For a rare, if not lucky, few days a year, Yosemite National Park’s famed El Capitan granite cliff converts into what looks like an active volcano jutting 3,000 feet above the valley floor.
The conditions need to be right, including early-evening clear skies, generally in February, and plenty of water. Should the sunset properly backlight a small waterfall known as Horsetail Fall just so, the cascading water becomes a “firefall,” taking on an orange glow that can appear very lava-like.
The phenomenon has grown so popular of late that Yosemite officials say a growing number of visitors have destroyed natural vegetation and disturbed habitats while battling for parking and viewing spaces.
In the hope of curtailing damage to surrounding areas, park officials announced that weekend visits up to Horsetail Fall in February will now require reservations.
Those reservations will be available on a first-come, first-served basis on www.recreation.gov beginning Monday at 8 a.m. The dates that can be reserved are Feb. 8-9, 15-17 and 22-23. No reservations are needed for Feb. 1-2.
On Monday, 50% of the reservations for those dates will be freed up. Park officials expect the spots to be claimed quickly.
The other 50% of reservations will be released two days prior to a specific day at 8 a.m. So, if a tourist wished to visit on Feb. 17, for instance, that day’s reservations would become available Feb. 15 at 8 a.m.
The reservation fee is $2 and is non-refundable.
The car entrance fee is $35 and is good for entry for seven days.
Reno-based photographer Dan Dunn captured the firefall in what he described as one of his “greatest images” in February 2019, the final of six consecutive trips he began in 2014.
The bright orange-and-red water spouts off the cliff with the visual intensity of a raging forest fire.
Horsetail Fall offers consistency in capturing natural wonder that beaches or even the Grand Canyon, sometimes hampered by fog, cannot deliver, Dunn said.
“You’re almost guaranteed an incredible show,” said Dunn, 34, who runs his own studio. “In 2019, the conditions lined up with the snowpack, wind, moisture blowing off the mountain and the light filtering through the clouds that creates a perfect orange.”
Dunn was inspired to visit the site by photos from social media, like many others.
He understands why the park is putting limitations on the number of visitors.
“There’s only more and more photographers and traffic in the valley each year,” he said. “And there’s really only two places to shoot from and, in those areas, you can be packed like sardines.”
Nearly 2,500 people visited the Horsetail Fall viewing areas on Feb. 19, 2022, for example, according to estimates from park officials.
They said visitors have crowded onto riverbanks, looking for that perfect shot at the expense of “increasing erosion and trampling vegetation.”
Similarly, park-goers have trampled sensitive vegetation in the Merced River, while trashing the area and leaving “unsanitary conditions” due to a lack of restrooms, park officials said.
Vault toilets, trash and recycling services are available at the nearby El Capitan picnic area.
A reservation for Horsetail Fall is not needed if a park-goer has already secured a day-use reservation for those dates, has campground reservations at Upper Pines, Wawona, Hodgon Meadow or Camp 4, lodging reservations at Yosemite Valley Lodge or Curry Village or at private hotels or resorts Yosemite West or Foresta. Those with full-day lift tickets or season passes for Badger Pass are also exempt.
Park officials are directing visitors to leave their cars in the Yosemite Falls parking lot just west of Yosemite Valley Lodge and walk about 1 1/2 half miles to the viewing area near the El Capitan picnic area.
Additional parking is available at Yosemite Village and Curry Village, with shuttle service to the Yosemite Valley Lodge and adjacent parking.
Parking is expected to be limited.