Historic Photos of Yosemite's Overhanging Rock

At Glacier Point in Yosemite National Park, a slab of granite juts out from the cliff’s edge 3,200 feet above the valley floor. This is Overhanging Rock, and from the moment trails reached Glacier Point in 1857, visitors were drawn to its terrifying edge. There were no guardrails. No safety barriers. Just open air and a straight drop to the valley below.

Man and woman standing on rock extending from top of cliff; woman is raising her right leg as though to step off.

Early visitors turned the rock into a stage. Standing on the edge was not enough — they kicked, posed, and balanced for the camera. These “I was there” photos were often printed as postcards and sent home as proof of their daring. George Fiske, Yosemite’s first resident photographer, captured many of these scenes throughout the 1880s and 1890s.

Kitty Tatch and Katherine Hazelston were waitresses in Yosemite's Sentinel Hotel in the 1890s. They danced atop Overhanging Rock at Glacier Point for George Fiske's famous photograph. — Kitty Tatch and Katherine Hazelston were waitresses in Yosemite’s Sentinel Hotel in the 1890s. They danced atop Overhanging Rock at Glacier Point for George Fiske’s famous photograph.

One of the most striking images from Overhanging Rock involves a car, not a person. In 1900, Oliver Lippincott drove a Locomobile steam car into Yosemite Valley — the first automobile ever to enter the park. The following morning, workers hauled the car onto Overhanging Rock using ropes for a single photograph.

Locomobile steam car on Overhanging Rock in 1900. This was the first automobile to enter Yosemite Valley. Oliver Lippincott drove up the steep, winding road to Glacier Point. The next morning it was hauled onto Overhanging Rock by ropes for this famous photograph.

That image set a trend. Car manufacturers saw the dramatic backdrop as the perfect advertising tool, using Overhanging Rock to showcase vehicle power and durability. Studebaker was among those who sent cars up the winding road for publicity shots.

A 1916 Publicity shot of a Studebaker Roadster.

Not far from Overhanging Rock, another Glacier Point tradition ran alongside it. James McCauley, who built a trail and hotel at Glacier Point in the 1870s, began pushing burning embers over the cliff’s edge each night. The glowing cascade, known as the Firefall, continued off and on until 1968. Meanwhile, the stunts on Overhanging Rock kept drawing crowds.

Tourists with an American flag at Glacier Point, Yosemite National Park, 1890's. — Tourists with an American flag at Glacier Point, Yosemite National Park, 1890’s.

Even Galen Clark, the first official guardian of Yosemite Park, was photographed standing on the rock. He was a figure of authority, yet he stood at the same precarious edge as every other visitor.

Galen Clark, first guardian of Yosemite Park, standing on Overhanging Rock, Glacier Point.

A man poses atop Overhanging Rock at Yosemite National Park's Glacier Point, circa 1920s. — A man poses atop Overhanging Rock at Yosemite National Park’s Glacier Point, circa 1920s.

After Fiske’s death, Ansel Adams printed several of his glass plate negatives, preserving these early images for future generations. The photos document an era when visitors had direct, unguarded access to one of the most exposed ledges in the American West.

A female tourist stands on the edge of Overhanging rock, nearly a mile straight down and only a step–from Glacier Point (N.W.) across valley to Yosemite Falls, Yosemite, Cal., circa 1902.

Man standing on Glacier Point, facing Half Dome in Yosemite National Park, California, ca. 1901.

The photographs below span decades of visits to Overhanging Rock. Each one captures a moment when a person — tourist, waitress, guardian, or daredevil — chose to stand at the very edge of the continent and look down.