California
Sentinel Fall
69 mi from Fresno · ~2.0 hr drive · Seasonal flow · Intermittent
1,936ft tall
≈ 590 m
≈ 590 m
Sentinel Fall is a named waterfall in California — a major waterfall standing 1,936 feet tall, about 69 miles from Fresno, CA. Full visit details below.
- State
- California
- Nearest city
- Fresno, CA · 69 mi · ~2.0 hr drive
- Height
- 1,936 ft (590 m)
- Elevation
- 5,630 ft (1716 m)
- Coordinates
- 37.7249°, -119.5965°
- Seasonal flow
- Yes
- Intermittent
- Yes — may run dry seasonally
From Wikipedia: Sentinel Falls is a long series of cascades descending into Yosemite Valley, in the U.S. state of California, alongside Sentinel Rock. It is a tiered waterfall consisting of 6 major drops totaling 1,920 feet (590 m), the longest single drop being 500 feet (150 m). It ranks on many lists as the twelfth-highest waterfall in the world, although in truth it is roughly the sixtieth-tallest, as most weaker waterfalls do not make it into such lists. Despite its immense height it has a relatively low drainage and is usually dry by July. Excerpt from the Wikipedia article on Sentinel Fall, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Visiting Sentinel Fall
The exact location is at 37.7249°, -119.5965° — open in Google Maps for driving directions from your location.
Before you go: check current conditions with the appropriate land manager — state parks department, U.S. Forest Service ranger district, or National Park Service unit. Trail access, parking, water levels, and seasonal closures all vary. Several waterfalls in our database are seasonal and may run dry between mid-summer and the next rainy season.
If you've visited Sentinel Fall and have current notes (parking situation, dog policy, seasonality, kid-friendliness), tell us at /contact — we update pages as we learn more.
Stay nearby
Driving in? The nearest documented metro is Fresno, CA — 69 miles away (~2.0 hr drive).
See accommodation in Fresno on Booking.com →
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Other waterfalls within 30 miles
Staircase Falls
1 miles from Sentinel Fall · 1,017 ft
Horsetail Fall
2 miles from Sentinel Fall · 1,542 ft
Lower Yosemite Fall
2 miles from Sentinel Fall · 322 ft
Middle Cascades
2 miles from Sentinel Fall · 676 ft
Illilouette Fall
2 miles from Sentinel Fall · 361 ft
Royal Arch Cascade
2 miles from Sentinel Fall · 1,247 ft
Sources
Location and tag data for Sentinel Fall comes from OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL license) ; the Wikipedia article linked above provides additional history. We do not modify the underlying data — this page presents what's already publicly recorded. To suggest corrections, see our methodology page or contact us.