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John Cletheroe's
USA and Canada Holiday Hints |
In my opinion Glacier Point in Yosemite National Park is one of the Seven Natural Wonders of the USA and Canada.
The approach roads to Yosemite National Park from the west pass through the Sierra National Forest.
There are several places alongside the road to park and observe the views as you drive into the Valley area from any direction. Along Big Oak Flat Road from California State Highway 120 (from Modesto or the Tioga Pass) and along California State Highway 40 (from Fresno or Oakhurst) the road descends and there are excellent views of the valley below.
Once in the valley there is a one-way road system. This passes through meadows where a stop to admire the views is advised, together with a stroll down to the river.
In the summer of 2000 a new signposting system was introduced in Yosemite Valley. This uses colour coded single letters for each destination, as follows:
After parking at the Day Use Parking Areas at Curry Village or Yosemite Village, or anywhere else on the route, you can take one of the free shuttle buses to the various Valley areas including Happy Isles, Mirror Lake, the Visitor Centre and Yosemite Falls. Photograph (77KB). The shuttle bus loop route will take you to all the areas in the valley and you can freely hop on and off wherever you please and as many times as you wish at any official stop. There is only one main shuttle bus loop in Yosemite Valley, so all buses visit all stops. However, in some places you do need to consult the map at each stop to see which direction of bus will take you to where you wish to go quickest. From Curry Village, buses leaving from the stop on the side of the road next to the parking area first visit Happy Isles and Mirror Lake, while those leaving from the stop on the side of the road furthest from the parking area first visit Yosemite Village, the Visitor Centre and Yosemite Falls before returning to Curry Village at the other stop and then proceeding to Happy Isles and Mirror Lake.
A The Ahwahnee Hotel C Curry Village (day-use parking, snack bar, gift shop, bicycle and raft rental) i Visitor Centre (information; probably best visited by free shuttle bus after parking elsewhere) L Yosemite Lodge V Yosemite Village (day-use parking, shops, restaurants, bank)
Outside the park on this road is the Yosemite Mountain Sugar Pine Railroad which offers tourists trips through the forest. However, not all the trains are pulled by steam engines.
It is well worth the drive up to Glacier Point.
This road is closed in winter - see the "Winter Access" section below for details.
Update: According to a report in USA Today 28-Mar-03, the Park Service are advising visitors to stay away from a growing crack in the rock face below Glacier Point because of the potential for a rock fall and the area will be closed if it is unsafe. The story didn't state whether the whole of Glacier Point is affected or just part of it.
At Wawona there is a collection of historic buildings to wander round, plus a short covered bridge which can be crossed on foot, and stage coach rides for children.
Mariposa Grove
The Mariposa Grove of giant sequoia trees is located inside the park, very close to the entrance on the Fresno road. Because parking at the grove is extremely limited, you should park at Wawona and take the free shuttle bus to the grove. On the way up to the grove the shuttle bus driver provides some useful background information about the trees. This shuttle bus route is completely separate to the shuttle bus route in Yosemite Valley and only has two stops, namely Wawona and Mariposa Grove.
At Mariposa Grove you can walk up on the trail or the road through the trees to the Grizzly Giant, a particularly large tree. Alternatively you can take a tram tour, for which there is a charge ($4 per adult and $3.50 for senior citizens, as at summer 1998). We felt you could see far more by walking than by taking the tram ride; the trail is not difficult.
There is then a pleasant drive to Hetch Hetchy itself, where there is the most impressive O'Shaughnessy Dam and reservoir. You can walk across the dam (but not inside it) and continue through a tunnel on the other side for more views.
The reservoir provides water for the San Joaquin Valley and the city of San Francisco.
Tioga Pass Road (California State Highway 120)
The highly scenic Tioga Pass Road over the Sierras is well worth taking if you have the time, stopping along the way to admire Tuolumne Meadows. Don't underestimate the length of this road. Most travellers on this road will use it as a means of crossing the Sierras. This road is closed in winter - see the "Winter Access" section below for details.
The Yosemite Valley area on the western side of the park is open year-round but in winter snow chains or snow tyres may be required in order to reach it.
The Tioga Pass road usually reopens around the end of May although in 1998 it didn't open until early July due to an extreme winter caused by El Niño. The current condition of this and any other road in California can be obtained from the excellent official California Department Of Transportation (CalTrans) Current Highway Conditions site (external link verified Nov-02).
The current state of the roads in the park can also be viewed on this page of the National Park Service web site (external link verified May-02).
