I have October 25th available for hiking.
Originally I thought about staying at Tuolumne Meadows campground, but recently learned that it's open only till the end of September.

I am confused by this closure.
I understand that Tioga road is still open in October (in the last 25 years only in 2004 it was closed prior to October 25th according to http://www.nps.gov/yose/planyourvisit/tiogaopen.htm).
Is there a chance for me to camp at or near Tuolumne Meadows on October 25th?

I have very limited exposure to Yosemite hiking (only Half Dome, Yosemite Falls and Mt. Dana) and want to explore new areas.
My current options are:
- hiking near Tuolumne Meadows (once I spent ~30 minutes hiking in this area and was fascinated by Lambert Dome and other smaller domes)
- hiking Sonora Peak (I never bean to Sonora Pass)

Am I missing anything?
Could you recommend another worthy option?

Quote
Yury
Is there a chance for me to camp at or near Tuolumne Meadows on October 25th?

None at all. You can't even park overnight after October 15th.

You can though camp at a one of the campgrounds just outside the park on the east side of Tioga Pass. I beleive there are three or four between the park entrance amd 395. Saddlebag Lake has a decent one.

---

Old Dude

Quote
mrcondron
You can though camp at a one of the campgrounds just outside the park on the east side of Tioga Pass.

I would like to avoid this option to save on driving, because next day I need to be back west.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/17/2015 03:50PM by Yury.

Saddlebag Campground is a 20 minute drive to Lembert Dome parking lot...

Thank you for this info.
I stayed in a hotel in Central Valley, then drove to Sonora Pass and hiked Sonora Peak on October 25th.
The weather was decent - temperature slightly above freezing, strong wind and no rain/snow.
Driving on dry pavement was enjoyable.
I got lucky because snow was falling prior to October 25th and recently and in both case e.g. Tioga Pass was closed.