Yosemite in Spring: Water
One of the most beautiful parts of Yosemite in spring is the waterfalls. As the spring thaw begins, the waterfalls run at full throttle, cascading down the mountainsides.As if all that weren't enough, Yosemite in spring is full of unusual phenomena. If you visit Yosemite in spring and there's a full moon, head for the bridge at the base of Lower Yosemite Fall and you may get to see a rare phenomenon: a lunar rainbow. If the weather is cold enough, frazil ice sometimes forms at the base of the falls. Tiny ice crystals form when the air temperature suddenly drops below freezing, get pressed together and transform the creeks into streams of slush, which can sometimes be as much as 20 feet deep along Yosemite Creek at Lower Yosemite Fall.
For most of the year, Mirror Lake is really more of a meadow, and the trail can be laden with horse droppings, but in spring the lake is water-filled and views of Half Dome reflected in it can be spectacular. It's a two-mile, fairly flat hike that takes about an hour. Take the Valley Shuttle bus to the Mirror Lake Trail stop.
Yosemite in Spring: Wildflowers
Spring wildflower bloom in Yosemite varies every year, depending on the temperature and the amount of rain and snowfall. If you don't find flowers at your elevation, try going lower or higher.- Snowplant, a striking red bloom that is found only in the Yellow Pine and Red Fir forests of California and southern Oregon is the first sign of spring, often peeking through the snow.
- California poppies, goldfields, meadowfoam, baby blue-eyes and redbud flower in the foothills, along Highway 140 through the Merced River Canyon in March and April.
- Lupine blooms in April and May near the Wawona Hotel.
- Pacific Dogwood blooms in the Valley from late April into May.
If you need help identifying the wildflowers you find in and around Yosemite in spring, try Wildflowers of the Sierra Nevada and the Central Sierra by Laird R. Blackwell.
Yosemite in Spring: What's Open
Most winter activities such as Badger Pass skiing close for the season by March 31. Tioga Pass, Mariposa Grove and Glacier Point Roads will stay closed until late May or early June. Late snowstorms can close other roads, making tire chains mandatory. You should carry them with you and be prepared to use them, even if you have four-wheel drive.Yosemite weather is variable in spring, but you can check the National Park Service website for current weather, snow reports, river water levels, wildflower status and more.
Photographing Yosemite in Spring
John Muir wrote about Yosemite in Spring, saying: "Now is the birth-time of leaves; the pines are retassled, and the oaks are sprayed with young purple." Photographs of Yosemite in spring feature gushing waterfalls with rainbows in the spray and gleaming, white dogwood blossoms highlighted against dark tree trunks. If you want to capture Yosemite in spring with your camera, try a photography workshop.The National Park Service offers morning Camera Walks starting in mid-April. These free, two-hour tours with a professional photographer can help you learn how to make better photographs of Yosemite in spring.
If you want to take more time, our favorite photography teacher Barbara Brundege leads a photography workshops entitled The Colors of Spring - Dogwoods & Waterfalls in Yosemite National Park. She thinks Yosemite is extra special in Spring: "Exploring Yosemite in any season is a joy and a privilege, but the feeling of renewal that I experience in spring adds to the joy of photographing Yosemite's magnificent landscape as it emerges from its winter sleep."
