Firefall viewing areas
The only designated location to view Firefall is just east of the El Capitan picnic area. It is marked and easy to find. Plus, you’ll most likely see other people.
That’s the furthest south/west you want to go before you see too much of the face. You’ll see more of the waterfall from the main area or from a more dramatic angle and less crowds slightly north/east of it, but this all depends on your personal preference.
We went here the first day and then stopped at an alternate spot for our second day to get a different viewpoint. In recent years, people found every spot they could in the valley, leading to collapsed riverbanks and trampled meadows.
I was afraid of the crowds, but when I went on a weekday in mid-February, I was pleasantly surprised that it was less crowded than the videos I’ve seen.
We were the first group of photographers to arrive at 3pm on the first day. At 5 p.m. there were more than 200 people. The ranger told us that weekends are at least six times as busy, with President’s Day weekend being the busiest. The second day we arrived around 4:15 PM and still found a spot we liked.
There is still plenty of room to shoot since we all shoot with a long lens. People are shooting from both sides of the road.
