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Vernal Fall, Yosemite National Park, California

By following the Mist Trail or the John Muir Trail inside California's Yosemite National Park, visitors will be treated to a close-up view of Vernal Fall.



Vernal Fall is visible from a footbridge less than a mile into the hike. Just beyond the bridge the two trails diverge. Adventurous hikers can continue along the Mist Trail up 600 granite steps of "nature's giant staircase" to the top of 317-foot Vernal Fall. Expect waterfall spray in the spring and early summer. Beyond Vernal Fall on the Mist Trail you'll find the impressive Nevada Fall.



While a late July wildfire has hit Yosemite, the park remains open and the falls remain accessible.


Amid several years of drought, Vernal Fall is one of the better waterfalls to seek out, according to a National Park Service spokeswoman, because it is fed by a glacier and a spring in addition to snow melt. Some of the park's other falls are running dry due to the lack of precipitation.