Sierra Point is a hidden and "unofficial" hike in Yosemite National Park that offers 360 degree views of five different iconic waterfalls from the final overlook. Ironically enough, the trail for Sierra Point starts at the bottom of one of the most crowded trails in the park, Mist Trail. If you hate waking up early, but also hate crowds, this one should be right up your alley. The hike is pretty short and easy, the views are pretty epic, and no one has any clue that this hike even exists so you're almost guaranteed to get the top to yourself. We discovered this one recently and it has quickly become a favorite.
Sierra Point is a hike that very few know about. This hike used to be an established hike many years ago until a rock slide took out the bottom portion of the hike. After this, for some reason the slide was never cleared and the Sierra Point hike was no longer advertised. Despite being abandoned many years ago, this trail wasn’t too hard to find and follow. All you do is start down the Mist Trail hike. About half a mile in look for a “Rock Piles” placard on your left. When you get here, just go straight up the giant rock pile. About 75ft up you should be able to spot some remnants of the old trail. If you must drift to the right or left to get up the boulders, go left. Once you spot the trail it’s only a quick 800ft ascent to the platform where you will have epic 360 views where you can spot 5 different waterfalls in the park. There are a few walkthrough videos on YouTube that helped us identify key landmarks along the trail ( video 01, video 02, video 03 ).
One of the many reasons this trail is awesome, is that you don't have to worry about crowds. Obviously lighting is better in the morning and evening, however you can do this hike whenever you want and the experience will be the exact same, which may be the only trail you can say that about in Yosemite. The earlier in the year you hike this trail, the more powerful the waterfalls are. If you wait too long (late summer-fall) there will barely even be any waterfalls to see. Both Vernal and Nevada Falls will flow year round, but both get really weak by fall. As for Yosemite falls, that will completely dry up some years by fall, and Illilouette Falls will usually dry up even earlier by mid summer.
The toughest part of navigating this unmarked trail is picking the trail up right above the rock slide. The rock slide makes it easy to wander off from the original trail, so our advice is to just try and stay centered and not get too far left or right. Once you get to the top of the rockslide, take the extra time to confim that you're on the right path. The trail is overgrown in certain areas but still fairly well defined in others. Watch the YT videos above so you have a visual reference on the key landmarks as you hike up the trail. It's not too hard to follow once you do end up back on the original trail.
Super hidden hike in Yosemite that almost no one knows about. This trail leads to a railed overlook where you can see 5 different waterfalls. Not an official trail, so requires a bit of wayfinding. If you are an inexperienced hiker, this is not the trail for you. If you are up for a challenge and like escaping the crowd, watch the YT videos linked above and familiarize yourself with the key landmarks. Otherwise, this one is steep but short, so can't get into too much trouble.