Our picks
Big summit days: Mount Whitney, Half Dome and Upper Yosemite Fall. Waterfall hikes: Tokopah Falls, Rainbow Falls and Panorama Trail. Half-day hikes: Sentinel Dome & Taft Point, Vernal Fall and Sturtevant Falls. Easy hikes: May Lake, Mirror Lake and Bridalveil Fall.
Big summit days
The most climbing for the effort: full-day hikes rated Hard or harder.
- Mount Whitney 22 mi round trip, 6,145 ft gain, Strenuous
- Half Dome Half Dome via Mist Trail: 14 mi round trip, 4,800 ft gain, Strenuous
- Upper Yosemite Fall 7.2 mi round trip, 2,700 ft gain, Strenuous
Waterfall hikes
Trails that lead to a waterfall.
- Tokopah Falls 3.4 mi round trip
- Rainbow Falls 5.1 mi round trip
- Panorama Trail Panorama Trail (Glacier Point to Valley): 8.5 mi one way, 1,255 ft gain, Hard
Half-day hikes
Rated Moderate: real climbing without committing the whole day.
- Sentinel Dome & Taft Point Sentinel Dome & Taft Point Loop: 4.9 mi loop, 1,000 ft gain, Moderate
- Vernal Fall Mist Trail to Vernal Fall: 2.4 mi round trip, 1,000 ft gain, Moderate
- Sturtevant Falls Gabrielino Trail: 3.3 mi round trip, 400 ft gain, Moderate
Easy hikes
Rated Easy: short, with little climbing. Good for families and beginners.
- May Lake 2.4 mi round trip, 485 ft gain, Easy
- Mirror Lake Mirror Lake Loop: 5 mi loop, 200 ft gain, Easy
- Bridalveil Fall 0.5 mi round trip, 80 ft gain, Easy
How we pick: trails whose route we've checked (25 of 26 so far), grouped by difficulty and ordered by how far the summit stands above its surroundings (prominence). Standout summits are ordered the same way but their routes aren't checked yet. "≈" marks a distance estimated from the mapped route rather than taken from a published source.
Hiking in California
Twelve of California's fifteen ranked summits sit inside Yosemite National Park, carved from the Sierra Nevada Batholith — granite intruded 120 to 85 million years ago and only exposed by later glacial erosion; Half Dome's own granodiorite has been dated to about 84 million years old. About 106 miles south of that cluster, Mount Whitney tops the list at 14,505 feet, California's official state high point and the highest point in the contiguous United States. Two entries break from the Sierra Nevada pattern entirely: Mission Peak, an East Bay landmark near Fremont roughly 130 miles west of the Yosemite cluster, and Potato Chip Rock, a granite formation on Mount Woodson in San Diego County, over 360 miles south. Bridalveil Fall's 0.5-mile out-and-back is the shortest hike in the group; the Mount Whitney Trail's 22-mile round trip is by far the longest. — these 26 are simply the ones with a confirmed route and elevation profile today.
Trails by drive from a city: hikes near San Francisco, hikes near Fresno, CA.
All 26 California trails
26 trails shown. Tap a column to sort.
| Mount Whitney Strenuous | 14,505 ft | 22 mi |
| Clouds Rest Clouds Rest via Tenaya Lake Strenuous | 9,926 ft | 14 mi |
| Cathedral Lakes Cathedral Lakes via John Muir Trail Hard | 9,585 ft | 7.6 mi |
| May Lake Easy | 9,329 ft | 2.4 mi |
| Half Dome Half Dome via Mist Trail Strenuous | 8,842 ft | 14 mi |
| Sentinel Dome & Taft Point Sentinel Dome & Taft Point Loop Moderate | 8,122 ft | 4.9 mi |
| Tokopah Falls | 8,040 ft | 3.4 mi |
| Rainbow Falls | 7,380 ft | 5.1 mi |
| Panorama Trail Panorama Trail (Glacier Point to Valley) Hard | 7,214 ft | 8.5 mi |
| Upper Yosemite Fall Strenuous | 6,526 ft | 7.2 mi |
| Chilnualna Falls Strenuous | 6,040 ft | 8.2 mi |
| Vernal Fall Mist Trail to Vernal Fall Moderate | 5,900 ft | 2.4 mi |
| Nevada Fall Nevada Fall via Mist Trail Hard | 5,900 ft | 5.4 mi |
| Illilouette Fall Panorama Trail | 5,810 ft | 4 mi |
| Wapama Falls | 5,230 ft | 5 mi |
| Mirror Lake Mirror Lake Loop Easy | 4,100 ft | 5 mi |
| Bridalveil Fall Easy | 4,000 ft | 0.5 mi |
| Lower Yosemite Fall Lower Yosemite Fall Loop Easy | 3,975 ft | 1 mi |
| McCloud Falls McCloud River Trail | 3,270 ft | 4 mi |
| Potato Chip Rock Mount Woodson Trail via Lake Poway | 2,881 ft | Not verified |
| Mission Peak Mission Peak via Hidden Valley Trail Strenuous | 2,517 ft | 6.2 mi |
| Sturtevant Falls Gabrielino Trail Moderate | 2,300 ft | 3.3 mi |
| Feather Falls | 1,940 ft | 8.3 mi |
| Santa Ynez Falls Santa Ynez Canyon Trail Easy | 970 ft | 2.5 mi |
| McWay Falls Overlook Trail | 80 ft | 0.6 mi |
| Alamere Falls Coast Trail | 40 ft | 13.2 mi |
≈ estimated from the mapped route. "Not verified": the mapped route doesn't reach the summit yet, so we don't quote a distance or rating; the trail page links the land manager.
Map of California hikes
More California hikes by type
California Hiking FAQ
What are the best hikes in California?
Big summit days: Mount Whitney, Half Dome and Upper Yosemite Fall. Waterfall hikes: Tokopah Falls, Rainbow Falls and Panorama Trail. Half-day hikes: Sentinel Dome & Taft Point, Vernal Fall and Sturtevant Falls. Easy hikes: May Lake, Mirror Lake and Bridalveil Fall. These picks use only trails whose route we've checked.
What is a good easy hike in California?
May Lake: the mapped route is 2.4 mi round trip, 485 ft gain, rated Easy.
What is the highest mountain in California?
Mount Whitney, at 14,505 feet.
What is the hardest hike in California?
Of the routes we've checked, Mount Whitney has the most climbing: 22 mi round trip, 6,145 ft gain, rated Strenuous.
Where can I hike to a waterfall in California?
Tokopah Falls, Rainbow Falls and Panorama Trail are trails that lead to a waterfall. See all California waterfall hikes for the full list.
How accurate are the distances on this page?
Of the 26 trails here, 25 have a distance taken from a published source, 0 are estimated from a mapped route that reaches the summit (shown with ≈), and 1 has a mapped route we haven't verified yet, so we don't quote a distance for it.
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