Rancheria Falls Trail

This is the O’Shaughnessy Dam-to-Rancheria Falls out-and-back: 13.4 miles round trip, usually six to eight hours. Expect repeated ups and downs over rocky tread, especially beyond Wapama Falls. Published elevation-gain estimates range from about 800 to 1,909 feet; plan for the higher figure and leave time to return before the access road closes for the day.

The route starts atop O’Shaughnessy Dam and passes through a short tunnel cut into granite before following the reservoir’s north shore. Views open toward the valley walls and Tueeulala Falls, then the path reaches Wapama Falls. The walk continues beyond Wapama; turning back there makes a shorter hike, not the Rancheria Falls route.

Past Wapama, the trail rolls over rocky ground toward Rancheria’s cascades. Near the campsite, a short spur reaches a small waterfall; broad granite shelves and another cascade lie nearby. The mapped route continues to a bridge about half a mile beyond the campsite, with views of cascades and the reservoir, then returns along the same corridor.

Spring and early summer usually bring the strongest waterfall flow and wildflowers; by late summer, some falls slow or dry. Hetch Hetchy can be hot in summer, and the route has exposed stretches. Carry water and sun protection, watch for rattlesnakes and poison oak, and do not swim or boat in the reservoir. Pets are not allowed on the trail. Overnight trips require a wilderness permit.

Hetch Hetchy takes its name from a Miwok word for edible grasses, and people have lived in the valley for thousands of years. Construction of O’Shaughnessy Dam followed the 1913 Raker Act; the dam was completed in 1923 and raised in 1938. The reservoir now supplies water to millions of people, while the trail crosses the landscape that conservationists including John Muir fought to preserve.