The Mist Trail is one of Yosemite National Park’s best-known short hikes, rising from Happy Isles along the Merced River through a steep granite canyon. It passes Vernal Fall, Emerald Pool, and Nevada Fall, where it connects with the John Muir Trail and routes toward Little Yosemite Valley and Half Dome. The trail’s character comes from its dramatic setting, with sheer walls, huge boulders, and powerful river scenery. Its namesake section climbs beside Vernal Fall, where spray often drenches the stone steps and can create a full circular rainbow. Improved through Works Progress Administration projects in the 1930s, it remains a popular, strenuous route into Yosemite’s granite landscape.