Wapama Falls

Wapama Falls is a 1,400-foot waterfall on the north granite wall of Hetch Hetchy Valley, above the reservoir. You can see it from the O’Shaughnessy Dam parking area, but the closer view takes five miles round trip and 507 feet of gain on an uneven trail. If the falls are your reason for coming, make time for the hike; if you mainly want the broad view, the dam is enough. Hetch Hetchy is one of Yosemite’s quieter waterfall stops.

The trail crosses O’Shaughnessy Dam and passes through a short tunnel blasted from granite. Then it follows the reservoir shore with moderate ups and downs. Tueeulala Falls comes into view on the way, before Wapama near the trail’s end. Dogs aren’t allowed on park hiking trails. Restrooms are at the parking lot before the dam, about a quarter-mile from the trailhead.

Wapama flows year-round and peaks in May. By late summer, Hetch Hetchy’s waterfalls often slow to a trickle or dry out; spring and early summer also bring wildflowers. At high flow, spray blows across the bridges and can soak you. Very high water can make a crossing dangerous, so don’t cross if water is running over the bridge or it looks unsafe. The Hetch Hetchy road is open only from sunrise to sunset, and winter weather can bring closures or chain requirements.

For a wide photo, use the view from the dam parking area and keep some reservoir below the falls; it shows how far the water drops down the wall. The trail gets you closer to the lower cascades, but the bridges can be wet in spring, so take that view only when the crossing is safe.

The reservoir covers about 400 feet of the lower falls, leaving the roughly 1,400-foot section above water. Wapama has two main drops and a broader cascade at its base, though you can’t see the whole arrangement from the dam or trail. Yosemite’s glaciers widened and deepened river-cut valleys into the steep walls that let streams fall this far.