Four Mile Trail

The Four Mile Trail is Yosemite's historic route connecting the Valley floor to Glacier Point, originally constructed in 1872 as a toll trail by James McCauley and since extended to its current length of 4.8 miles one-way despite retaining its original name. The trail climbs 3,200 feet in a series of sustained switchbacks up the south wall of Yosemite Valley, offering progressively expanding views of the iconic granite formations that define the park. From the Valley floor near Sentinel Beach, early sections provide framing views of Sentinel Rock and Cathedral Spires before the route enters shaded forest of incense cedar, white fir, and ponderosa pine. As the trail ascends, the perspective shifts to reveal the entire Yosemite Valley corridor—El Capitan, Half Dome, Royal Arches, and North Dome—in an evolving panoramic tableau that changes with every hundred feet of elevation gain. The upper sections emerge onto open rocky slabs with unobstructed views before arriving at the Glacier Point overlook at 7,214 feet elevation. Glacier Point offers perhaps the most famous view in American national park history, looking directly across at Half Dome's sheer northwest face and 3,000 feet straight down to the Valley floor. Most hikers descend by the same route, though one-way hikers can catch a seasonal shuttle from Glacier Point back to the Valley.