Firefall at Yosemite: No reservations this time, but restrictions are in place. Pictured is the Yosemite Firefall at Horsetail Fall on February 24, 2021 in Yosemite, California.
(AaronP/Bauer-Griffin/GC Images/Getty Image)
Sun and water can cooperate to make a visit to Yosemite National Park in California potentially extra special.
It’s a glorious, orange-tinged nature show called “Firefall.” For the 2022 season, the first one is coming up this February. (A possible second one occurs in fall.)
The lava-lookalike spectacle happens at Horsetail Fall, which flows over the eastern edge of El Capitan in Yosemite Valley, according to the National Park Service.
It’s a small waterfall, and it normally flows only during winter. But it can make a big visual impact if waterfall flow and sunlight come together in the right mix.
Firefall at Yosemite: No reservations this time, but restrictions are in place. Pictured is the Yosemite Firefall at Horsetail Fall on February 24, 2021 in Yosemite, California.
(AaronP/Bauer-Griffin/GC Images/Getty Image)
It’s that time of year again when Mother Nature plays a magic trick at Yosemite National Park and makes it look like lava is flowing off a cliff.
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Yosemite’s firefall phenomenon, an illusion created by the way sunlight illuminates Horsetail Fall, is expected to peak Feb. 22. (Instagram)
Yosemite’s firefall phenomenon, an illusion created by the way sunlight illuminates Horsetail Fall, is expected to peak Feb. 22. (Instagram)
FILE – In this Feb. 16, 2010, file photo, a shaft of sunlight creates a glow near Horsetail Fall, in Yosemite National Park, Calif. Adventurers hoping to see Yosemite National Park’s annual “firefall” will need reservations. At least 50 permits will be issued for each day between Feb. 12 and Feb. 26. The annual event is known to attract over 1,000 sightseers a year. (Eric Paul Zamora/The Fresno Bee via AP, File)
In this Feb. 16, 2010, file photo, a shaft of sunlight creates a glow near Horsetail Fall, in Yosemite National Park, Calif. Adventurers hoping to see Yosemite National Park’s annual “firefall” will need reservations. At least 50 permits will be issued for each day between Feb. 12 and Feb. 26. The annual event is known to attract over 1,000 sightseers a year. (Eric Paul Zamora/The Fresno Bee via AP, File)
In this undated handout photo provided by the Yosemite National Park Service, the firefall from Glacier Point is shown in Yosemite. A window of time just opened in Yosemite National Park when nature photographers wait, as if for an eclipse, until the moment when the sun and earth align to create a fleeting phenomenon. This marvel of celestial configuration happens in a flash at sunset in mid-February _ if the winter weather cooperates. On those days the setting sun illuminates one of the park’s lesser-known waterfalls so precisely that it resembles molten lava as it flows over the sheer granite face of the imposing El Capitan. (AP Handout Photo/Yosemite National Park Service) MUST CREDIT NATIONAL PARK SERVICE
In this Feb. 16, 2010, file photo, a shaft of sunlight creates a glow near Horsetail Fall, in Yosemite National Park, Calif. Mother Nature is again putting on a show at California’s Yosemite National Park, where every February the setting sun draws a narrow sliver on a waterfall to make it glow like a cascade of molten lava. The phenomenon known as “firefall” draws scores of photographers to the spot, which flows down the granite face of the park’s famed rock formation, El Capitan. (Eric Paul Zamora/The Fresno Bee via AP, File)
However, they do have restrictions in place for viewing because of the popularity of the event.
Viewing times are from noon to 7 p.m. for the dates above, and the rules for parking, driving, dropping off passengers and walking change during that period. Click here to see a map with those details if you plan to go.
You must also wear a mask while there. You’re advised to bring warm clothes and a flashlight or headlamp.
It’s been snowy in the Sierra Nevadas this winter, so be sure to check the park’s website for possible road closures before you head out.
Show is not guaranteed
Yosemite says the dazzling effect happens only on evenings with a clear sky when the waterfall is flowing. Even some haze or a bit of cloudiness can ruin the effect. Mother Nature provides no promises.
That works both ways, though. Fall is usually dry, and there is usually no waterfall flow at Horsetail. But visitors in October 2021 had a spectacular show after the area got heavy rainfall.
Horsetail Fall is about a one and a half mile walk each way from the closest parking to the viewpoint near the El Capitan Picnic area.
