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Sun and water can cooperate to make a visit to Yosemite National Park in California potentially extra special.
It’s a spectacular, orange-tinged nature show called “Firefall.”
It happens when sunlight and water cooperate in just the right way at Yosemite National Park in California to create the memorable effect.
It’s a glorious, orange-tinged nature show called “Firefall.” For the 2022 season, the first one is coming up this February. (A possible second one occurs in fall.)
The lava-lookalike spectacle happens at Horsetail Fall, which flows over the eastern edge of El Capitan in Yosemite Valley, according to the National Park Service.
It’s a small waterfall, and it normally flows only during winter. But it can make a big visual impact if waterfall flow and sunlight come together in the right mix.
Reservations? No. Restrictions? Yes
The park says the tentative dates for the next Firefall are February 10 to February 28.
However, they do have restrictions in place for viewing because of the popularity of the event.
Yosemite also has some advice for folks who want to take in the view.
• Bring warm clothes and a headlamp or flashlight for each person in your party.
• Remember, this is winter in the Sierra Nevadas. Snowy and icy conditions are the norm – especially this winter.
• Have warm footwear and bring traction devices for your boots.
• Be ready to walk to and from the viewing area. It’s a long walk, and it will be cold and dark when walking back to your vehicle.
• Stay out of burned areas.
And before you make that drive, check Yosemite’s website for the latest road closures. Do it the day before and the day of. Weather changes fast and unexpectedly in these parts.
Show is not guaranteed
Yosemite says the dazzling effect happens only on evenings with a clear sky when the waterfall is flowing. Even some haze or a bit of cloudiness can ruin the effect. Mother Nature provides no promises.
That works both ways, though. Fall is usually dry, and there is usually no waterfall flow at Horsetail. But visitors in October 2021 had a spectacular show after the area got heavy rainfall.
Horsetail Fall is about a one and a half mile walk each way from the closest parking to the viewpoint near the El Capitan Picnic area.
Top image: “Firefall” is seen at Yosemite National Park on February 23, 2022. (Photo by Liao Pan/China News Service via Getty Images)