点评:Opted to do this seeming tourist trap despite trepidations that it would not be worth doing. Will say that it was an enjoyable attraction once we got to the entrance and the walk in the canyon that leads to the falls themselves.
Comments about the shuttle system are spot on. You have to make a reservation to park and take the shuttle but the timed entrance may not be honored exactly. Once you arrive at the parking lot you do have to line up and wait for the shuttle. If you are reserved for 10:00 but the 9:00 people didn't all manage to get on the shuttle you are now behind them in the line and so on. Also the shuttle does not just run back and forth continuously to ease this problem. Can't imagine what the management is thinking. Advice is to avoid the weekends if you plan to do this. We went on a Monday in October and the wait wasn't horrible for us because it wasn't terribly crowded when we got there.
The walk in the canyon to the steps that you climb was very pleasant with nice views all around. Make sure to take the correct set ofsteps once you arrive at that point. The first set of steps only goes as high as the elevator ascends and this is not to the summit where the two hiking trails are found. We goofed and took those steps only to come back down and climb the second set of steps to the top. It's good workout!
At the top there are two short trails. We did the Midnight Falls trail which was fairly easy and again very pleasant. Other option is to hike to Inspiration point, 3.0 miles with a 770 ft gain.
The waterfalls were OK but nothing all that spectacular to view. Maybe better at a different time of year?
Still in all, glad we did this one and would recommend on a non-weekend day.
翻译:尽管一开始有些忐忑,觉得这个看似“旅游陷阱”的地方可能不值得一去,但我还是决定去。不得不说,一旦到了入口,沿着峡谷走到瀑布那里,感觉就非常棒了。
关于接驳车系统的评论非常中肯。停车和乘坐接驳车都需要预约,但预约的入场时间可能并不完全准时。到达停车场后,你必须排队等候接驳车。如果你预约的是10点,但9点的人没能全部上车,那么你就得排在他们后面,以此类推。而且接驳车也不会来回不停地运行来缓解这个问题。真不知道管理人员是怎么想的。建议如果你打算去的话,尽量避开周末。我们十月份的一个星期一去的,因为到的时候人不多,所以等待时间不算太长。
沿着峡谷走到可以攀登的台阶的那段路程非常惬意,沿途风景优美。到达那里后,务必走对台阶。第一组台阶只到电梯上升的高度,并非通往两条徒步路线的山顶。我们犯了个错误,走了那组台阶,结果又下来爬了第二组台阶才到山顶。真是个不错的锻炼!
山顶有两条短途徒步路线。我们走了午夜瀑布步道,这条路线比较轻松,风景也很宜人。另一条路线是前往灵感点,全程3英里,爬升770英尺。
瀑布景色一般,没什么特别壮观的地方。也许换个季节会更好?
总而言之,很高兴我们去了那里,建议选择非周末前往。