A seasonal, ephemeral companion to Wapama Falls in Yosemite's Hetch Hetchy Valley, often dry by late summer even as Wapama keeps flowing.
Tueeulala Falls drops in a series of long, thin cascades down a granite wall on the north side of Hetch Hetchy Valley, a dammed and reservoir-filled valley in Yosemite National Park that John Muir once argued was every bit the equal of Yosemite Valley itself. Unlike its more famous neighbor Wapama Falls, which plunges in heavy, churning drops just down the shoreline, Tueeulala has almost no defined channel near its base — it fans out across bare rock in a way that makes it look more like a transient sheet of water than a permanent stream, and it is noticeably more dependent on the season than Wapama is.
Because it is fed by a smaller, shallower snowpack-driven drainage, Tueeulala Falls often slows to a trickle or disappears entirely by mid-to-late summer, while Wapama keeps flowing well into the warmer months — so timing matters here more than almost anywhere else in the park. Both falls are seen from the same trail, a roughly 5-mile round trip that crosses O'Shaughnessy Dam and a short tunnel before following the reservoir's shoreline with about 500 feet of up-and-down hiking. The Hetch Hetchy entrance gate keeps its own hours, open only from sunrise to sunset and closed during snow, which is stricter than the rest of Yosemite's 24-hour entrances and worth planning around.
Know before you go
Via the Hetch Hetchy entrance on the west side of Yosemite National Park; cross O'Shaughnessy Dam and a short tunnel to reach the lakeside trail that passes both Tueeulala and Wapama Falls.
Best — often only — seen with strong flow in spring; it typically slows to a trickle or stops running by mid-to-late summer, well before Wapama Falls does.
Wapama Falls Trail, about 5 miles round trip with roughly 507 feet of elevation gain/loss, following the reservoir shoreline with moderate up-and-down hiking.
Standard Yosemite entrance fee, $35 per vehicle for 7 days; cashless payment only.
Trail is unpaved with moderate elevation changes and is not wheelchair accessible; the Hetch Hetchy entrance gate itself keeps separate, shorter hours (sunrise to sunset) than the rest of the park.
2026-10-13. Conditions and requirements can change; confirm with the land manager before travelling.
Sources & further reading
- Hetch Hetchy - Yosemite National Park (NPS) ↗
- Entrance Fees - Yosemite National Park (NPS) ↗
- USGS Geographic Names Information System (GNIS) ↗
This is a researched visitor guide, not a claim that our editors have personally visited. Trail conditions, permits, and access can change.
