trail to Nevada Falls is another 1.5 miles of steep, rocky switchbacks. Now to be honest, this was a serious leg-burning leg workout. This portion of the trail did not have a lot of shade and it felt like we were climbing forever.
(This may be a section that kids will struggle with. Our hiking secret on these tough sections is to always carry “power booster” snacks on top of our regular hiking food supply. For this hike we had Clif Bloks Energy Chews and we made a game where each time they got a little square, it gave them a super power, like the power of climbing or the power of navigating, where they would be our trail blazer. This technique has worked wonders and has increased our kids’ enthusiasm on many hikes.)
On our way to the top of Nevada Fall on Mist Trail in Yosemite, we also had an amazing find that you might want to be on the look out for yourself. (see picture below)
The Massive Sugar Pine Cone
We started seeing these insanely huge pinecones laying everywhere. We were seriously impressed! It turns out that these are Sugar Pine Cones from the Sugar Pine Tree and that they are the longest cones of any conifer!
They were Huge!
Shortly after our pine cone discovery, we reached the top, near Nevada Falls, and we were ecstatic!
Hiking Tip: There are vault toilets shortly before you cross the top of Nevada Fall.
After crossing the bridge, we grabbed a spot in the shade to rest, have a snack and just take some time to marvel at this absolutely spectacular scenery!
The trail up to Nevada Falls was hard, but the view at the top made it completely worth it! Even our kids were seriously impressed by this insanely gorgeous view and were all smiles at the top of Nevada Fall.
But wait, this trail gets even better.
After resting for awhile at the top of Nevada Fall, we then began our trek down on the John Muir Trail. And the scenery here completely blew me away!
JOHN MUIR TRAIL
The John Muir Trail is absolutely spectacular! And it was probably my favorite part of the entire trail. (Plus, now we were heading back down the mountain.)
The scenery here was picture perfect!
As we hiked down the John Muir Trail, the trail slowly turned into a shady forest path which was very peaceful and enjoyable as well.
This pretty path continues until it meets back up with Mist Trail near the Vernal Fall Footbridge.
In total our family hiked over 8 miles this day and it took us just over 6 hours. (We had walked from Curry Village where we had stayed the previous night so that added some to our mileage.) We were tired, but our kids especially were beaming with pride that they had accomplished such an incredible hike.
Now I have one last tip if you do decide to take this incredible hike. After hiking, drive up to Washburn Point, which is just south of Glacier Point and take a look at the view.
WASHBURN POINT
From Washburn Point you can see the entire hike that you just did! The lower falls is Vernal Fall and the upper one is Nevada Fall. It’s so rare to be able to get an aerial view of a hike that you just accomplished, so you won’t want to miss this incredible opportunity. And I can’t even begin to describe how amazing it was to look out at this viewpoint and realize, we just hiked that!
Have a Great Hike on Mist Trail in Yosemite with Your Traveling Feet!
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