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3 Wapama Falls

Trailhead Location: Hetch Hetchy Reservoir

Trail Use: Hiking

Distance & Configuration: 4.8-mile out-and-back

Elevation Range: 3,813 feet at the start, with a cumulative elevation change of ±600 feet

Facilities: Water and toilets are not located at the trailhead but instead along the road 0.3 mile before the dam. Stop briefly at a small parking area after a series of ranger cabins. Water and toilets are also present at the entrance to the backpacker campground, farther along the one-way loop road. There is even a drinking fountain on the dam.

Highlights: Impressive rock walls and body of water, as well as Kolana Rock’s striking form

DESCRIPTION

The nearly level walk to Wapama Falls is especially rewarding in spring, when the path is lined with wildflowers and Tueeulala and Wapama falls drench the trail. Year-round it is a scenic walk above the banks of Hetch Hetchy Reservoir.

THE ROUTE

From the parking area, descend alongside the road to the dam. Turn left and cross the O’Shaughnessy Dam, stopping to read the excellent information placards and enjoy the view. The steep dome overshadowing the right shore of Hetch Hetchy Reservoir is Kolana Rock. The gushes of water cascading down Wapama Falls to the east and the smaller Tueeulala Falls to the west (left) are impossible to miss in spring, while in fall Tueeulala will certainly be dry and Wapama Falls a distant trickle. Staring at the steep walls and narrow body of water is of course an unnatural vista, and as much as I wish that I were able to descend into Hetch Hetchy Valley as John Muir did, I find that the dark-blue reservoir and granite walls are a beautiful panorama.

Once across the dam, you enter a tunnel, which cuts through an otherwise impassable cliff. It has recently been updated with new lighting and a flatter floor. Beyond the tunnel (0.3 mile from start), you are on an old road, created during the construction of the dam. When full, the water will be just a few feet below the trail, but this is a rare occurrence, and you will almost always see the bare, bleached talus piles that form a bathtub ring around the reservoir.

You begin your walk beneath live oaks, manzanitas, and bay laurel trees. Poison oak is abundant at the perimeters, but the trail is plenty wide here to avoid it. Wildflowers, including harlequin lupines, color the path’s edges in spring. Note one location where a recent rockfall has cleared a strip of vegetation above the trail and sent boulders tumbling onto the trail. Gaining little elevation, you continue along the pleasant trail to a junction where the left-hand branch climbs to Laurel Lake and Lake Vernon, while you turn right on the trail to Wapama Falls and beyond to Rancheria Falls (1.0 mile).

Bearing right, you alternatively cross open slabs and pass small patches of meadow growing in an incredibly thin soil layer. In spring water pools on the underlying rock, creating miniature wetlands with beautiful flower displays, while by summer the soil and vegetation are parched. The few trees present, manzanitas and foothill pines, undoubtedly have their roots in cracks in the rock, accessing deeper, moister soil.

Soon you cross an unnamed seasonal tributary, whose waters cascade down the broken cliffs above and often straight over the trail. Beyond, the flat slabs transition into a steeper slope. For the next 3 miles, the trail follows a ledge system, a corridor through the otherwise impassable slabs. Shortly you cross the base of Tueeulala Falls on a wooden footbridge (2.0 miles); this waterfall flows only during peak runoff, for it is actually a branch of Falls Creek (the Wapama Falls creek) that fills only during the highest water conditions. (USGS topo maps mark Tueeulala Falls at the location of the previous tributary.) Continuing along, you find yourself under dense forest cover in places and on open talus slopes elsewhere. Stretches of trail have been recently rebuilt, and you can savor the beautiful stonework on the path. A final short descent takes you to the five bridges that cross Falls Creek as it splays across a giant boulder fan at the base of Wapama Falls (2.4 miles). In autumn you must cross the bridges to even see the waterfall, for the water actually cascades down the east-facing side of a corner. In spring you will be aware of the falls before you reach the bridges, for there will be a thundering sound and drenching spray. On one occasion in early June, water was flowing over the bridge and I was taking a shower until I was well beyond the bridges; take care under these conditions, for two people were recently swept off the bridge. Return to your car by the same route (4.8 miles).

Kolana Rock overlooking Hetch Hetchy Reservoir

TO THE TRAILHEAD

GPS Coordinates: N37° 56.789′ W119° 47.257′

Turn north from CA 120 onto Evergreen Road. This junction is located 1.1 miles west of the Yosemite entrance station at Big Oak Flat and 22.5 miles east of Groveland. (Note the sign with the current schedule for Hetch Hetchy day-use hours to avoid waiting behind a closed gate 15 minutes down the road.) After winding along Evergreen Road for 7.2 miles, you reach a T-junction with Hetch Hetchy Road. Turn right (east) and drive past Camp Mather, beneath a tall gateway, and past a gate that is locked each night. Beyond the T-junction, 1.3 miles later, you reach the Hetch Hetchy entrance station; here you are required to register your car. Continue along Hetch Hetchy Road for another 7.9 miles, passing an expansive ranger and water company employee residence, a toilet, and the dam itself, before finding an elongated parking area along the right side of the road. Note that the last 0.5 mile of road is a one-way loop.

Wapama Falls