Illilouette Falls
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Height of falls:
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370 feet | ||
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Watercourse:
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Illilouette Creek | |||
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Elevation of crest:
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5816 feet | |||
| click for a larger picture | ||||
| This is easily the least appreciated major fall in the valley, largely because it is the only one not visible from any road. Many people glimpse Illilouette Falls from far away, high up in a side canyon, as they labor up the trail to the Vernal Falls bridge.
To see Illilouette well it is necessary to take the Panorama Trail down from Glacier Point. It drops steeply through forest towards the hanging valley of Illilouette Creek. Just before the valley bottom is reached, a short side trail leads to a ledge hanging over the abyss of the lower canyon, with the falls in plain view from top to bottom. Rare black swifts nest behind this falls, and are always to be seen circling below the viewpoint. One of the best day-long hikes in Yosemite (or, for that matter, the world), is to take the Panorama Trail from Glacier Point down past Illilouette Falls, along the edge of Panorama Cliff to the top of Nevada Falls, then down the Mist Trail past vernal Falls to Happy Isles. Arrange a car shuttle, or take the bus, so you can do this one way (downhill) - it looses over 3500 feet of altitude. |
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