Late Fall at Yosemite in 2025
We visited Yosemite Valley in the second weekend of November 2025. Fall is usually a good time to visit Yosemite as the crowds are generally less, the temperatures are more comfortable, and the scenery has a little different look. While it was a little past peak fall color there was still fall color to be found and of course we also enjoyed the majesty of the rock walls towering above the valley.
We stayed in Curry Village again this trip where there was a carpet of leaves on the ground.
This deer was near the dining pavilion and kept a watchful eye on the people nearby while it munched on the foliage.
The first day we went to Happy Isles where the Merced River flows by.
The rapidly flowing Merced River cuts channels forming islands. Here is where channels of the Merced River come back together.
This is one channel of the Merced River with North Dome in the background.
Another view upstream of one of the Merced River channels.
A touch of fall color with some rugged mountains in the background. However these mountains demonstrated a force of nature on July 10, 1996 when a large block of granite with an estimated volume of 78,000 cubic yards detached from a cliff and fell an estimated 1800 feet. The force of its impact was comparable to a 2.15-magnitude earthquake and also triggered the formation of a massive dust cloud.
We stopped by Curry Village and caught this striking view of Half Dome.
At the Yosemite Falls bus stop (#6) we saw some of the fall color with Half Dome, the top of North Dome and below it the Royal Arches.
We walked to get views of both the upper Yosemite Fall and
the lower Yosemite Fall.
The late afternoon sun on North Dome and Half Dome.
We walked to near Sentinel Bridge and saw this fall color with Sentinel Rock rising above.
Turning 180 degrees a bit of fall color with the upper Yosemite Fall above.
We end the day with the glow from the setting sun on Half Dome with its reflection in the Merced River.
The Valley Loop Trail is a trail the makes a loop around much of Yosemite Valley. The trail is 13 miles round-trip which is more than we had the time to do but decided to do part of it on the second day. This time we got off the Shuttle at bus stop #7 and went to the Camp 4 area were the trail goes by and went in the direction the traffic goes on one way Northside Drive. After a bit the trail crosses to the the south side of the road. Along the way we catch nice views of the mountains.
There are also some reflections in the Merced River.
We could see Sentinel Rock between the trees.
There were also views of the Three Brothers which was named for sons of Chief Tenaya, chief of the Ahwahneechee tribe.
Finally we get a side view of El Capitan.
Here at bus stop #7 we take the Shuttle back to Curry Village where we get a late afternoon view of half dome.
The third day we hiked on the trail to Mirror Lake. Along the way we saw views of North Dome which is on the right and Washington Column which is on the left.
Also on the latter we saw climbers. I zoomed in as far as my camera would go but you might need to zoom the picture in a little to see them. One group is in the center toward the top with a bright shade or something, another with an orange something with a blue cylinder attached by rope a little below. A second group has two people near the bottom left with two more a bit above.
We went by Mirror Lake which did not have much water in it. While the amount of water in the lake depends on how rainy it is, over the years sediment in the water feeding the lake is deposited and the the depth of the lake is steadily getting less and less. However there are some small pools below the Mirror Lake dam which had some nice reflections.
We took a trail branch which after a little connects with the Valley Loop Trail where there were some very bright leaves on the ground. Part way we had to take a detour because a 1/4 mile portion of the Valley Loop Trail was closed due to a new crack in a cliff on the western side of Royal Arches. After what we learned when we were in the Happy Isles area we certainly did not want to be near any potential large falling rocks.
We eventually made it to Yosemite Falls for another view of the Lower Yosemite Fall.
This is my only picture on this trip with all three sections of Yosemite Falls seen at the same time. The Upper Yosemite Fall plunges 1,430 feet. The Middle Yosemite Fall is a cascade of a series of pools, rapids and minor falls. The Lower Yosemite Fall drops 320 feet.
The day ended with another valley view.
This is a picture of the little Curry Cabin we stayed in. The camp was established by David and Jennie Curry in 1899 and began with only seven canvas tents. Wooden cabins with baths were added to the site starting in 1918. Today forty-six cabins stand in their original locations, and except for some in a rock fall area, are still rented. There are also canvas tent cabin accommodations available for rent.
The last day we did not have time to do very much but made a quick picture stop for an early morning view of Yosemite Valley on the way out.
This shows Bridalveil Fall which only had a little water. The dark rocks shows where the water is when there is lots of water flowing.
We also stopped at Tunnel View for one last Yosemite picture.
We had an enjoyable Yosemite Valley trip again this time. We experienced some new things and also revisited things from previous trips. However I have yet tire of all the beautiful and interesting wonders Yosemite has to offer.
The pictures for this post along with more are in the Yosemite Late Fall Gallery
The Yosemite Valley tag will list all the posts I have done on this topic.
More Information:
National Park Service information on the Valley Loop Trail
National Park Service information on Mirror Lake
Current trail and area closures by the National Park Service
Brief history of rock climbing in Yosemite by the National Park Service
Curry Village Wikipedia article
National Park Service overview on Curry Village lodging
