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Yosemite National Park
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El Capitan
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El Capitan

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El Capitan
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Challenging, popular rock to climb in Yosemite.
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  • AriLa
    California114 contributions
    Stupendous
    Not that anything in Yosemite can be rated but this is one of my favorite landmarks in the park. You see it on your entrance and exit driving down the 140 so I fell for it. It has a smooth face like its carved out of clay and a pretty pale pink and golden cream color in the sunset. It looks different and impressive from every angle. Photos of it and Bridalviel together are unreal
    Visited June 2020
    Written June 25, 2020
  • johnnnita
    Napa, California2,470 contributions
    REMINDS ME OF "CLOSE ENCOUNTERS"!!
    Whether you're up close or viewing it from another vantage point, it's still awe inspiring. We viewed it driving in first and stopping along Southside Drive (one way). Pre-covid, you would be jammed up with traffic both on this road and parking to stop and admire. If there's any plus to this dreaded virus that's befallen all of us, it's that now in the park you can take your time and more easily find places to view and stop. El Capitan is one of those sights. We took advantage and were able to enjoy the view and take some photos, before proceeding into the valley further. It was nice.
    Visited August 2020
    Written September 9, 2020
  • Bidule05
    France1,604 contributions
    Isabelle (France)
    In Yosemite national park, we were impressed by El Capitan, with its massive bulk and vertical face soaring 3000 feet high. El Capitan is made of hard granite, allowing it to resist the pressures of glaciers and erosion, giving it its typicalpattern! We learnt that the Ahwahneechee Indian name for El Capitan is “Tutokanula”. According to Ahwahneechee Indian fine legend, this famous rock was created: “As 2 bear cubs slept on a large flat rock close to Merces river, the rock grew until the 2 cubs scratched their faces against the moon. The mother bear called all the animals, but only the little worm (Tutokanula) slowly crawled to the top of the rock and managed to bring the 2 cubs down to the rock to their mother ”!!!
    Visited September 2020
    Written May 10, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Detailed Reviews: Reviews order informed by descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as cleanliness, atmosphere, general tips and location information.
Popular mentions
5.0
1,384 reviews
Excellent
1,100
Very good
259
Average
23
Poor
2
Terrible
0
wgm51
Albuquerque, NM113 contributions
Surreal Gigantic Wall of Granite
Jun 2021
On our way out of the valley to our lodge, our last stop was at El Capitan. We parked in the small lot next to the road and walked the short hike to the two trails that climbers use, leading up to the base of this gigantic wall of granite. My wife walked up one of them and got right up to the face of the cliff, putting her hands on the wall, and also talked to a young man who was preparing to do some climbing on this Mecca for rock climbers. I was pretty beat and my knees were complaining after over 14 miles of walking and hiking so I contented myself with craning my neck to look up the 3000+ feet to the top and scanning the wall with my binoculars. I was lucky enough to catch a brief glimpse of a climber rappelling down the cliff face. Photos and words cannot really convey the scale of this giant rock - seeing it in person is almost a surreal experience.
Written July 6, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
WanderingWithUsTwo
Phoenix, AZ737 contributions
One of the most well-known areas of the park
Aug 2019
One of the most iconic views of any of the national parks and one of Yosemite's most unique features. Viewing this from anywhere in the park provides a different experience especially when the sunlight hits it at different parts of the day. A good way to view it, along with the entire valley, is from Tunnel View which can add much more dramatic features and textures as the shadows start to set in!
- @wanderingwithustwo
Written June 16, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Grover R
Pensacola, FL17,995 contributions
Looming Like a Rock Wave
Mar 2022
When a rock has a name you know it is impressive. I have only seen El Cap from the valley floor but the words to describe it fall short. We saw it from several places but the best may be from the meadow along the valley road. Here our group marveled at climbers you could actually see ascending as well as the hanging tents they use for sleep. At 3,000 vertical feet of rock, there is really nothing else that compares to it. In additional you will feel it as its shape is like a building wave that looms over you. It is a highlight and you should stop and see it from as many places as you can.
Written April 27, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
TheExplorerFamily
Somerset, NJ6,433 contributions
Majestic and Intriguing
Jun 2022
El Capitan is the most revered of all sites in this National Park. This towering sheer granite monolith rises to a height of 3593 feet above the meadow. The sleek striated surface glows red at sunset and the shadows cast on it by the passing clouds during the daytime are very intriguing.

We took the Shuttle to the El Capitan Meadow Stop Number 9, and a short walk back across a wooden bridge took us to the base of the giant rock. We just stopped and stared in awe.

There was a nice photographer there with a camera on a tripod which had a massive lens, and he let us look inside to try to view the rock climbers on the sheer cliffs. Even with that amazing zoom, the climbers looked like ants.

Nobody leaves the park without a visit to this famous icon.

We captured wonderful photos of this massive and superb rock from several angles throughout our visit.
Written July 20, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
2BEis2SKI
Charlotte, NC1,373 contributions
Dawn Wall a must
Oct 2022
It's hard to get the true scale, even when you are standing near the base but it's impressive none the less. It's so large, you almost lose context of how it compares against other large structures. For example, it's twice as high as the Empire State building.

You drive by it multiple times so it's not hard to see and there are multiple vantage points but my highest recommendation is to get up early and find a place to comfortably sit and watch the sun rise against El Cap. Called the Dawn Wall, it's one of the great sunrises in all of the world and a great way to decompress and just let time happen without interruption.
Written November 28, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Satyabrata Dam
New Delhi1,782 contributions
Iconic wall
Feb 2020 • Solo
Made famous world wide by Alex Honnold in Free Solo, El Capitan takes your breath away. This time around I hiked to the top of it through eagle's peak. The wall has magnetic pull and reminds us of all the classic big wall routes that started here.
Written February 10, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
DannyWasserman
Virginia Beach, VA4,220 contributions
Massive Rock Structure!!
Jun 2023 • Family
El Capitan is Superior! I mean once you get through the tunnel, and a little further, you run up on this massive mountain just extruding out and its called: El Capitan! This large rock is nothing short of spectacular and stands head and shoulders over everything else. It has photo shots written all over it.
Written June 24, 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
cp_0010
Manama, Bahrain1,499 contributions
Delight for rock climbers
Jul 2019
El Capitan is a granite rock formation in Yosemite national park vertically. It is about 3000 ft high from its base to the top. El Capitan, also known as El Cap is located on the north side of Yosemite Valley, near its western end. It is very popular for rock climbers.
The top of El Capitan can be reached by hiking out of Yosemite Valley on the trail next to Yosemite Falls but for climbers, the challenge is to climb up the sheer granite face. There are many named climbing routes, all of them arduous, including Iron Hawk and Sea of Dreams. In the early days of climbing, it used to take many days but recently many solo climbers have clocked it in few hours.
Written June 27, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Katherinee309
Houston, TX101 contributions
Breathtaking!
Oct 2020
We visited San Francisco from 10-08/10-11 2020 and we did a day tour to Yosemite. All I can say is the pictures don’t do this park any justice. You really need at least 3 days to explore the park bc it’s huge! It’s literally the size of Rhode Island. It’s just beautiful, calm and peaceful.
Written October 12, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Balasubramanian R
Chennai (Madras), India732 contributions
EI Capitan
Oct 2022
EI Capitan is the main tourist attraction point in the Yosemite valley. It is a vertical rock formation in the valley. It is one of the iconic rock formation in the world with more than 3000 vertical feet of sheer rock granite.
Written October 24, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
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El Capitan - All You Need to Know BEFORE You Go (with Photos)

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