solo sunset mission | glacier point at yosemite

4 miles . 300 ft gain . 7460 ft high

Yosemite National Park, Yosemite Wilderness

If you want to watch the famous sunset at Yosemite here’s what you need to know, and don’t make the mistake that I did by cramping everything too much in a small time frame.

Where to Stay

There’s a lot of options and also not a lot of options, depending on what time of year you go. I’ve been enjoying going to Yosemite in the fall when it’s slightly less busy but still warm outside. I highly recommend staying in Yosemite Valley as a great base camp. It’s central to amenities and amazing views of the Valley and also central to the other aspects of Yosemite such as Tuolumne and Glacier Point Road.

If you’re into camping, Upper Pines Campground is a great spot and walking distance to Curry Village. If you don’t mind a walk from your car to camp, then Camp 4 is the most budget option.

If you prefer glamping and sleeping on bunks, Curry Village has some cabins. But either way, you have shared bathrooms.

If you like fancier accommodations and actual beds, I recommend The Ahwahnee or Yosemite Valley Lodge.

Getting to Glacier Point

Yosemite is very car friendly and while not impossible to get to by public transportation, it is highly inconvenient. However, if you don’t wish to drive the windy roads, there is an option to book the Glacier Point Tour bus that gets you to the top of Glacier Point one way and you can hike back down to the valley.

By car, Glacier Point is about an hour from Yosemite Valley. So definitely account for the time. There a couple great spots to view sunset from, which is the beautiful thing about National Parks. You gotta love the easy access, but of course that also means that there are likely crowds too.

How to Watch Sunset at Glacier Point

Step 1: Figure out when sunset is at Yosemite

Depending on the time of year, sunset ranges from about 7-8:30pm in the summer time. Plan for being at Glacier Point at least 2 hours before sunset for the maximum enjoyment. If you’re crushed on time, sunset light is prime about 30 minutes prior to sunset. But don’t miss it because it happens fast. For golden hour, get there 1-2 hours prior. The amount of clouds can also affect the sunset, but I’ve found that it is pretty common for sunset from above the Yosemite Valley to be consistently colorful.

Step 2: Decide where you want to watch sunset

If you’re ambitious like me, you can pack in all the view points into one evening. However, that also meant actually running around. So if you want to take it easy, you should pick one view point, two if they’re short view points.

Glacier Point

The furthest drive from Yosemite Valley is Glacier Point. It’s got sweeping views of Yosemite Valley. Plus it was great to see Upper Pines Campground from up high. Crazy how a 4.5 mile hike straight up the cliffs is the difference between camp and the views. This area is highly accessible and there’s space to wander to different view points. The furthest gets you the most views of the valley, but you can see Half Dome from any view point here. There’s over 1 mile of trail network here so there’s plenty to spend your time.

Glacier Point also has the largest parking lot, which means easier parking.

Budget a minimum of 15 minutes here. For a more relaxed time, budget at least 1 hour.

Washburn Point

The small pullout just before Glacier Point is worth visiting. It’s quieter since it is a little less known than Glacier Point. This has great views of Half Dome and the quiet Illilouette Basin. This is great for tagging with Glacier Point for double the location.

Parking is limited at Washburn Point.

Budget a minimum of 5 minutes here, 30 minutes for a relaxed time or longer.

Sentinel Dome

After all the running around, I didn’t actually have a chance to check it out, but my thought is that this is the quieter spot between this and Taft Point. Honestly it’s got even more views than Taft Point because you can see both El Capitan and Half Dome from the top. But it’s a dome and not a cliff or point, so you can’t quite see into the Valley. Still worth it for a quieter sunset though!

There’s 2 starting points from Sentinel Dome. Either from Glacier Point or from the Sentinel Dome Trailhead. Both are just a little over 1 mile but from Sentinel Dome TH, it is about 400 ft of elevation gain vs 900 ft from Glacier Point. So it’s safe to say that the easiest and shortest method is via the true Sentinel Dome Trailhead. But if you already found parking at Glacier Point, you can hit both easily by parking in one spot.

Parking: Glacier Point or Sentinel Dome Trailhead

Budget a minimum of 1 hour and up to 3+ hours to enjoy this trail and the views.

Taft Point

This one is a highly popular elopement location and I actually have been social media influenced to see it for myself. And it was still very worth it despite the crowds (which were very nice and chill). One of the best parts of Taft Point is the Fissures. The rock features are just incredible and pretty mind-blowing.

Parking here is just adjacent to the Sentinel Dome and if one is full you can park at the other for a 0.1 mile difference. The hike to Taft Point is 3 miles round trip and about 400 ft in elevation gain on the way back from the point.

Budget a minimum of 1.5 hours and up to 3+ hours to enjoy this trail.

Step 3: Go watch the sunset

Go do the thing and don’t forget a headlamp! Okay, so if you’re also here to read a trip report, this is how it all went down:

I left Yosemite Valley at 5:20pm and only gave myself just about 1 hour to hike and explore the lookouts. However, I didn’t realize how much time I needed. I first stopped at Washburn Point and I was good at sticking to my timeline of 5 minutes. Great. Then I drove to Glacier Point. But I didn’t realize how much trail there was. I wanted to see it all so I spent over 15 minutes here when I intended for just 5 minutes. And that extra 10 minutes was precious time since I still had to drive back to the Taft Point Trailhead. In efforts to make it to the view point before any of the sky changed color, I started to quickly walk and run on trail, which felt slightly easier due to the overall downhill trend. By the time I got to the Fissures, the sky was just getting golden. It was perfect! Though I was annoyingly sweaty after having had a nice shower a few hours prior. Between the Fissures and Taft Point proper, there were so many little overlooks and everyone was finding their spot, having picnics and enjoying the view. It was so cute! Meanwhile, I felt a tad like a maniac running around for the best views and all the variety of views. We all lingered until the golden yolk of the sun set beyond the horizon. But I chose to stay quite a bit longer to enjoy the cotton candy skies. Headlamp was mandatory as the hike back to the cars was through the forest, which gets dark much quicker. But it was totally okay hiking in the dark since there were so many other people chatting about! Go get your sunset!

Photos taken on Canon 5D Mark IV