Favorite Waterfalls

[JWreno]

June 2002 we finished a 6 day trip by spending a couple of nights at Glen Aulin and day hiking down the river to Water Wheel cascade. There were several waterfalls along the way.

August 2004 we hiked south out of Yosemite to camp near Thousand Isle lake. The next day we hiked west to Lake Catherine and saw this nice waterfall at the outlet of the lake. We spend a couple of days heading over Blue Lake pass back into Yosemite.

[creekfeet]

My two faves are what I'll call "interactive" falls, meaning you can experience them beyond just looking and listening. Tamarack Falls at it's namesake lake is stunning, and is one of the only true free-falling waterfalls in Sequoia, plummeting nearly 100 feet without touching rock. Whats more, you can climb behind it, and experience it's power from that incredible vantage point.

But my all time favorite is the Stony Creek Slide. The fall itself is only about a six foot drop, but you can slide down about twenty feet or so of slick rock above the fall, and then drop down the fall itself into a deep swimming hole below. The only downside is that one of the numerous Christian Camps in the area found out about it, so if you go on the wrong day, you'll have to share it with a hundred hormonal teenagers.

[dbargaehr1]

Hidden Falls in Yosemite for the solitude and how close you get to it on the way up. but i suspect influencers have ruined that spot by now as I haven't been in ≈10yrs.

Rainbow Falls on the San Joaquin outside Devil's Postpile is an "interactive falls" in that you can go and swim directly underneath it, and is also a fairly large one. It's only about a quarter mile from the trailhead.

I grew up going to Yosemite every year, so those falls all hold a special place in my heart, in particular Vernal Falls for the Mist Trail and Illouette Falls. The fishing on Illouette creek above Illouette falls is decent and you can find solitude relatively quickly along that trail from Glacier Point.

[richlong8]

Hidden Falls in Yosemite for the solitude and how close you get to it on the way up. but i suspect influencers have ruined that spot by now as I haven't been in ≈10yrs.

Rainbow Falls on the San Joaquin outside Devil's Postpile is an "interactive falls" in that you can go and swim directly underneath it, and is also a fairly large one. It's only about a quarter mile from the trailhead.

I grew up going to Yosemite every year, so those falls all hold a special place in my heart, in particular Vernal Falls for the Mist Trail and Illouette Falls. The fishing on Illouette creek above Illouette falls is decent and you can find solitude relatively quickly along that trail from Glacier Point.

I am on my way to Yosemite the first week of April, which maybe a little early, because of the weather and snow conditions. We will see. Thanks for sharing.

[richlong8]

There are an abundance of great waterfalls off of Mountain Highway 99 heading up from Johnsondale Bridge towards Ponderosa and down past Camp Nelson. Peppermint and Dry Meadow Creeks both have several beautiful falls (a particularly large one on Peppermint) and sections of granite tubs/tea cups that I imagine look pretty gorgeous in high flows. North Fork of the Middle Tule near Wishon Campground has some great falls too. These are all short hikes from the roads.

I agree about the area surrounding the Kern River. I live in Bakersfield, and there are more waterfalls and cascade spots than what it might seem by just driving on the roads. This large cascade of the Kern River is seldom seen. (photo taken with a phone camera midday)

[giantbrookie]

There are a lot of fine choices, but I have two favorites that stand out for me: one is the free-falling nearly 400' high waterfall on Kendrick Creek upstream of Edyth Lake. It is like the Nevada Falls nobody ever sees. The cascade into Edyth itself (downstream of the big watefall) is nice, but the big waterfall is something special. The remoteness of the place really amplifies the feel of the scene. It's like discovering this lost world. My other favorite is more visually spectacular although it is much more accessible. This is the cascade of the uppermost Parker Creek. This tends to flow as a big silver thread of whitewater fairly late even in a dry year owing to the fact its fed by what's left of the little glacier(s) sitting below Kuna and Koip Peaks.

[phoenix2000]

Here are some pics of the waterfall on Kendrick Creek above Edith Lake that people are talking about. I'm not sure about the height.

Close up of waterfall and cascades

View from farther away

View from the top

[texan]

Never seen those falls before, looks impressive. I big questions for me is howThanks for sharing.

Texan

[texan]

Never seen those falls before, looks impressive. I big question for me is how is the fishing in Edyth. Thanks for sharing.

Texan

[fourputt]

Fishing at Edyth and Lake 5728' downstream is quite good.



Picturesque canyon above Edyth.