Mist Trail & John Muir Trail Trailhead, Yosemite Valley CA

Lots of fond memories at this trailhead. Recommend parking at the backpacker's parking lot west of here. Access to Yosemite's most iconic trails and views, the trail is paved all the way up to Mist Trail so it's very accessible

Incredible trail in Yosemite. Go up Mist Trail all the way to Nevada Falls, and come back down JMT. Your knees will definitely be hurting afterwards, but so worth it!

This is one of my favorite hikes ever! I've been going on this hike for many years with my family and always loved the different waterfalls and mist trail on this hike. Great views of the valley and Sentinel Dome from the top of Vernal Falls! You can also hike up to Half Dome from this trailhead, though you do need a permit. Beautiful granite steps and cliffs all around during this hike.:)

Amazing trail to go on with excellent views and wide pathways. When you get to the trailhead, follow along the road past the bridge. The bridge offers nice views as well. The hike starts off as an incline until you get closer to Vernal Falls. Then there are steep steps with railings for maybe 20% of the way. Be sure to pack water and some snacks. At Vernal Falls, there are rocks that you can sit on and have a snack.

A humbling experience of nature's full glory. Unbelievable views and a moderately difficult 2-4h hike. A bucket list experience for everyone.

Beautiful hike with gorgeous falls and forests. Very steep, long and a bit dangerous in some parts (very rocky and strenuous). There are few restrooms and no food or water station so bring plenty. It took us close to 6 hours to complete

Ok let me say first that this is a VERY strenuous trail straight up. 08 miles to the first view point AFTER you get TO the trail by walking a mile and a half from the parking lot. If you out of shape this will definitely test your limits. I was a little disappointed after we got to the bridge and the waterfall was barely flowing and the smoke/haze was thick so you could not see much of the waterfall. If I had to do it again, I would have planned to come in late Spring or Early Summer because none of the waterfalls were flowing in August and it is fire season so the valley can get very Smokey/Hazey in the morning.

One of the best trail in Yosemite. If you do it clockwise (climb the big steps to Vernal Fall and return via JMT from Clark Point), you will get a chance to see Nevada Falls too, and descend down is not too bad. Emerald pool on the top of Vernal falls is good too. My recommendation is to start before 8am during summer months as it gets pretty hot. We started at 8: 30am and after 11am was pretty hot. Total loop (from Bus-stop # 16 to Vernal Falls bridge, to the top and back via Clark Point) is 6.6 miles round trip and took us 3 hours 20 min.

Did this hike Sunday, August 28,2022. Started at around noon because of the smoke from the fires. We were told that it clears up later in the day. It was a good choice to wait. The weather wasn’t too hot so it worked out well.

The beginning of the trail was ok then it got harder due to the include and for me, the elevation. Saw some people with some interesting shoes…Nike slides, dress flats, etc.

Stairs are not terrible if you take a nice steady pace. As the hike went on, it got easier. I’m more of a beginner hiker (been going out on the weekends to hike for the past 5 months). This was definitely the hardest, if not the hardest, hike I’ve done so far.

I have posted just regular unfiltered smoky pictures to show the terrain so you can see what you’re up against. They are in order. Didn’t get much on the way down since we were going quite fast and needed to get on the road.

Definitely bring a water bottle. There are a couple places to fill it up.

I also really recommend you take John Muir down. When walking up the mist trail, a lot of people were telling us going down was harder than going up. JM adds a bit of time but your knees will thank you for it. This hike took us about 3-1/2 hours.

We are going back in two weeks to do half dome so more to come on that! After doing this hike I’m super excited (and terrified) to do half dome.

Amazing! Super crowded until the bottom of the 2nd falls and a little hard to follow after that. Beautiful the entire way. Watch out for the rattlers!

Very beautiful trail. Trail leads to the One of the best waterfalls in Yosemite. Trail itself is very beautiful. It’s an easy trail. First it leads to the vernal falls and then leads to the Nevada falls. Views of the valleys and mountains and rivers exemplifies this trails beauty.
If you are in Yosemite National Park you must hike this trail to witness beauty of Yosemite. Can’t wait to go back there.

One of the most beautiful hikes in one of the most beautiful places on the planet! Everywhere you look you're surrounded by sublime natural beauty.

Really good hike. We started from Happy Isles, went over the first bridge, took John Muir Trail up and continued straight to Nevada Falls. For the way down we took the Mist Trail. All in all we needed 3: 55h for the whole loop with some breaks, but we are hiking very frequently, so maybe plan with round about 5 hours. Bring enough water, food, energy and enjoy that wonderful hike

I did the mist trail hike with my family and it was so worth it. The hike was strenuous, and I did have to carry my 4 year old a few times.

I absolutely loved the hike when it opened up to the falls and the mist of the waterfall was getting us all wet.