June or August

[zacno]

My Family is planning a 2 week vacation to California. We will start in San Diego and end in San Francisco. My question is when would be a better time, d the very end of June/1st week July or 1st 2 weeks in August? Was hoping to see some waterfalls in Yosemite will they be dried up at the end of June?

 

[gunka]

My Family is planning a 2 week vacation to California. We will start in San Diego and end in San Francisco. My question is when would be a better time, d the very end of June/1st week July or 1st 2 weeks in August? Was hoping to see some waterfalls in Yosemite will they be dried up at the end of June?

The big falls will still be flowing, the smaller rivers will be getting smaller. And the weather will be better (hopefully not as hot) than it would be in August.

 

[ahutton]

I would pick June too - it always seemed everything was more crowded in August!

 

[bcla]

The big falls will still be flowing, the smaller rivers will be getting smaller. And the weather will be better (hopefully not as hot) than it would be in August.

Depends on the year. There have been spectacular snow winters which led to waterfalls being nice and full until late July. 2011 was spectacular with waterfalls heavy until late July. This is not going to be one of those years. Yosemite Falls will probably be pretty poor looking by the end of June and could dry up in August. When it dries up, there are some climbers who actually scale up Yosemite Falls. The main danger is that there can be sudden summer rains, and that could sweep climbers off the rock.

I've seen it pretty sad looking in late June, but that made my backpacking trip easier. There was enough water in the backcountry to drink and creek crossings were easy to navigate. However, back in the Valley it was a slow drip.

There is one waterfall that looks pretty nice even in a dry year. I actually think Vernal Fall looks better when it's not near its maximum flow. It's my favorite waterfall in Yosemite. It's 1.5 miles one way up the Mist Trail. The hike is somewhat steep and the Park Service classifies it as "strenuous". I don't think it's that tough since it's pretty short and you can take your time.