Washburn Point

Washburn Point sits on Glacier Point Road at roughly 7,500 feet, about a mile before Glacier Point itself. The walk from the parking area is genuinely short — a paved path and a short flight of stairs, with almost no elevation change — which makes this one of the easiest big views in Yosemite to reach. What you get for that effort is a different angle on Half Dome than you'll find anywhere else in the park.

What You'll See

Where Glacier Point faces Half Dome head-on, Washburn Point catches it in profile, with Liberty Cap and the Clark Range filling out the horizon. Look down into the canyon and you'll pick out Vernal Fall and Nevada Fall on the Merced River, plus a clean view of Illilouette Fall that's arguably better from here than from the trail that leads past it. Spring visitors catch all three waterfalls running at full volume from snowmelt.

Getting There

Washburn Point is reached via Glacier Point Road, about 15 miles from the Wawona/Highway 41 junction. The road is seasonal — it typically opens in May once winter plowing is finished and closes for the year after the season's first significant snowstorm, usually sometime in November. There's no way to reach it by car outside that window, so check the park's current road-status page before you go. The parking area holds only a few dozen vehicles and fills up on busy summer afternoons.