Staircase Falls is a 1,425-foot tiered waterfall in Yosemite Valley, California, stepping down the cliff below Glacier Point directly behind Curry Village. It flows only part of the year and is at its best for a few weeks in spring.
The falls
Gossamer Creek drops in five steps over ledges formed by joints in the granite, drifting east as it descends in a stair-step line. A survey in person puts the total at 1,425 feet. The flow is small and the water can be hard to pick out against the pale rock.
Getting there
No trail is needed: the falls are seen from the valley floor. The best views are from the Stoneman Meadow boardwalk, Housekeeping Bridge and Church Bowl, and part of the falls is visible from the Curry Village parking lot. The free valley shuttle stops at Curry Village (stops 14 and 19), and the Ahwahnee's back lawn, near shuttle stop 3, also looks across to the falls.
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. No timed-entry reservation is required in 2026.
When to go
Staircase Falls runs for about five months, best from March through May, and is among the first falls in the valley to dry up; it is usually gone by the end of June.
On site
The cliff above Curry Village is one of the most active rockfall areas in Yosemite. In December 2003 a rockfall came down the Staircase Falls route itself and struck occupied cabins, and in October 2008 about 6,000 cubic meters of rock fell, destroying five cabins; the park then permanently closed 233 visitor units and 43 employee units in the hazard zone. Watch from the meadows and stay out of closed areas below the cliff. There is no route to the falls; the old Ledge Trail that climbed beside them to Glacier Point was closed decades ago after repeated accidents and deaths.
History and name
The Ledge Trail was built in 1918 and had vanished from park maps by 1964. Curry Village, below the falls, was founded as Camp Curry in 1899; it was called Half Dome Village from 2016 until a trademark dispute was settled in 2019.
Nearby
Royal Arch Cascade is about 1.1 miles away, across the valley, Sentinel Fall about 1.2 miles and Illilouette Fall about 1.7 miles.
Distances are straight-line.