El Capitan Bridge and Meadow

El Capitan Meadow is the best place to haul out your binoculars and scan El Capitan for climbers, a very popular summer activity. Great reflections of El Capitan and Cathedral Rocks can be had from El Capitan Bridge and along either side of the Merced River upstream and down from the bridge. Standing on the bridge in spring, follow the river upstream with your eyes to a small waterfall dropping down El Capitan's eastern flank--many are surprised to learn that this unassuming trickle is Horsetail Fall, the focus of much attention each February. Across the bridge and looking downstream you'll see Cathedral Rocks.

El Capitan Bridge and Meadow are about as close as you can get to the world's largest granite monolith without climbing gear. An extreme wide lens is required to capture all of El Capitan and its reflection from the bridge. The best time for reflections is morning, when the day's first light strikes El Capitan (about twenty minutes after "official" sunrise and the river is still in shade). In fall the river is lined with color and the slow moving river is as still as glass.

How to get there

El Capitan Bridge and Meadow are at the west side of Yosemite Valley, at the junction of Northside Drive (the road leaving the valley) and the short crossover road that connects Northside with Southside Drive (the eastbound road entering Yosemite Valley). That means you can get here as you enter the park by making the first left off of Southside Drive after passing the Highway 41 (Wawona/Fresno, Tunnel View) turn, or as you exit the park, by driving about two and a half miles beyond Yosemite Lodge on Northside Drive. You'll find parking on both sides of the bridge, and even more along the meadow to the west.