Illilouette Fall is a 370-foot waterfall on Illilouette Creek in Yosemite National Park, Mariposa County, California, pouring from a narrow canyon in the south wall of Yosemite Valley directly across from Vernal Fall. It is the hardest of the valley's major falls to see properly, and so the least visited.
The falls
Illilouette Creek leaves the canyon in a single wide leap, averaging about 85 feet across and up to 120 feet at high flow. A lidar model puts the drop at 370 feet; a 2014 field survey measured 381 feet. The fall runs all year: around 350 cubic feet per second for about seven months and about 30 for the other five, making it the steadiest of the valley's major falls.
Getting there
The fall is best seen from the Panorama Trail, which leaves Glacier Point and descends toward Illilouette Creek. The round trip to the viewpoint is about 4 miles of moderate hiking, with roughly 1,400 feet lost on the way down and regained on the climb back. The Glacier Point lot has just under 200 spaces. The full Panorama Trail continues past the creek to Nevada Fall and down to Happy Isles, 8.5 miles one way with 3,200 feet of elevation change. The fall is also visible across the canyon from the Mist Trail and John Muir Trail near Vernal Fall.
Glacier Point Road opened for 2026 on May 9 and normally stays open until November. Glacier Point has vault toilets but no drinking water. Yosemite admission is $35 per vehicle for seven days, plus $100 per person for non-US residents aged 16 and older unless they hold an Annual or America the Beautiful Pass; the park is cashless. No entrance reservation is required in 2026.
When to go
April to July are the best months. Snowmelt keeps the creek full through spring and early summer, when wildflowers bloom along the trail.
On site
Just above the fall, the creek slides over a run of cascades and granite benches before the trail crosses it on a bridge. There is no established trail to the base, and scrambling there is discouraged. In June 2012 a 65-year-old hiker fell about 100 feet off-trail near the base and was seriously injured. On September 20, 2026, a 19-year-old hiker slipped near the fall and died after a drop of nearly 400 feet into the canyon. Stay on the trail and back from the granite edges. Pets are not allowed on park trails.
History and name
The meaning of the name is unknown. Lafayette Bunnell recorded the Ahwahneechee name as Too-lool-lo-we-ak and wrote that its literal translation was unfit for common use; Illilouette may be a corruption of it.
Nearby
Vernal Fall is about 1.3 miles away, Silver Apron about 1.4 miles, and Nevada Fall and Staircase Falls each about 1.7 miles. Nevada Fall sits on the Panorama Trail route down to Happy Isles.
Distances are straight-line.