Both the CalTrans site and the Yosemite National Park section of the National Park Service site have pages listing the opening and closure dates of the Tioga Pass (as at May-02, CalTrans back to 1995 and NPS back to 1980; first URL verified Nov-02; second URL verified Dec-05). While these two sources of information are consistent regarding opening dates they differ quite markedly regarding closure dates and I do not know why this should be.
The Tioga Pass opened on the following dates in recent years:
| Year | Date |
|---|---|
| 1994 | 25-May |
| 1995 | 30-Jun |
| 1996 | 31-May |
| 1997 | 13-Jun |
| 1998 | 1-Jul (1998 was an El Niño year) |
| 1999 | 28-May |
| 2000 | 18-May |
| 2001 | 12-May |
| 2002 | 24-May | 2003 | 31-May |
| 2004 | 14-May |
In recent years the earliest closure date of the Tioga Pass was the 17th of October (2004) and the latest closure date was the 15th of December (2000).
If the Tioga Pass is closed then there are various alternative passes further north which might be open. See Winter Road Closures in California for more information. Of these roads, I-80 is by far the most likely route to be kept open and to be reopened first after heavy snowfall, followed by US50. However, these roads may require snow chains or snow tyres in winter conditions.
To the south, the next pass is County Road 341 east of Porterville, very much a backroad and I would think extremely likely to be closed if the Tioga Pass is closed. Next is the Lake Isabella road, California State Highway 178, which again I would think is extremely likely to be closed if the Tioga Pass is closed. I would not suggest trying either of these roads in winter conditions unless you have local knowledge. Then continuing south comes the Tehachapi Pass, California State Highway 58, east from Bakersfield, which being so far south, a main route and rather lower in altitude I would guess is only closed for short periods in the worst of conditions. This is however an enormous diversion compared with the Tioga Pass.
The road to Glacier Point in Yosemite National Park is closed in winter. It normally reopens in mid to late May, or in June in extreme years. It normally reopens around the same time as the Tioga Pass. In 1998 (an El Niño year) it was still closed in mid June but this was regarded as being most unusual. This page of the National Park Service web site includes information on the current state of this road (external link verified May-02).
Access to the park for visitors will presumably be provided by buses.
There have been plans to ban cars from Yosemite Valley for many years. While this would be both highly desirable and quite feasible for day use visitors, it doesn't seem to me to be a realistic proposition for people staying in the camp sites.
There have also been plans to introduce reservations for day use during the summer. Apparently this was tried during the summer of 1997 but was withdrawn due to general public objection to it.
The cost of repairing the damage caused by the flood is a major reason for the increase in the entrance charge to $20.
The new buses offer up to 60% greater fuel economy and 90% cleaner emissions than diesel buses. The diesel-electric hybrids are also quieter than traditional designs.
Hybrids draw power from two energy sources, typically a gas [petrol] or diesel engine combined with an electric motor.
CALIFORNIA STATE HIGHWAY 140 BLOCKED BY ROCKSLIDE BETWEEN MARIPOSA AND EL PORTAL - 12-JUN-06
In June 2006 a rockslide blocked California State Highway 140 between Mariposa and El Portal. The exact location is reported by CalTrans as being twenty miles east of Mariposa and by the National Park Service as ten miles west of El Portal.
A six-mile diversion via a temporary bridge and a partially unpaved road is now (2-Sep-06) available, with alternate one-way traffic. The maximum length of vehicles permitted is 28ft. According to some sources this diversion is open 24 hours per day, while other sources say it is only open from dawn until dusk. This contradictory information is probably due to web sites not yet being updated with the latest developments. Note that most rental car companies forbid the driving of their vehicles on unpaved roads; doing so will void all insurance and CDW/LDW. This diversion is therefore most definitely not recommended for visitors with rental cars.
The only available alternative routes involve considerable diversions via Coulterville (to the north) or Oakhurst (to the south).
Anyone planning to visit the area should check on the following web sites for up-to-date information before travelling:
National Park Service - Yosemite National Park (scroll down page to the Travel Advisory section) (external link verified Sep-06). This web site has recently been very poorly redesigned and the information is now much more difficult to find.
Sierra National Forest - InciWeb (external link verified Sep-06)
There is a Chamber Of Commerce information centre in Mariposa, near the intersection of California State Highways 140 and 49. This is probably the best local source for up-to-date information.
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Most recently modified 2-Sep-06