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Yosemite Firefall: Your Complete Guide for 2027

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Yosemite's Horsetail Firefall How to see and photograph a visual wonder you won't find anywhere else. Horsetail Fall "Firefall", February 29, 2024. Every year in February, the setting sunset magically lights up seasonal Horsetail Fall on Yosemite's El Capitan, seeming to set it afire. It's completely unique to Yosemite and draws thousands of visitors to the valley, which in past years prompted the Park Service to institute reservations and parking restrictions throughout the valley. This year, there are no reservations, which is good and bad news (I'll explain later). Parking restrictions in the valley will be in effect Feb. 10-26. And as in past years, there is one viewing site near the El Capitan Picnic Area. A Brief History I've been regularly visiting the Firefall for at least 15 years. Back in the day, it was a laid-back and congenial gathering of photographers and nature enthusiasts, with impromptu group...
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Niagara Creek Falls: The Sierra's Last Hidden Gem

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It's right there in plain view, but you won't see it. No one does. Upper Cascades, Niagara Creek Falls It’s the Central Sierra’s very own Niagara Falls, where seasonal Niagara Creek spectacularly drops into Donnell Lake in California's Carson-Iceberg Wilderness. You can see it at Donnell Vista when the Sonora Pass Highway opens in the spring until early-to-mid July, when the creek runs dry. It’s a beautiful cascading waterfall with a height of somewhere between 700 and 900 feet, no one really knows for sure. In fact, no one knows much of anything about the falls or the rugged and virtually inaccessible canyon it inhabits. And no one has extensively photographed the falls. Except me. So here’s my story, along with detailed instructions on locating and photographing this worthy and challenging target. In the Beginning… It all started on a beautiful day in May back in 2009 at our cabin in Groveland, CA. A story buried in the back of the Sonora Union D...
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