Beyond Upper Yosemite Falls on the North Rim of Yosemite Valley, the trail continues to an unassuming, but magnificent, summit known as Eagle Peak. You likely won’t even notice it from the valley floor, but the hike up is epic and the views at the summit are some of the best in all of Yosemite National Park!
It’s a big time challenge, but if you can handle it, the payoff is awesome!
Miles/Elevation:
11.5 miles
4,320 feet vertical gain
About Yosemite National Park:
Located in the Sierra Nevada Mountains of California, Yosemite National Park is one of the largest and most popular parks in the entire National Park System.
Steeped in history, Yosemite has played a major role in the development of environmentalism and conservation in the United States since the late 1800’s. In 1864, President Lincoln created the Yosemite Grant, which did not make Yosemite a national park, but did set the precedent that would lead to the creation of Yellowstone National Park.
Yosemite was ceded to the State of California and ran by the state for much of the late 1800’s. Eventually, in 1890, Yosemite National Park was created, and stronger protections were put in place to preserve the park.
Beyond the National Park Service, the legendary naturalist John Muir is perhaps best known for his advocacy in favor of preserving Yosemite National Park. A giant in the history of conservation, Muir, who fell in love with the mountains after a serious industrial accident, became arguably the most influential figure in preserving the natural landscapes of the west. His relationship with President Theodore Roosevelt and the expansion of federally protected lands may be the greatest achievement of this era of conservation!
Getting To Yosemite:
Located in Central California, Yosemite is fairly remote, but can be reached from a number of major cities. The closest large city is Fresno, and Fresno’s airport is the best choice if you are flying in. Other cities located within a three hour or so drive with major airports include Los Angeles, San Francisco, Oakland, San Jose, and Sacramento.
From these cities or any others, you’ll then likely need to drive to the park. There is a regional public transit system called YARTS (Yosemite Area Regional Transit System), and can be useful if you are trying to get to Yosemite Valley. However, I generally advocate having your own car when exploring the mountains. It just makes it easier to explore and get around.
Once you’re in Yosemite, there is a transit system that can get you around the park, however it is not running in 2021. Go to the Yosemite NPS website for more information on public transit in Yosemite. When it is running, the public transit can get you to many of the major trailheads in the park.
Getting To The Trailhead:
Think about purchasing the America the Beautiful Pass if you’re visiting Yosemite!
Once in Yosemite Valley, the best parking area is around the Yosemite Valley Lodge. Follow the Valley Loop Road all the way around the valley. It’s one way, so you’ll take Southside Drive all the way to Curry Village, then take a left to continue onto Northside Drive towards Yosemite Village.
Continue past the village until you reach Yosemite Lodge. Make sure you don’t park in the dedicated lodge parking areas, but there are plenty of parking areas for hikers on the left. The trail begins to the right of the road at Camp 4.
Tips:
- Wear good hiking shoes and bring poles. You will need the stability for this trail; it’s rough, slippery, and steep.
- Bring at least 3 liters of water per person, especially in summer. It gets really hot and there’s tons of sun exposure.
- Start early to beat the crowds and the heat.
- The detour to the Upper Yosemite Falls overlook is worth the time!
- The North Rim around Eagle Peak is a great backpacking area.
The Eagle Peak Trail:
To Columbia Rock:
From the trailhead, walk directly towards the south wall of the valley, and then begin the climb. The initial climb up from the valley floor takes you through dense forest as you ascend through the boulder strewn woods. Through the forest, the trail is extremely rough and rocky. Definitely watch your footing here. Not only can you hurt an ankle on the rocks, they are also often covered in a fine layer of sand which makes them extremely slippery!
Always be sure to follow the 7 Leave No Trace Principles when in the outdoors!
After climbing through the forest through an endless series of extremely tight switchbacks (literally the switchbacks go almost straight up) you’ll eventually reach more open terrain. Here, ther views really begin to open up!
Once you’ve climbed 600 feet or so, the trail finally leaves the incessant switchbacks and traverses east along the valley wall. Once at this point, you will finally be able to look out and enjoy the views your sweat has earned you! Keep going though, the higher you get the better the views!
Once out of the dense forest, the trail changes dramatically from a rock strewn mountain path to steep ramps of loose slippery gravel. Over a base of packed dirt and gravel, there is a layer of loose sand that makes descending extremely tricky. Going uphill it isn’t great either, but definitely be extra cautious on the descent!
