Westfall Meadow Trailhead

Westfall Meadow doesn't have a trail sign, which is exactly why the people who find it tend to have it mostly to themselves. The trailhead sits on Glacier Point Road, directly across from the marked McGurk Meadow trailhead about 7.5 miles east of Chinquapin, sharing a small pullout parking area. The payoff is a half-mile-long, tree-ringed meadow that fills with wildflowers through June and into early July.

The hike

It's a moderate out-and-back: 3.2 miles round trip with about 318 feet of elevation gain, typically taking 1.5 to 2.5 hours. The path crosses one stream — usually an easy step-across except after heavy snowmelt — and stays shaded through lodgepole pine and red fir before opening into the meadow. The trail itself grows faint once you're inside the meadow; watch for a tall metal marker showing where it enters, and stick to the established path rather than cutting across the grass.

Beyond the meadow

Westfall Meadow also serves as an official Yosemite wilderness permit trailhead, with a small daily quota split between advance reservations and first-come, first-served walk-up permits, and no toilet on site — the nearest bear-proof food lockers are at the McGurk Meadow trailhead just across the road. From here, trails continue south through the Empire Meadows area toward Buena Vista Lake and Yosemite's remote southern backcountry, well beyond day-hike range. Overnight wilderness permits require a reservation from late April through October; outside that window they can be picked up the day of or day before at a wilderness center.