Glacier Point to Union Point is a 3.7 mile moderately trafficked out and back trail located near Yosemite Valley, California that features a great forest setting and is rated as moderate. The trail is primarily used for hiking and nature trips and is best used from April until September.
hiking
nature trips
forest
views
Relatively easy for the downhill portion, but coming back I wanted to die because of how much an incline it was. Beautiful views, but I’d stop about halfway though the switchbacks with the view and just hangout there. Took about 2 hours round trip.
Candace Gaddis recorded Four Mile Trail
So so amazing!
a
Just for the scenery we rated this trail a 5. Beautiful views of El Capitan. Easy going down, a good incline going back. Relatively short hike.
Very pretty trail with consistent views of the valley, but hiking back up the switchbacks isn't as much fun as going down! When you're at Glacier Point, you'll be starting on Four Mile Trail. There aren't specific signs for Union Point until further along the trail. The area to stop at Union Point was smaller than I expected, but definitely worth the trek.
Start at Glacier Point, there "seems like a zillion" switchbacks. You break out from very tall pines and a pretty flat and peaceful trail at the top to a full view of Half Dome and Glacier Point facing either other. You'll pass under Sentinel Rock (quite a cliff at this point) at about a mile and a half down, and see views up Tenaya Canyon to Half Dome, Clouds Rest, North Dome, and the Royal Arches. You'll next come to a reverse tunnel view off to west at the start of the switchbacks, with Cathedral Rocks and El Capitan framing opposite sides of the valley. You'll also get varying views of Yosemite Falls almost all way down the trail until the trees swallow the view about a mile from the bottom. If you travel all the way to the bottom to the valley, the last third of the trail is anticlimactic through all the trees. At 1.8 miles, walk 220 feet to Union Point, a rocky viewpoint with great views and a great half-way point. This shortened trip lets you see all best views on the trail in a 3.7-mile RT. Remember though the "up" takes twice as long as the "down." Great hike.
