Waterwheel Falls
California · height not recorded · Yosemite National Park · Last verified 2026-05-15
Today at Waterwheel Falls: mostly clear, 32°F.
Right now
Overnight
32°F
Mostly Clear
Sunday
62°F
Sunny
Today's daylight
Sunrise 7:15 AM · Sunset 6:07 PM · 10h 52m
Other park alerts
- No overnight parking on Tioga & Glacier Point Roads(Information)
Snapshot built 5m ago. Sources: NWS HNX.
Waterwheel Falls is a waterfall in Tuolumne County, California. Height has not been officially recorded. Access details and conditions have not yet been verified in person by Fallspots — the data on this page comes from OpenStreetMap and USGS GNIS.
Waterwheel Falls sits in Tuolumne County, California. It drops along It is the largest of the many waterfalls of the Tuolumne River. The falls are inside Yosemite National Park, a US National Park. The base sits at roughly 6,757 feet of elevation. Drive time is about 19 minutes from Virginia Lakes. OpenStreetMap shows a trail within 60 meters of the marked location, though the name isn't recorded. No public parking is recorded within 2 km, so a longer approach is likely. This is one of the more frequently visited falls in the state by our popularity model. Source records come from OpenStreetMap and USGS GNIS.
Waterwheel Falls is a waterfall in the Sierra Nevada of California, located in Yosemite National Park. It is the largest of the many waterfalls of the Tuolumne River. Its upper part contains a series of small ledges, each of which creates a small plume as the water is deflected away from the rock face. A regular phenomenon appears at the first and largest of these ledges during the high-water season of early summer. Strong gusts of wind can lift part of the spray and blow it back upward, causing it to reenter the falls above the ledge. This cyclic "waterwheel" gives the falls their name.
When to go (from the climate data, not our opinion)
Monthly averages from Open-Meteo's reanalysis dataset (2020–2024). Highlighted months are when we think the waterfall is at its best — but the numbers are the numbers regardless.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip (in) | Snow days |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 40 | 20 | 6.7 | 11 |
| Feb | 40 | 20 | 4.8 | 10.2 |
| Mar | 38 | 20 | 7.8 | 14.6 |
| Apr | 47 | 27 | 2.6 | 5 |
| May | 55 | 33 | 1.6 | 3 |
| Jun | 69 | 44 | 1 | 0 |
| Jul | 79 | 54 | 0.7 | 0 |
| Aug | 77 | 52 | 1 | 0 |
| Sep | 71 | 47 | 0.8 | 0 |
| Oct | 62 | 38 | 1.6 | 0.8 |
| Nov | 46 | 24 | 3.4 | 4.2 |
| Dec | 42 | 21 | 9.3 | 9.4 |
Source: Open-Meteo Historical Weather API · ERA5 reanalysis 2020–2024.
Compare to nearby falls
If this one isn't the right fit, here's how it stacks up against the closest documented falls. Every column is filterable on the site — not buried in 13,000 reviews.
| Waterfall | Distance | Height | Trail | Dogs | Fee |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Waterwheel Falls (this page) | — | — | — | N | — |
| LeConte Falls | 0 mi | — | — | N | — |
| California Falls | 1 mi | — | — | N | — |
| Upper Cathedral Creek Falls | 2 mi | — | — | N | — |
| Lower Cathedral Creek Falls | 2 mi | — | — | N | — |
| White Cascade | 2 mi | — | — | N | — |
Questions visitors ask about Waterwheel Falls
Answers built from our structured data. If a question isn't here, the fact is unverified — we'd rather omit than guess.
Is Waterwheel Falls in a national or state park?
Yes — Waterwheel Falls is inside Yosemite National Park. See the park page for fees, hours, and current conditions.
Can I bring my dog to Waterwheel Falls?
No — dogs are not allowed on trails here. Most National Park trails prohibit pets to protect wildlife. Service animals are an exception per ADA.
How far is Waterwheel Falls from a major city?
Waterwheel Falls is 13 miles from Virginia Lakes (about 19 minutes' drive).
More waterfalls in California
Where it is
37.9272, -119.4588
Sources and live status
Where we got the data, and where to check current conditions before you drive.
Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waterwheel_Falls
Wikidata (Q38230)
https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q38230
GeoNames (5407495)
https://www.geonames.org/5407495/
Last verified by Fallspots: 2026-05-15
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