Wapama Falls

Wapama Falls is part of the Hetch Hetchy Dam and it is a lovely waterfall that feeds into the reservoir. The hike is very simple and not long. Take a picnic, water, sunscreen and sunglasses… and enjoy where we, in San Francisco, get our beautiful crystal clear water from.
«Blue are the life-​giving waters taken for granted,
They quietly understand» JH

Very beautiful area. It was much prettier than I had expected. From the dam to Wapama Falls is just 2.5 miles, so 5-​mile out and back, simple hike.
Since we had a big hike the day before, we decided to do a short hike.
Next time I want to hike up to Rancheria Falls.

I grew up going to Yosemite, camping, hiking, etc. but it wasn’t until this year that I finally made it to Hetch Hetchy. I had seen that Wapama Falls was the day hike to do if you’re at Hetch Hetchy in Sunset Magazine a while ago so my husband and I gave it a go.
It’s a very easy hike, not strenuous, just light ups and downs. I guess the «hardest» part of this trail is slippery areas/​rocks and a few stairs. The slippery parts are probably depending on what time of the year you go. We went in the spring and everything was melting and the falls was flowing, not too horrible though. After coming home I did a little research on this trail and read that some times the falls is impassable because it’s flowing too much and you can get swept off the trail. I had thought about this when crossing because there are parts where there is no bridge, just a rock wall/​trail that you cross. If that is wet or flooded I would suggest NOT crossing you will just fall off the side. We were able to cross and kept going a little ways, but turned around since we were only there for the day.
We brought a lunch and enjoyed it on a part of the trail where the rocks dome over and there is plenty of bare areas to sit and enjoy the views. I have to say never seeing this side of Yosemite, I was blown away all over again. Yosemite never ceases to amazing me with it’s beauty and Hetch Hetchy is no exception. The view was beautiful I never wanted to leave, then again that’s how I feel when hiking any where in Yosemite.

It’s about a 5 mile round trip that takes roughly 3 hours, with very little elevation change. It’s nice to walk along the shoreline in essence of the reservoir and see the mountainside as well. The falls, once there, are awesome. You can see Wapama Falls from the parking lot on the other side of the dam and it looks farther than what it seemed getting there.
Another wonderful experience in the Yosemite National Park.

Had a wonderful day here today, good weather high 60’s low 70’s. Was a relatively easy hike with no huge grades, able to get to falls and back to car with several detours in about 3 hours