Hiking to the top of Yosemite Falls

Built between 1873 and 1877, the trail to the top of Yosemite Falls is one of the oldest -- and steepest -- in Yosemite National Park. Rangers recommend setting aside six to eight hours to complete the hike.

The Yosemite Falls trail head can be found behind Camp 4, Yosemite Valley's widely known camping and rock-climbing hot spot. From there (and for about the next 3 1/2 miles), it's up, up, up. Hikers must quickly adjust to countless switchbacks -- steep zigzag parts of the trail that cut up the mountainside. Some switchbacks are in the shade; others are exposed in bright sunshine.

The breathtaking views of Yosemite Valley and the park's back country from the summit do come at a cost, however, as the exhausted, sweaty hikers resting on rocks can attest. About a mile up the trail is Columbia Rock, providing a scenic resting spot with a great view of Half Dome.