El Capitan Picnic Area — Attraction in Oakhurst

This area was perfect for viewing Three Brothers, El Capitan and the Firefall! Parking during peak season of firefall is for handicapped access only from 12pm-7pm, and the park rangers WILL write tickets! Non-handicapped visitors can park elsewhere and walk to this site. There are picnic tables, grills, and bathrooms. There was a lot of space for kids to run and play. It was muddy in places due to the melting snow. To view the Firefall, we went Feb 20th and waited until sunset. A lot of people left when they thought it was too overcast. There was barely any water coming down, but the mountain still lit up and was beautiful! Don't forget to view the sunset to your left afterwards. Leaving was easy, because most people had to walk bavk to their vehicles. I would highly...

Very nice picnic area for lunch/snack stop. There was enough parking when we visited on Aug 1st 2021 on Sunday. Plenty of benches and most of them offer shade. There is a restroom and dumpster near by as you might expect. Most of the benches offer a great view of El Capitan so really fun experience for picnic. You are supposed to be able to see fire falls from this point, although I couldn't spot it. This is the only spot (and is probably the only one) that I would highly recommend for picnic/lunch on the Northside Dr. Although there are many picnic areas on Southside Dr, this one is my favorite due to shades, the view, accessibility ( literally no walking needed to get to benches) and...

This is a nice picnic area with lots of parking, clean pit toilets. It's a popular spot for viewing the Horsetail Falls "Firefall" during February, but this place is beautiful anytime.

There's ample room for picnics, and there's a trail that leads up towards the base of the El Capitan wall and to climbing routes. It a cool Trail to explore, and although it doesn't get thinner and more bushy as you make your way towards the climbers area it's pretty cool to be that close to these iconic granite walls.

Yosemite Valley is full of all sorts of awesome views, but this one will always remain one of our favorite to stop, take a break and taking the beauty...