Tunnel View, Yosemite: when the light is best
Tunnel View is Yosemite’s most famous roadside view: El Capitan on the left, Bridalveil Fall on the right and Half Dome in between. Pick a day and a time to see where the sun is, and come when it lights the valley instead of shining in your eyes.
Light planner
Example valuesTurn on JavaScript to use the planner.
Opens in Google Maps, facing Half Dome. Nothing loads from Google until you click.
Open the live view Imagery © GoogleThe light at Tunnel View, month by month
For the 15th of each month, starting this month. “In line” means within 3° of straight ahead (sunrise) or straight behind you (sunset).
Tunnel View, Yosemite: what you see
The overlook looks east-northeast up Yosemite Valley. The park names the sights: El Capitan, Half Dome, Sentinel Rock, Cathedral Rocks and Bridalveil Fall. From the coordinates, El Capitan’s face is 2.5 miles away on the left, at a bearing of 60°; Bridalveil Fall is 1.7 miles away on the right, at 87°; and Half Dome sits between them at 75°, 8.1 miles up the valley.
When the light is best
Because you face east-northeast, the sun is in front of you in the morning and behind you in the afternoon. In mid-October it moves behind your right shoulder at about 2:20 pm, and from then until sunset the light falls on the faces you are looking at. The park calls the view spectacular at sunset, or after a storm clears.
- October to February: the sun sets almost straight behind you, within about 15° of the line to Half Dome; exactly in line around October 25 and February 16.
- Spring and summer: the sun sets farther north, in the west-northwest, up to about 46° to your left in June, so the evening light comes over your left shoulder.
- Mornings: the sun rises ahead of you, so the valley is backlit; in mid-June it comes up roughly behind El Capitan.
Getting there
Tunnel View is on Wawona Road (Highway 41), by the Wawona Tunnel, and the park says it is reachable by car all year. The nearly mile-long tunnel was blasted through solid granite with about 230 tons of dynamite; work began on January 30, 1931, and it opened to traffic on June 18, 1933.
There are designated accessible parking spaces, and you can see the view from the parking area or a short paved walk to the viewing area, where a bronze tactile model of Yosemite Valley stands near the overlook.
In February, the light at Tunnel View pairs with the Yosemite firefall. More viewpoints are in the light planner.
Questions
When is the best time to visit Tunnel View?
Late afternoon and sunset, for most visitors: the overlook faces east-northeast, so the setting sun is behind you and lights the valley walls. The National Park Service calls the view spectacular at sunset or after the clearing of a storm. In the morning the sun rises in front of you and the valley is backlit.
What can you see from Tunnel View?
El Capitan, Half Dome, Sentinel Rock, Cathedral Rocks and Bridalveil Fall, according to the park. El Capitan is 2.5 miles away, Bridalveil Fall 1.7 miles and Half Dome 8.1 miles.
When does the sun set straight behind Tunnel View?
Around October 25 and February 16, when the sunset is exactly opposite your view to Half Dome. From October to February the sun sets within about 15° of that line; in summer it sets farther to your left, in the west-northwest.
Is Tunnel View wheelchair accessible?
Yes: there are designated accessible parking spaces, and you can see the view from the parking area or along a short paved walk to the viewing area. A bronze tactile model of Yosemite Valley stands near the overlook.