Autumn In Yosemite

If you read the Traveler’s September 2025 article about finding fall colors at some lesser-visited units of the National Park System, you’ll notice most of these parks are found within the Eastern and Midwestern portions of the United States.

There are, however, national parks out west offering up their own amazing autumn leaf colors, and one of those is Yosemite National Park in California. The oak, maple, cottonwood, alder, aspen, and dogwood tree leaves morph from bright summer green to saturated shades of pink, orange, yellow, and gold. I know this because I happened to spend a day there on my way home from Sequoia National Park last month.

I’ve visited Yosemite before, during a wildfire-hazy summer when all the waterfalls had dried up. This time, my goal was to spend a day photographing at least the tail end of water cascading down from iconic Bridalveil Fall and Yosemite Fall. Indeed, I expected to see water, but I did not expect to see the explosion of fall color greeting my eyes upon arrival. So, here’s a piece of advice given to you from my own experience: if you visit during October next year, bring your camera and sense of wonder.

Sure, Yosemite is not one of those less-crowded park units. It might not be quite as populated as it is during the height of summer (574,270 for July 2024), but autumn in the park comes in a close second for visitation numbers (462,467 for October 2024).

Most of the areas within Yosemite National Park are still open through October, so you’ll have plenty of landscape for viewing fall color. I stuck with the valley during my whirlwind single day of photography, but the trees were just as colorful coming in from Wawona, the route I took to enter the park.

Now, Yosemite is not one of the more well-known park units for fall colors – certainly nothing like Shenandoah, Great Smoky Mountains, or Acadia national parks, or the Blue Ridge Parkway. Most of the trees in Yosemite are conifers. That said, around mid-to-late October, those deciduous trees growing within the park — including big-leaf maples, black oaks, quaking aspen, white alder, Pacific dogwoods, and black and Fremont cottonwoods — provide eye-popping brilliance as you drive to and through the park exploring the forests and valley, especially near the Merced River.

Where are spots to view fall leaf color in Yosemite?

• All along the maze of roads through Yosemite Valley
• On either side of the Merced River
• The Bridalveil Fall Trail and surrounding network of trails
• The forested picnic areas and campgrounds
• Mirror Lake and the Mirror Lake Trail
• Tenaya Lake, located along Tioga Road
• Tioga Road, where you will see the bright yellow-gold color presented by aspen stands
• Curry Village
• Glacier Point, where you’ll spot yellow deer brush and aspens
• Wawona and Wawona Road
• Tuolumne

There are pullouts, parking areas, and wide road shoulders where you may legally park to wander with your camera. Early morning is the best time to catch a space at any of these spots. Beware, though, from about 9 a.m. on into the evening, those parking spaces will be hard to come by. Start your leaf peeping forays early.

While I only spent one day in the park, it was a glorious day filled with autumn-hued leaves. Hopefully, you will have more than one day for fall explorations at Yosemite National Park, but if not, even a single day will guarantee you some great views and colorful photography.