Illilouette Fall

Infobox Waterfall
name = Illilouette Fall


caption = Illilouette Fall from Mist Trail
location = Yosemite Valley, Yosemite NP, CA, US
type = Horsetail
height = 370 feet (112 m)
height_longest =
number_drops = 1
average_flow =
world_rank = 733

Illilouette Fall is a 370 foot (112 m) waterfall in Yosemite National Park. It is located in a small side canyon directly across from Vernal Falls, and is visible from the trail to Vernal and Nevada Falls. The best vantage point is from the Panorama Trail as it descends from Glacier Point. Another view is from the Sierra Point Trail, abandoned now. Sierra Point is directly across the canyon from the Fall.

This is easily the least appreciated major fall in the valley, largely because it is the only one not visible from any road. Many people glimpse Illilouette Falls from far away, high up in a side canyon, as they labor up the trail to the Vernal Falls bridge.

To see Illilouette well it is necessary to take the Panorama Trail down from Glacier Point. It drops steeply through forest towards the hanging valley of Illilouette Creek. Just before the valley bottom is reached, a short side trail leads to a ledge hanging over the abyss of the lower canyon, with the falls in plain view from top to bottom. Rare black swifts nest behind this falls, and are always to be seen circling below the viewpoint.Fact|date=July 2008

One of the best day-long hikes in Yosemite (or, for that matter, the world), is to take the Panorama Trail from Glacier Point down past Illilouette Falls, along the edge of Panorama Cliff to the top of Nevada Falls, then down the Mist Trail past vernal Falls to Happy Isles. Arrange a car shuttle, or take the bus, so you can do this one way (downhill) - it loses over 3500 feet of altitude. [cite web|url=http://www.nps.gov/yose/planyourvisit/glacierhikes.htm|title=Day Hikes along the Glacier Point Road|publisher=National Park Service|accessdate=2008-07-09]

It is possible to hike up the canyon to the base of the falls, but there is no trail, so it is not recommended unless you have been there before and know what you're doing.

References