Picnic area · Yosemite National Park
A shady lunch stop with a waterfall just across the road.
Overview
Map
Plan your stop
“The Cascades Picnic Area is ahead on El Portal Road, a shady place to stop for a packed lunch beneath canyon live oaks and ponderosa pines.”
Yosemite Tour Guide
Parkwolf is a GPS audio tour guide for Yosemite National Park. As you drive, it chimes in with what’s ahead: hidden gems, upcoming stops, history, geology, and wildlife, right through your car’s speakers.
See the Yosemite audio tourRecorded for this place
The Cascades Picnic Area“The Cascades Picnic Area is ahead on El Portal Road, a shady place to stop for a packed lunch beneath canyon live oaks and ponderosa pines.”
Plays as you drive up to The Cascades Picnic Area in the Parkwolf Yosemite Tour Guide.
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“We just drove through Yosemite and it made our trip listening to this app as we drove through. Like having a tour guide in the car with you.”
Guide
The Cascades Picnic Area is a roadside picnic stop on El Portal Road, about a 10-minute drive from Yosemite Valley. It sits near Cascade Creek and the Merced River, with tables and grills beneath mature canyon live oaks and ponderosa pines. Bring your own meal; this is a place to pause and eat outdoors.
The Cascades viewpoint is just across El Portal Road from the picnic area. Keep some of the granite cliffs around the falling water in your photo to show where the falls sit in the canyon. Spring snowmelt makes the waterfall especially striking, but the creek and river can run swift and cold; stay well back from the water when flows are high.
Wildlife
732 sightingsBlack BearMost seen around 7 PMSighting map
1,747 sightingsMule DeerMost seen around 6 PMSighting map
332 sightingsCoyoteMost seen around 7 PMSighting map
11 sightingsPeregrine FalconMost seen around 8 AMSighting map
276 sightingsPikaMost seen around 8 AMSighting map
677 sightingsYellow-bellied MarmotMost seen around 8 AMSighting mapSighting maps show where each species has been reported across Yosemite. Wildlife moves, so no sighting is guaranteed.
Keep exploring
EasyTurtleback Dome Trail1.2 mi · 1 hr · 0.9 mi awayA short climb ends on granite above Yosemite Valley.
ChallengingFull North Rim Traverse29.1 mi · 17 hr · 1.4 mi awayCross four granite summits on a true North Rim traverse.
ChallengingStanford Point Trail7.6 mi · 6 hr · 2.1 mi awayA steep south-rim climb ends at a granite valley overlook.
ModerateInspiration Point Trail2.6 mi · 2 hr · 2.1 mi awayA steep climb to a quieter Yosemite Valley viewpoint
ModerateArtist Point Trail2.2 mi · 1.5 hr · 2.1 mi awayA quieter perch beyond Tunnel View, reached along the old stagecoach road.
ChallengingEl Capitan from Tamarack Creek16 mi · 10 hr · 2.2 mi awayA long forest climb to El Capitan's broad summit views.
ChallengingTamarack Flat to Yosemite Valley Trail17 mi · 10.5 hr · 2.2 mi awayCross the north rim, then descend Yosemite Falls to the Valley.
ModerateCascade Creek Trail from Tamarack Flat4.4 mi · 2.3 hr · 2.3 mi awayAn old forest road ends at a footbridge and small cascades.
Sight · 2.1 mi awayTunnel ViewThe valley opens in one huge panorama beyond the tunnel.
Campground · 2.3 mi awayTamarack Flat CampgroundForest camping with a trail toward Yosemite's North Rim.
Entrance station · 2.7 mi awayArch Rock EntranceDrive beneath the boulder arch at the Highway 140 entrance.
Sight · 2.8 mi awayValley ViewGranite cliffs and Bridalveil Fall framed across the Merced River.
Sight · 3.6 mi awayBridalveil FallA 620-foot fall up close, with a short paved approach.
Sight · 3.7 mi awayDewey PointEl Capitan anchors a far-reaching view from the granite rim.
Sight · 4.3 mi awayEl Capitan MeadowA 3,000-foot wall, dotted with tiny climbers.
Beach · 4.8 mi awayCathedral BeachA shaded picnic with El Capitan reflected in the Merced.Parkwolf’s Yosemite ranking
The audio tour guide for the drive, plus offline maps, trails, and wildlife heatmaps for when the signal drops.