The first waypoint on this hike is a common turn around point for those not hiking all the way up to the falls, Columbia Rock. Columbia Rock itself isn’t really all that noteworthy. I was kind of expecting a big rock you could climb on, or at least a vertical ledge you could peer over, but really it’s just a viewpoint with a railing protecting hikers from the drop.
Yosemite is bear country so make sure you’re bear safe!
It’s definitely a great view though! Looking up the valley you’ll have amazing views at Half Dome, and looking down the valley you get a clear look at all the major features of the South Rim! It’s 100% worth it to do a hike that climbs out of the valley at some point: the vantage from up high gives you a totally different look at the walls, and a completely different feel!
To Upper Yosemite Falls:
Always follow basic trail etiquette when you’re hiking!
Once passed Columbia Rock, continue climbing for another 200 vertical feet along the loose, gravely, surface. After 200 feet of climbing, the trail actually descends a bit. You’ll drop about 170 vertical feet, which feels really nice after the steep climb up! It’s a bummer on the way back when you get hit by this little incline, but it’s short enough to not be a huge deal!
Right around the bottom of this short descent you will round a corner and emerge in front of Upper Yosemite Falls. The view here right off the bat is fantastic: the falls really is directly in front of the trail, and there are some perfect breaks in the trees to frame the view! You’ll have a nice little walk along a more or less flat(!) trail for a little bit, and then the upper climb begins!
Be Sure To Check Out Our Full 7 Day Yosemite Itinerary Too!
After a nice flat walk for all of a couple minutes, the switchbacks will come back with a vengeance! There is an extremely tight section of switchbacks right away that gain about 400 vertical feet in a quarter mile or less. This is followed by a tiny reprieve, and then another burst of switchbacks that climb 500 feet!
Fortunately, you will have some great looks at the falls as well as up the nearly vertical walls looming above and at times across the valley! I also saw a bear on the trail on this section of the hike the first time I hiked this trail!
By the 2 mile mark of the hike, you’ll have ascended roughly 1,800 feet and will now be looking directly over at the falling water of Yosemite Falls at eye level. Looking up though, you can see the work is far from over!
I don’t know if the final stretch to the top of the climb is officially the steepest part of the trail or not, but it definitely feels like it! Looking up, you will clearly be able to see the switchbacks twisting their way up a depressingly steep slope back and forth right above your head! This final ¾’s of a mile will lift you up about 900 vertical feet!
Read Our Complete Guide To All Things Yosemite!
The switchbacks are incessant, the shade is gone, and the trail is rougher than ever. The juice will be gone from your legs and every step will feel heavier than the last. Without proper acclimatization, your lungs will be heaving with every gasp. But still the climbing continues!
There’s nothing to do but put one foot in front of the other over and over and over again, but eventually you’ll make it! The top of the climb will find you at an intersection: to continue to the top of the falls take a right and backtrack towards the cliff edges. Continue straight into the Yosemite backcountry along the North Rim!
To Eagle Peak:
Once through the intersection, you will enter the dense pine forest of the middle elevations of the Sierra Nevada. You won’t have much for views while in the forest, but I promise it opens up at the peak!
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Continue climbing, though along a much more gradual trail than before! In the next .6 miles, you will only ascend about 200 vertical feet, a welcome change from the climb earlier!
After .6 miles of hiking past the previous intersection near the top of the climb, take a left and climb up a small 200 foot climb. Around here, you will begin hiking through more open terrain. This area is interspersed with open, grassy, meadows along with the typical pine forest. There still isn’t much for views, but the trail quality is excellent and it’s nearly flat!
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You’ll have a mile and a half of relatively easy hiking as you make your way back towards the valley rim. The inclines are gentle, the views are nothing much, but the hiking goes fast. At a bit over 5 miles from the trailhead, you’ll hit another intersection. Staying right will take you further along the North Rim towards El Capitan, but you will want to veer left to reach Eagle Peak!
From this final intersection there is about 400 vertical feet of climbing to the summit. For most of that, you still won’t have much for views, but you will begin seeing glimpses of the valley and the high country beyond!
Click Here To See Yosemite’s Best Moderate Hikes!
Once near the top, you will notice a large pile of boulders which marks the actual summit. Once at the base of the summit block, there is a short and easy class 2 scramble up to the summit itself. The route is obvious. Head straight up the first rocks that are directly in front of you on the trail. Then turn left and scramble up the final rock or two to the summit!
You should seriously consider hiking the Mist Trail, Yosemite’s best moderate hike!
