Yosemite Webcam – El Capitan, Half Dome and Yosemite Falls

The Yosemite Webcam rotates through live views from Yosemite Conservancy cameras in Yosemite National Park, California, holding each scene for roughly 15 to 25 seconds. One view looks down the valley from Turtleback Dome, with the granite wall of El Capitan on the left and Half Dome far off in the gap. Another looks across Ahwahnee Meadow to the sheer face of Half Dome, a third watches the top of Yosemite Falls, and a fourth looks up at Wawona Dome in the park’s southern corner. On autumn mornings the sun can glare over Half Dome’s shoulder while haze still hangs in the valley, and the seasons show just as clearly, from snow on the meadow in winter to a full waterfall in early summer.

About Yosemite

Yosemite Valley is about 12.1 kilometers (7.5 miles) long and roughly 1.6 kilometers (1 mile) wide, with walls 910 to 1,070 meters (3,000 to 3,500 feet) deep and a floor near 1,200 meters (4,000 feet). The El Capitan camera sits on Turtleback Dome near the Wawona Tunnel on the Wawona Road (Highway 41), at about 1,615 meters (5,300 feet), and looks east up the valley. El Capitan takes up the left of the frame and rises about 900 meters (3,000 feet) above the valley floor. The stream labels this view Tunnel View, after the famous overlook close by.

The Half Dome camera stands in Ahwahnee Meadow on the valley floor, more than 1,200 meters (4,000 feet) below the top of a dome that rises about 1,460 meters (4,800 feet) above the valley, and wildlife sometimes wanders through in front of the lens. The Yosemite Falls camera frames Upper Yosemite Fall, the top step of a 739 meter (2,425 foot) waterfall: the upper fall drops 440 meters (1,430 feet), the middle cascades 200 meters (670 feet) and the lower fall 98 meters (320 feet). Wawona Dome rises over Wawona, a mid-elevation basin at 1,219 meters (3,999 feet), about 42 kilometers (26 miles) south of the center of the valley. That camera is run together with Yosemite Cabins and Vacation Home Rentals at The Redwoods.

President Abraham Lincoln signed the bill granting Yosemite Valley protection on June 30, 1864. Yosemite became a national park on October 1, 1890, was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1984 and drew 4,278,413 visitors in 2025. The stream comes from Gavin Heffernan Timelapse Travel on YouTube, which plays an ambient track, Ambient Meditation Number 005 by NaturesEye, instead of sound from the cameras. The Yosemite Conservancy logo sits in the bottom left corner and each view’s name in the top right. A fifth slot, labelled Glacier Point, turns black when its camera is down. The Conservancy’s donors pay for the cameras.

Weather and Climate in Yosemite

Yosemite Park Headquarters, on the valley floor at 1,225 meters (4,018 feet), averages a January high of 8.6 C (47.5 F) and a low of -1.9 C (28.5 F), and collects about 90 centimeters (35.5 inches) of snow in a year. Winter can leave Ahwahnee Meadow white below Half Dome and dust the ledges of El Capitan. Spring warms to an average April high of 17.3 C (63.1 F) with nights near 3.1 C (37.6 F), and the snowmelt builds toward the waterfall’s peak flow in early summer.

July is hot on the valley floor, with average highs of 31.8 C (89.2 F) and lows of 14.1 C (57.4 F). By October highs ease to 21.6 C (70.9 F) and nights fall to 5.2 C (41.3 F). Autumn is when the upper fall is thinnest: in early October 2026 the Yosemite Falls view showed bare granite where the water pours in early summer, while yellow and orange leaves colored the slopes below Turtleback Dome. The valley gets about 928 millimeters (36.55 inches) of precipitation in a typical year.

Things to Do in Yosemite

Ahwahnee Meadow, the Half Dome camera’s own foreground, is open valley floor where you can stand in front of the same view in person. The Tunnel View overlook on the Wawona Road, close to the El Capitan camera, is the classic stop for the long look up the valley. Lower Yosemite Fall, the 98 meter (320 foot) final drop below the section the camera watches, ends on the valley floor, and El Capitan’s vertical granite face is a favorite with climbers.

Wawona, along the South Fork of the Merced River, has the Wawona Hotel, a Victorian resort the Washburn brothers built in 1876 that became a National Historic Landmark in 1987. The Pioneer Yosemite History Center is in the same village. Wawona is also the closest town to Chilnualna Falls and to the Mariposa Grove of Giant Sequoias, so a day on the Wawona Dome side of the park can take in a waterfall, pioneer history and the big trees.

Similar Webcams You Might Like

For more of the Sierra Nevada and America’s great parks, try these cameras next.

• Bass Lake Webcam
• Mammoth Mountain Webcam
• Grand Canyon Webcam

Frequently Asked Questions

Where is Yosemite located?

Yosemite National Park is in the Sierra Nevada of California, and Yosemite Valley lies in Mariposa County. The valley floor sits near 1,200 meters (4,000 feet), and Wawona is 42 kilometers (26 miles) to the south.

What can you see on the Yosemite Webcam?

It cycles through El Capitan and Half Dome from Turtleback Dome, Half Dome from Ahwahnee Meadow, Upper Yosemite Fall, Wawona Dome, and a slot labelled Glacier Point. A full rotation takes about two minutes.

What is the weather like in Yosemite?

On the valley floor January averages 8.6 C (47.5 F) by day and -1.9 C (28.5 F) at night. July highs average 31.8 C (89.2 F), and October cools to 21.6 C (70.9 F) by day.

Is the Yosemite Webcam live?

Yes. The pictures come in real time from Yosemite Conservancy’s cameras and are relayed on YouTube by Gavin Heffernan Timelapse Travel, which has run this stream since September 13, 2026. The sound is a music track, not audio from the park.

Why is one of the Yosemite camera views black?

That camera is offline. The Conservancy says its cameras sit in remote spots and occasionally have unplanned outages, and the stream keeps the empty slot in its rotation while the other views carry on.

When does Yosemite Falls have the most water?

Peak flow comes in early summer, when snowmelt pours over the cliff. By autumn the upper fall can shrink to bare, wet granite.

How tall is El Capitan?

El Capitan rises about 900 meters (3,000 feet) above the floor of Yosemite Valley at its tallest point, and fills the left side of the view from Turtleback Dome.

How far is Wawona from Yosemite Valley?

Wawona is about 42 kilometers (26 miles) south of the center of Yosemite Valley, in the park’s southern corner.

Source: Yosemite Conservancy