Re: Glacier Point Road

We will be visiting at the end of May and are now starting to plan our hikes. We are from NewEngland, in our 60's, reasonably fit, and did hikes of 6-10 miles (with elevation) in Utah Parks recently.
I've been looking through the day hike options in the Falcon Guide and see that are number of them leave from the Glacier Point Road. We have been to Yosemite before, so I roughly know the lay of the land -- we did the High Sierra Loop in 2008. I recognize that those trails, and the ones at Hetch Hetchy, will not be accessible this spring due to the amount of snowfall, but could anyone tell me whether it's likely or not that the trails off Glacier Point road will be open. We're staying at Yosemite Bug from May 22-26.
Thank you.

I recommend keeping track of the daily road plowing reports that begin around April 15th. Also check the trail conditions to see if the 4 mile trail opens up. If it does, and Glacier Point road is not open, then you can huff up the trail, explore the area, and come back down either the 4 mile or panorama trails.

I wouldn't be so pessimistic about the trails in the Hetch Hetchy area (although you might not be able to cross the bridges along the north side of the reservoir, check out reports on this forum from that area from two years ago when there was heavy snow). But as far as GPR goes, follow Coolburn's advice and monitor the plowing situation. If the 4-mile trail is open and the road is closed, that's actually a golden opportunity to get to GP without the normal crowds.

Thanks for the helpful advice.

Where would I find the daily plowing reports?

Historically, things are in your favor. GP Road is normally open by the second half of May. This year might be different.

https://www.nps.gov/yose/planyourvisit/tiogaopen.htm

I think they are closer to once a week, but here:

https://www.nps.gov/yose/planyourvisit/tioga.htm

Late May this spring one will likely need to stay below 7000 feet to avoid snow, very soggy forest areas, or dangerous stream crossings. GP road is all over 7k. That leaves very few trails to backpack into with none in the high country. Although the Hetch Hetchy trail to Rancheria Creek is certain to be snow free, the volume of water at the Falls Creek bridge crossing is likely to be over the bridge. Additionally even if passable walk up permits will be in high demand requiring a strategy of knowing what to do. There are some other low elevation trails in that area to what most would consider boring destinations like Poopenaut or Gravel Pit Lake but will not recommend such.

The most interesting time would probably be had by just day hiking from down in Yosemite Valley. Otherwise the one good destination would be Kibbie Lake that is accessed from just outside the park at Cherry Lake reservoir and permits should be easier to obtain from Stanislaus NF unless things have changed.

https://caltopo.com/map.html#ll=38.05016,-119.84211&z=15&b=t

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