Yosemite Valley Loop
Yosemite National Park · near Yosemite Valley · Sierra Nevada / Yosemite
Trail Running
At a glance
- Difficulty
- moderate
- Distance
- 11.5 miles
- Elevation gain
- 800 ft
- Best season
- Spring–fall · spring for waterfalls at full flow
Permits and booking
- Permit required
- No
- How the permit works
- No running permit. Yosemite NP entrance fee ($35/vehicle); timed-entry reservation may apply May–Sept if driving in. The Valley Loop Trail is free to run.
What is here
- Features
- Runs beneath El Capitan & Half Dome · Yosemite Falls, Bridalveil Fall en route · Mostly flat valley floor singletrack & path · The greatest scenery-per-mile in California
Worth knowing
- Dogs
- Not permitted
- Good for a first timer
- Yes
Trail Running detail
- Surface
- mixed
- Intl tip
- The loop can start anywhere on the valley floor; the free shuttle connects all the trailheads. Spring (April–June) is peak waterfall season. Timed-entry reservations may apply in summer — check current rules. Combine with the Mist Trail and Clouds Rest (hiking guide) for bigger climbs. Simply the most beautiful easy miles in California.
The guide
The Yosemite Valley Loop may be the single most scenic easy run in the world — an 11.5-mile circuit of the valley floor beneath…
In the Guidebook
Everything above is yours for free. The written guide to Yosemite Valley Loop — what it is actually like, and what we would tell a friend before they went — comes with the Guidebook.
Getting there
- Coordinates
- 37.748, -119.591