Once at the summit, the view is stunning. I really think this is the best view I’ve seen of Yosemite, which is really saying a lot! It has everything. The valley looks amazing from here. The dramatic granite peaks of the high country look amazing from here. If you want to focus on the pine covered hills, those look amazing from here too!
Check out our list of Yosemite’s best easy hikes!
I still probably couldn’t point out Eagle Peak from the valley floor, but from the summit, it’s clearly one of the best viewpoints in the entire park! We enjoyed the view from the summit proper, and then dropped down off the rocks to enjoy a snack! After a relaxing rest break, we began the long hike down!
Hiking Down:
Whenever you’re ready to head back down, steel yourself for the ordeal to come! Most people prefer descending, and it usually goes faster. Makes sense, you generally will get more tired hiking up than down. But on this trail, I think I may have hiked up faster than I hiked down!
The hike from Eagle Peak back to Upper Yosemite Falls is actually really easy. The trail isn’t very steep, and it’s pretty smooth and rock free. We were able to make good time here. However, the big descent from Upper Yosemite Falls to the valley floor is a totally different story.
On the way up, large steps and rocks are easy to navigate: you just take a bigger step up. But on the way down, those steps are just as big, but now you have to lower yourself down that step. And not only do you have to lower yourself down, you have to do so onto usually uneven and slippery rocks. Rocks that love to roll your ankles or create a slip!
It’s a brutal descent, and to be honest, I was thinking that I would give this hike a 10/10 the entire time going up, but when I started going down, the crappiness of the trail really hit me. It’s honestly terrible. It’s a marvel that they somehow managed to get a trail up here, so for that I’m thankful, but it is by no means a pleasant walk, other than for the views of course! Every single step for miles you have to be concerned about slipping and falling, or injuring an ankle!
Anyway, after an interminable descent, you’ll eventually make it back to the valley floor. The views on this hike are awesome, but you might have forgotten all about them by the time you make it down! Definitely some type 2 fun, but all worth it in the end!
Topdown Lifestyle Rating: 9/10
This hike has some of the best views I’ve ever seen, and they come throughout the entire day. It’s a beautiful climb up to the falls. The panoramas are incredible from Eagle Peak itself. Only for the couple miles through the forest are the views not world class.
However, the trail quality between the valley floor and Upper Yosemite Falls is truly abysmal. It is genuinely unfun to hike on, and is exhausting to pick your way down through the rocks and sandy trail.
This is an incredible hike, but if the trail was just a little better, it could be in the conversation for the best hike in all of Yosemite (but probably still behind Half Dome) or even the country!
Pros:
- Incredible views
- Mountain summit
- Easily accessible in Yosemite Valley
- Backpacking opportunities
Cons:
- Brutal trail up to Upper Yosemite Falls
- Extremely busy for first ~3.5 miles
- Uneventful forest walking to Eagle Peak
Alternative Hikes:
The Pohono Trail from Tunnel View to Dewey Point
When to Hike to Eagle Peak:
Hiking in Yosemite is a three season activity. Winter usually brings quite a bit of snow, and the entire park is liable to experience winter storms. While lower elevation areas of the park may be hikable in winter, I really wouldn’t say Yosemite is a four season hiking destination.
Purely in terms of weather, fall and spring are the best times of year to hike in Yosemite. Summer can get extremely hot, and hiking in 95 degree heat isn’t fun for most people! The one issue with fall is that fire season can either close down areas of the park, or more likely will blanket the park with smoke. In good years, it’s hardly an issue, but some years it’s harmful to even be outside.
It is also worth considering when Yosemite is busiest. This is one of the busiest parks in the country, so be ready for crowds if you visit in peak season, namely summer. Some people are really turned off by the crowds, and I agree if you only visit the valley, but there are always places to get away from the big crowds. This can cause issues with finding campsites in the park though.
Overall, I would say that late spring is probably the best time of year to visit Yosemite. The temperatures are comfortable, rain is rare, and the crowds are lighter than summer. You’ll also have close to peak flow through the park’s streams and waterfalls! Late autumn is also a great time to visit as spring may still have snow lingering on the trails.
The last thing to consider when planning your visit is that the high elevation roads through the park close for snow. Tioga Pass and Glacier Point Road both close from winter to whenever the snow melts (usually May or June but it varies). Spring will limit where you can go in the park, so if you really want to explore the high country, wait at least until late June!
Links For Further Reading:
Eagle Peak | Map, Guide – California | AllTrails
Eagle Peak (Yosemite) : Climbing, Hiking & Mountaineering : SummitPost
Eagle Peak – Discover Yosemite National Park
