Half Dome, the Mist Trail, and Yosemite’s Best Hikes at Every Level

The valley floor is glorious, but the real Yosemite — the one that rearranges your sense of scale — lives a mile or two up the trail, just far enough that most people turn around. The good news is you do not have to be a mountaineer to get there: Yosemite has some of the finest short, high-payoff hikes in the country, alongside a handful of long, serious ones. Below are the standouts by difficulty. (Distances marked “about” are commonly cited figures; confirm at nps.gov before you go.)

How to hike smart in Yosemite

A few habits separate a great day from a frustrating one, and they all happen before the fun part:

• Start early — dawn, not “morning.” Early means you find parking before the lots fill, you climb the sun-exposed granite before the valley bakes, and you have the trail to yourself for the first hour. By ten in summer the Mist Trail feels like a staircase at a concert. Park once and ride the free valley shuttle to the trailheads.
• Store all your food. Bear-proof food storage is mandatory everywhere, including the trailhead. Use the metal lockers, and never leave food, wrappers, or anything scented in your car. It keeps bears wild and alive, and your windows intact.
• Respect the water, because water is what hurts people here. Wet granite is lethally slick, and the Merced above the falls has swept many people to their deaths in water that looks calmer than it is. Never swim or wade above a waterfall, and stay behind the railings on the Mist Trail. Spring runoff makes it worse — high, freezing, and pushy.
• Watch the sky on the domes. Afternoon thunderstorms build fast over the high country, and a bare granite dome is the worst place to be when lightning arrives. On Half Dome, Clouds Rest, Sentinel Dome, or anything exposed, aim to be heading down by early afternoon.
• Carry plenty of water, and pace yourself for altitude on the Tuolumne and Tioga Road trails. Tell someone your plan, and download a map, because cell service is patchy at best.

Easy and family trails

These are the walks you can do with kids, with grandparents, on a travel day when you just want to stretch and see something wonderful. Do not mistake easy for lesser: some of the most memorable moments here come with almost no climbing at all.

• Lower Yosemite Fall — ~1.0 mi loop, easy, paved. The walk everyone should do at least once, to the base of the lowest tier of Yosemite Falls; in spring the spray blows back over the footbridge and the ground trembles. Go early or near dusk, and know that by late summer the fall often dries up entirely.
• Bridalveil Fall — ~0.5 mi round trip, easy, paved. The graceful ribbon at the valley’s mouth, and because it flows for much of the year it is a reliable stop when the bigger falls have gone quiet. Short path, immediate payoff, a bit of spring mist on the final approach.
• Mirror Lake — ~2.0 mi round trip (or a 5-mi loop), easy. A flat, partly shaded walk to a reflective pool below the sheer face of Half Dome, best in spring and early summer; later in the year you may find a meadow where the lake used to be. The far side of the loop sheds most of the crowd.
• Mariposa Grove Big Trees Loop — ~0.3–2 mi, easy. Among some of the largest living things on Earth, including the venerable Grizzly Giant on the longer loop. Reached by the seasonal shuttle from the South Entrance Welcome Plaza. For solitude, the smaller Tuolumne and Merced Groves see a fraction of the visitors.
• Cook’s Meadow Loop — ~1.0 mi, flat, easy. The easiest way to feel like you are standing inside a postcard, serving up Yosemite Falls, Half Dome, and Sentinel Rock in a single slow lap. Glorious in soft early light.

Moderate trails

Now the legs earn something — half-day hikes with real climbing and real rewards, some of the most beloved miles in the national park system.

• Mist Trail to Vernal Fall — ~2.4 mi round trip, ~1,000 ft, moderate. The park’s signature hike: a staircase of granite steps beside Vernal Fall that drenches you in blowing spring mist, hence the name and the rainbows. Steep, wet, and unforgettable. The hazards are real — slick steps, serious drop-offs, and a river above the falls that has killed people who ignored the railings. Start at first light. Push on above Vernal Fall to reach Nevada Fall for a longer day of about 5.4 to 7 miles round trip. Quieter alternative: take the John Muir Trail instead of the crowded stone steps — longer and drier, but far calmer.
• Sentinel Dome — ~2.2 mi round trip, moderate. One of the best view-to-effort ratios in the park: a short climb to a bald granite summit with a full 360-degree panorama. On Glacier Point Road, so seasonal — roughly late spring to fall. Best toward sunset, with the thunderstorm rule in mind on that exposed dome.
• Taft Point — ~2.2 mi round trip, moderate. Where you go to feel your stomach drop. The trail is gentle, but it ends at deep fissures and an unrailed edge with a straight plunge to the valley floor far below. Exhilarating and genuinely dangerous, so keep well back and keep a firm hand on children. Also on seasonal Glacier Point Road.
• Cathedral Lakes — ~7.0 mi round trip, moderate. Your gateway to the high country: subalpine meadows, granite spires, and a jewel of a lake beneath Cathedral Peak. Leaves from Tuolumne Meadows along Tioga Road, so only in play when that road is open. The altitude is real, so pace yourself, and mind the afternoon storms.

