What to Know
- Horsetail Fall, a waterfall adorning El Capitan in Yosemite Valley, is known for its late-afternoon glow in the later part of February, a phenomenon created by the setting sun
- Yosemite entry reservations are required over the last three weekends of February; reservations quickly filled up when they were made available via Recreation.gov in November 2024
- The Yosemite Firefall Express is a seasonal shuttle offered by Evergreen Lodge and Rush Creek Lodge; it is open to guests of both properties as well as sister property Firefall Ranch, as well as anyone interested in viewing the event
- The fee for the Yosemite Firefall Express is $110 adult, $80 youth
- Park admission is additional (check out the details on this page)
- Good to know: If you do hope to make a Yosemite reservation over the busy February weekends, you can set up an availability alert; find out more at the Horsetail Fall page
- Please review the reservation exceptions for Yosemite, including lodging within the park, on this page
YOSEMITE HUMS, all summer long, as anyone who has ever popped by the otherworldly national park can tell you. Wait, strike that: "Popping by" is off the table at particular times of day during the destination's warmest months, which means some planning, and reservation-making, is absolutely required. But Yosemite's sunniest stretch isn't the only busy-busy time of year at the nature-riffic gem: Wonder-seekers arrive in ready-to-be-delighted droves in the second half of February, all to savor stunning Horsetail Fall.
TRUE, all of the Yosemite waterfalls can add "stunning" to their personal profile pages without concern of exaggeration, but Horsetail in late winter does possess a late-in-the-day glow, mimicking an ethereal firefall, when the sun begins to set. So enchanting is this sight that entrance reservations are required over three February 2025 weekends, just to help the flow of admirers. Those reservations booked up quickly when they were made available in the fall, but there are a few ways to enjoy Horsetail without your weekend entry in hand.
THE YOSEMITE FIREFALL EXPRESS... is one enticing solution. The shuttle is helmed by the company behind handsome and historic Evergreen Lodge and the ever-hip and ever-warm Rush Creek Lodge, but anyone in the area is welcome to reserve a spot on the shuttle during select dates (beginning Feb. 8). There is an additional fee to ride the express — it's $110 for an adult, $80 for a youngster — and some details to know before you reserve. And this is most excellent: A guide will be on hand to help you find a viewing spot once you reach the valley.
KEEP IN MIND, of course, that cloud cover and weather events can impact the afternoon show — no sunshine means no glow from the waterfall, of course — but a wintry afternoon spent adventuring in Yosemite is, of course, a memory waiting to be made.
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