The winter-only fall off El Capitan that catches sunset in mid to late February and appears to burn: the famous natural firefall, gone entirely by summer.
December through April
Big water window
in a typical year
Snowmelt
What drives it
a small seasonal creek off the east side of El Capitan
Climatology
Data on this page
a small seasonal creek off the east side of El Capitan is ungauged
NPS Yosemite
Managed by
their rules govern
Trail status, closures and safety rules belong to each falls' managing agency, named and linked on every page.
The season
What fills Horsetail Fall, and when
Horsetail Fall inverts the usual Yosemite calendar. Its tiny drainage holds no summer water at all; the Park Service lists it flowing approximately December through April only. The spectacle is mid to late February, when sunset light hits the ribbon at the right angle and the fall appears to be on fire, an event that now draws managed crowds.
Typical best flow: December through April
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What the agency itself says
Horsetail Fall is famous for appearing to be on fire when it reflects the orange glow of sunset in mid- to late February. It falls off of the east side of El Capitan and is best seen from just east of El Capitan.
Yosemite National Park (National Park Service)What a snowmelt year looks like at full send: Palouse Falls in mid April, when the Palouse River is still carrying the melt. The same falls in late August is a ribbon. Timing is most of the visit. “04-15-14-palouse” — Dsdugan — CC0
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Right now
Current flow at Horsetail Fall
The other half of the story: the same Palouse Falls in late August. Nothing is wrong; this is what a snowmelt river does every year once the melt is spent. “Palouse Falls 20100829” by Mark Wagner, CC BY-SA 2.5
Getting there
Access, in the agency's words and ours
Best seen from just east of El Capitan, per the Park Service. February firefall viewing has brought parking and access restrictions in recent years; check the park site for the current rules before a February trip.
Yosemite water in its big season. Horsetail Fall keeps the opposite calendar: a winter-only ribbon on El Capitan, famous for two weeks of February light. “Tourists below Yosemite Falls (39832011431)” by Mike McBey, CC BY 2.0
Common questions
Horsetail Fall flow season FAQ
The reliable big-water window is December through April. Horsetail Fall inverts the usual Yosemite calendar. Its tiny drainage holds no summer water at all; the Park Service lists it flowing approximately December through April only. The spectacle is mid to late February, when sunset light hits the ribbon at the right angle and the fall appears to be on fire, an event that now draws managed crowds.
a small seasonal creek off the east side of El Capitan has no USGS gauge near the falls, so the seasonal pattern above is the flow guide for Horsetail Fall, and Yosemite National Park (National Park Service) is the source for current conditions on the ground.
Yes, by design. This is an ephemeral fall that the Park Service lists as flowing roughly December through April; in summer there is nothing on the wall at all. The February firefall weeks are the whole game.
Yosemite National Park (National Park Service). Best seen from just east of El Capitan, per the Park Service. February firefall viewing has brought parking and access restrictions in recent years; check the park site for the current rules before a February trip. Trail status, closures and safety rules are theirs, and their page is linked on this one; nothing here overrides what they publish.
In their own words: "Some restrictions may be in place for Horsetail Fall viewing in February ." That sentence is Yosemite National Park (National Park Service)'s, quoted verbatim, and their page is the place to check before you go.
Yosemite Falls in May, running on snowmelt that will be gone by late summer. The National Park Service tells visitors the falls can be dry by August, which is why every falls page here starts from its watershed. “Tourists below Yosemite Falls (39832011431)” by Mike McBey, CC BY 2.0
The tallest waterfall in North America by the Park Service's measure, and the most famous seasonal one: 2,425 feet of snowmelt that thunders in May and is often gone by August.
The 620 foot fall at the gateway of Yosemite Valley: a thundering column in spring, a light swaying veil the rest of the year, and one of the few Yosemite falls that never quite quits.
The 317 foot Merced River step on the Mist Trail, wide as a curtain in June and narrowed to ribbons by late summer; the mist that names the trail is a spring-only drenching.
The 594 foot upper step of the Merced staircase above Vernal Fall, at its loudest in late May and June and visible from Glacier Point when the road is open.
Places to stay