Strenuous trails and Half Dome

These are the big days: long miles, serious climbing, and the park’s wildest ground. Read the hazard notes as instructions, not suggestions. Start early, carry plenty of water, and turn around if the weather sours.

• Upper Yosemite Fall — ~7.2 mi round trip, ~2,700 ft, strenuous. A relentless switchback climb to the brink of one of the tallest waterfalls in North America, with the valley dropping away beneath you. Unshaded in long stretches with no reliable water up high, so start at dawn and carry plenty. Best in spring and early summer when the fall is roaring. Quieter alternative: turning around at Columbia Rock gives you a stunning valley view for a third of the effort.
• Half Dome — ~14–16 mi round trip, ~4,800 ft, strenuous, permit required. The park’s emblem and its most serious day hike. You climb roughly 4,800 feet, then haul yourself up the last stretch of bare rock using two steel cables bolted to the granite. It is long, exposed, and genuinely dangerous: people have died here from falls, lightning, and exhaustion, and the cables are lethal when wet, so a clear forecast is not optional. Bring gloves, walk by headlamp in the dark, and be off the dome before afternoon storms build. See the permit section below.
• Four Mile Trail — ~9.6 mi round trip, strenuous. Climbs from the valley floor to Glacier Point (3,200 feet above the valley) on switchbacks that open wider views as you rise. Many hikers do it one way and arrange a ride or seasonal shuttle for the other leg — one of the most satisfying ways to arrive at Glacier Point, on your own two feet.
• Clouds Rest — ~14 mi round trip, strenuous. The connoisseur’s summit, quietly ranked above Half Dome by seasoned hikers. It tops out higher than Half Dome and hands you what many consider the finest view in the park — a 360-degree sweep with the valley, the high country, Tenaya Lake, and Half Dome below. A narrow final ridge will get your attention, but it involves no cables and no permit. Usually reached from the Tioga Road side, so seasonal.

The Half Dome permit, step by step

You cannot hike to the top of Half Dome when the cables are up without a permit, and rangers check. The cables are typically installed from about late May to mid-October, weather permitting, and a permit is awarded by lottery on Recreation.gov. There are two ways in:

• The preseason lottery runs in early spring: you apply in March and results come out in April. This offers the best odds for a specific date.
• The daily lottery is your backup: apply about two days before your intended hike date and check for results that evening.

Roughly 300 day-hiker permits are issued per day across both systems, at about $10 to apply plus around $10 per person if awarded [VERIFY current fees and dates]. Set up your Recreation.gov account ahead of time so you are not fumbling with a password when the window opens, and carry proof of your permit on the hike. The limit is as much a safety measure as a crowd control one, thinning traffic on the cables where a bottleneck in bad weather is genuinely dangerous. Winning only buys you the right to make a sober judgment call at the base of the cables — so build a backup hike (Clouds Rest, or Upper Yosemite Fall) into your plan for the real chance you do not draw a permit or arrive to a threatening sky. The full mechanics are in the reservations and permits explainer.

Quieter alternatives

Yosemite’s fame is also its burden. The valley floor and the Mist Trail see enormous crowds on summer days, but the park is vast and most of it is empty. Hetch Hetchy (with spring waterfalls like Wapama Falls), the high country out of Tuolumne Meadows, and the trails south of the valley near Wawona all see a small fraction of the foot traffic. If solitude matters more than ticking the famous names, aim there, and aim on a weekday — even swapping the crowded Mist Trail steps for the John Muir Trail trades a little fame for a lot of quiet.

FAQ

What is the best easy hike in Yosemite?

For a huge payoff with minimal effort, the paved Lower Yosemite Fall loop (about 1 mile) takes you to the thundering base of the falls in spring, and the short Bridalveil Fall walk (about 0.5 mile) reaches a fall that flows much of the year. Among the giant sequoias, the Mariposa Grove Big Trees Loop is a gentle, unforgettable stroll.

Do I need a permit to hike the Mist Trail?

No. Day hiking anywhere in Yosemite except Half Dome requires no permit — you just lace up and go, so the Mist Trail, Vernal and Nevada Falls, Upper Yosemite Fall, and Cathedral Lakes are all yours without paperwork. Only Half Dome (when the cables are up) and overnight backcountry trips pull you into the permit system.

How hard is the hike to Half Dome?

Very. It is roughly 14 to 16 miles round trip with about 4,800 feet of climbing, finishing with an exposed cable ascent up bare granite, and it demands a permit, an early start, and a clear forecast. Never go up the cables in wet or stormy weather.

What is the best hike if I miss the Half Dome permit?

Clouds Rest (about 14 miles) tops out higher than Half Dome with arguably the best view in the park and needs no permit, and Upper Yosemite Fall (about 7.2 miles) climbs to the valley rim. Both are big days that reward an early start.

Keep reading: Things to do in Yosemite Valley · A ready-made Yosemite itinerary · The complete Yosemite guide