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Yosemite’s Mist Trail: The World’s Best Day Hike

By: Author Taryn Eyton

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Yosemite’s Mist Trail: The World’s Best Day Hike

Recently I took a quick trip to Yosemite National Park with my husband and a couple of friends.  The highlight of the trip was hiking the Mist Trail which I have to say is the World’s Best Day Hike.  Ok, I haven’t hiked everywhere in the world (yet!) but I still would be hard pressed to find a day hike better than this.

Yes, it’s busy, but it’s definitely worth it.  You have gorgeous views of 317-foot/96.5m Vernal Falls and 594-foot/181m Nevada Falls along the way: You get to see them from down the valley, from the base, from the side and from up top.  As well,  if you return by the John Muir trail you get to see Nevada Falls from an entirely different vantage point.   To cap it off, you have to drive up to the Glacier Point viewpoint after you do this hike so you can see the whole hike from above.

There is tons of info on the National Park website and elsewhere online about this hike so I won’t go into detail about it here.  Instead I’ll let my photos tell the story.

Rock stairs to the top of Vernal Falls
Looking over the top of Vernal Falls to the Mist Trail below
Lunch break at the top of Vernal Falls
Climbing rock steps next to Nevada Falls
Michelangelo dormio
Looking over the top of Nevada Falls
Summary of my feelings about hiking the Mist Trail
Half Dome, Liberty Cap, Vernal Falls and Nevada Falls from Glacier Point

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Hike the world's best day hike, the Mist Trail in Yosemite National Park, California
Hike the Mist Trail in Yosemite National Park, California, USA. It's the world's best day hike and passes by Vernal Falls and Nevada Falls. If you only do one hike in Yosemite, make it the Mist Trail. Click here for more info.
Taryn Eyton
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Flavio Chan

Tuesday 8th of November 2016

Hi Taryn! We went to Yosemite last month and we loved it! Mist trail is really one of the best hikes in the world. Thanks for your tip! We also loved the Four Mile Trail and the Cathedral Lakes. It's an awesome park and wish I could have more time to stay there. We were lucky because all the waterfalls were still full! Thanks again! ;)

Taryn Eyton

Tuesday 8th of November 2016

Oh so great to hear! I hope you had good weather. I hiked part of the Four Mile Trail but didn't have time to go all the way to the top. Yosemite is such a beautiful park and I feel like I've only seen a small fraction of it.

Flavio Chan

Friday 29th of April 2016

It looks awesome! We saw some videos from the Yosemite Park YouTube channel and this is one of their day hike suggestions. We'll definitely do it, but I'm not sure the waterfalls will be full of water in October. Did you camp in the park? Thanks! :)

Taryn Eyton

Friday 29th of April 2016

We did camp in the park. Make a reservation as early as you can. We planned our trip only a few weeks in advance and getting a reservation was difficult. I checked several times a day and managed to get some permits that came up after other people cancelled their trip. Its definitely worth it to camp in the valley if you can get a spot.