Popular Yosemite Trail Temporarily Closing

Yosemite National Park photo

Yosemite, CA – One of the most popular trails in Yosemite National Park is getting a facelift, forcing it to temporarily close next week.

Crews will be making repairs and improvements to the Mist Trail in Yosemite Valley. Park officials detailed those, including “stone staircases to allow for safe passage and to prevent resource damage from off-trail traffic.”

The park provided this closure schedule for the work on the Lower Mist Trail from the John Muir Trail (JMT) junction, just uphill from the Vernal Fall Footbridge, to the top of Vernal Fall:

• Monday through Thursday, between 6:30 a.m. and 4 p.m., from August 29 through September 23.
• Monday through Friday, between 6:30 a.m. and 4 p.m., from September 26 through November 4,
• The trail will remain open on weekends.

Park officials advised, “The trail is expected to be open overnight. However, there may be certain days when the trail crew is not able to make it safely to open overnight. In that case, the gates will remain closed, and signs will be posted at the two closure gates that the trail is closed.”

Additionally, hikers and backpackers headed to Half Dome, Clouds Rest, and points beyond from the trailhead at Happy Isles may hike uphill on the Mist Trail if they reach the Mist Trail/JMT junction by 6:30 a.m., Monday through Friday. Otherwise, park officials say they must hike up the JMT, which is approximately one mile farther.

Hikers and backpackers traveling downhill returning to the trailhead are encouraged to use the JMT to descend since it will not be possible to change the sign at the trail junction at the Nevada Fall restroom anytime the Mist Trail needs to remain closed overnight, according to park officials. For updates on trail conditions, click here.