Glacier Point

About this place

Glacier Point is a viewpoint on the south wall of Yosemite Valley in Yosemite National Park, California, about 3 km south of Yosemite Village in a straight line. It stands at 2,199 metres, about 980 metres above the valley floor at Curry Village. The point takes in many of the park's best-known landmarks at once: Yosemite Valley, Yosemite Falls, Half Dome, Vernal Fall and Nevada Fall. Rocks scattered on the slopes around it show that glaciers once passed this way, which gave the point its name. Native Americans reportedly used its overhanging rock as a lookout. Half Dome rises opposite the viewpoint, its sheer face looking like half of a dome, with forested valleys falling away below. Visitors see waterfalls dropping from distant cliffs, the green valley floor far below and high granite peaks stretching to the horizon. Visitors drive along Glacier Point Road and then walk a short paved path to the viewpoint. The road is usually closed in winter and spring because of snow, and experienced hikers climb up from the valley on the steep Four Mile Trail, completed in 1872. The view is finest at sunset, when Half Dome turns orange.