アメリカ合衆国の滝・トップ20

More water after rain, upper and lower view.

The Mist Trail is much easier to hike uphill in early summer (snowmelt) than downhill because it becomes very slippery. Instead of returning the same way, it's recommended to head a little further upstream, turning right, onto the John Muir Trail—not only because of the slippery descent, but also because this leads to the best vantage point for Vernal Falls (marked on the map). Especially when the Merced River is full, the view is spectacular. The descent on the John Muir Trail is then much easier. Warning for photographers: During snowmelt, only take photos in the "splash zone" with a truly waterproof (submersible!) camera—and pack any other camera in a completely waterproof bag beforehand and only unpack it again at the top. Several careless camera owners have destroyed their equipment on this trail. I once heard a man at the top complaining about a broken Hasselblad – it was in his backpack, but obviously not completely waterproof. The fine mist penetrates everywhere, and even with a rain jacket, you end up wet like you've just taken a shower. On warm summer days, the trail is extremely crowded, with several thousand visitors on just a few kilometers of trail.

You get really wet when you go up the steps at Verna Fall

A remarkable natural spectacle, accessible via an easy hike, partly along wooden plank paths. Direct access is prohibited.

Marymere Falls is a waterfall near Lake Crescent inside Olympic National Park. It is reached via a 0.9-mile dirt trail that meanders through an old-growth forest of fir, cedar, hemlock, and alder trees. The trail includes two wooden bridges and leads to the 90.5-foot falls, fed by Falls Creek. The creek flows into the beautiful, milky blue waters of Barnes Creek, its color milky due to glacial flour.

Unfortunately, the Mirage closed its doors forever this week and had to make way for something new.

If there is a lot of water in the Merced River (early summer), then it is definitely worth taking the path from Vernal Falls up to the John Muir Trail, as marked on my route: The photo of the waterfall from there is, in my opinion, one of the most beautiful photos in the entire park. This return route is also recommended for another reason, especially at this time of year: The Mist Trail leads steeply down slippery, wet steps up to half a meter high - and is not pleasant to walk downhill, especially not at this time of year with a lot of water on it. If you really want to do the fog/rain hike, it is better to go uphill. In terms of photo opportunities, early summer is the best time of year in the entire park. Important: Always pack a rain jacket if you are going on a long tour: The weather can change (even contrary to the weather forecast) faster than you can walk back. I have seen people walk the entire route from Half Dome to the valley (around 4 hours) in shorts and a t-shirt in pouring rain, you should avoid that. PS: I did this hike in 2004, back then there was no (affordable) GPS - so the tracking data is fake, the photos and the paths are not. Just in case someone stumbles across the GPS coordinates that correspond exactly to the Komoot map.

The waterfalls are really something special. The flowing water over the various rock cascades is particularly impressive from below. But the view from above (Top of the Falls) is also recommended. If you want to give your legs a bit of a workout, you can climb a total of 600 steps (first 175 and then another 425) from the foot of the falls to the top.