Typical Yosemite road conditions in March/April???

[donald_kim_lewiston]

Hello, I am trying to plan my spring break and would like to go to

Yosemite. However, my biggest concern are snowy/icy road conditions

in my very low clearance 2WD car. Are the main roads usually well

taken care of this time of year?? I know that certain roads remain

closed till May. I will most likely be staying outside the park, so

I will need to do a lot of driving in and out of the park everyday.

Am I just being overly paranoid? Any suggestions on what to

photograph and what is usually accessible during this time period

would also be very appreciated.

Thank you,

 

Donny

[scott_stadler]

If you stick to the main road comming in from Merced, I think that is 120, you should be fine. It is not high enough to have snow and ice stay on the road, unless you hapen to drive up during a blizzard. :)

Highway 140 and the one comming in from Fresno go higher in altitude. I usually go up every year between November and February and haven't had a problem yet with snowy road conditions.

[scott_stadler]

Hey I just remembered that they give road conditions on the Yosemite website. If you are worried about bad conditions you might want to check it before you go. www.yosemitepark.com

[scot]

You might want to check out the ghost town of Bodie. It's just east and north of Yosemite. The last few miles of the road to it are unpaved, and as it's at high altitude, you'll need to check road conditions to see if it's passable. The place is a photographer's dream. Go on the tour of the stamp mill if the park service run them that time of year.

Scot Steele

[mark_man]

Checking the website is by far the best bet. Note that the Tioga Pass Road will almost certainly be closed until May :(

[craig_gillette]

The California DoT site has a search function that will allow you to check closure status. Highways 120, 140 and 41 are the main highways in. 120 is closed over the crest of the Sierra and won't be open. You can have snow storms this late in the year.

 

http://www.dot.ca.gov/ has a search function for highway conditions but you could expect that local conditions can vary. You should plan to have chains and know how to put them on. You don't want to be learning in the mud and slush of a roadside turnout. Be extremely sure that the chains you get fit the vehicle. In or out of the park, these routes may go high enough to be in snow.

 

Storm conditions notwithstanding, the valley roads should be open, 120 in from the west to the valley should be open, 41 north via Wawona from Fresno (this is the highest route), and 140 up the Merced River should be open but there can be snow in the Mariposa area. The mariposa Grove should be open to the parking lot, Glacier Point to Badger Pass, (again, a high point on the Wawona Road).

 

They do try to clear the roads as quickly as possible as well as to keep conditions safe. On our trip in April of 2003 we needed chains for about 5 minutes near Wawona as the storm blew through and the road was quickly cleared.

 

http://www.pbase.com/gillettecraig/image/15905190