Yosemite National Park: $32 million in new upgrades renovate famed waterfall area, construct new visitor center

Before they see Half Dome, Yosemite Falls, giant sequoias or other jaw-dropping attractions, the first stop for millions of visitors as they enter Yosemite National Park is Bridalveil Fall.

Yet for generations, the amenities at the base of the thundering, 620-foot waterfall on the western edge of Yosemite Valley have been a raging disappointment: Foul-smelling pit toilets dating back to the 1960s, crumbling asphalt pathways, a crammed dirt parking lot and narrow, slippery trails.

But now all of that is a bygone memory.