Re: Tuolumne Meadows Hikers Bus is Back

The free Tuolumne Meadows Hikers Bus was able to begin operations on Saturday, May 30th. There are three runs between Yosemite Valley and the Tuolumne Meadows Visitor Center every day.

Any idea if they'll make any special stops along Tioga Road for hikers/backpackers? Say White Wolf for instance.

Yes, they stop at White Wolf. Also at the May Lake junction and Olmstead. And you can get dropped off at other places by request if the bus can safely pull off the road.

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eeek
Yes, they stop at White Wolf. Also at the May Lake junction and Olmstead. And you can get dropped off at other places by request if the bus can safely pull off the road.

Yes, they'll stop at (or close to) every official trailhead along Tioga Road, just let the driver know ahead of time.

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Yippee to the powers that be for this new free hikers bus !

And they updated/corrected the website and on-line schedule, see http://www.yosemitepark.com/tuolumne-meadows-tour.aspx

Here's the schedule:

(Note that the end of the line is the Tuolumne Meadows Visitor Center on the westside of Tuolumne Meadows. To reach the trailheads located further east, one has to transfer to the separate Tuolumne Meadows/Tioga Road shuttle bus or hike the rest of the distance on foot.)

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Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 06/02/2015 10:37PM by plawrence.

Thanx for the schedule...I took a peekshure of it with my phone

Wondering why the east terminus is at the Wilderness Center, Tuolumne..
Would.seem more logical to go all the way to the TM store complex, where the hikers usually congregate.
Just curious what the reasoning was here.
It would make more sense, if trying to avoid the cluster flock of the Store complex, have the Hiker bus board at the Standard Station/Gear Store - more convenient for all area hikers?



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/02/2015 05:17PM by markskor.

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markskor
Wondering why the east terminus is at the Wilderness Center, Tuolumne..
Would.seem more logical to go all the way to the TM store complex, where the hikers usually congregate.
Just curious what the reasoning was here.
It would make more sense, if trying to avoid the cluster flock of the Store complex, have the Hiker bus board at the Standard Station/Gear Store - more convenient for all area hikers?

I would have thought that the most logical terminus for the Tuolumne Meadows hiker bus would be the Tuolumne Meadows Wilderness Center (where one picks up their wilderness permit) located in the east end of the Tuolumne Meadows (Bus Stop #3 of the Tuolumne Meadows Shuttle Bus).

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Free? Wow. That is awesome!

I thought White Wolf was shuttered this summer.

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Paris92
I thought White Wolf was shuttered this summer.

The White Wolf Lodge is being renovated, but the campground should be open this summer and it's still an official trailhead for those who are backpacking.

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Was thinking of using the bus from Yosemite Lodge on a Saturday this month.
Does the bus fill up quickly or is there usually room?
Thanks

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bricah1954
Does the bus fill up quickly or is there usually room?

Since it's a new service this year I wouldn't want to hazard a prediction.

whoop~de~do and a fol~de~diddle~rol. this is just me being selfish and tight: will the drivers differentiate between hikers with day packs and those with MASSIVE obviouslt NOT daypacks?

I had the chance to take this new free shuttle this past week. First off, it isn't just a hiker's bus, it has a big sign in the window "hiker and tour shuttle." It's clearly intended for anyone and everyone who wants free transportation between the low and high country, not just hikers or backpackers.

The bus is nice, it's a regular "tour" bus with cushioned reclining seats, footrest, shoulder harness seatbelt, overhead air & lights, and a bathroom in the back. It has around 40 seats. We took the 10:15a from TM to the Valley on Tue 6/16 and there was only one other passenger (a DNC employee) on the bus.

I'm mostly interested in how crowded the final bus is, the one going back to the valley in the evening.

Last Friday the 7:00 bus had maybe 10 people on it when it left the TM Visitor Center--in other words, there was plenty of room.

The driver also indicated that this new free hikers bus would be offered only this year since it's funded for only this year.

That's nice to hear, glad it's not crowded. Wouldn't want to be left on the side of the road after hiking up from the valley, lol.

Hopefully they keep this bus and new schedule available for years. I wouldn't mind paying fare. But ridership seems low even as a free service? Doh.

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Ohnivy-Drak
That's nice to hear, glad it's not crowded. Wouldn't want to be left on the side of the road after hiking up from the valley, lol.

Hopefully they keep this bus and new schedule available for years. I wouldn't mind paying fare. But ridership seems low even as a free service? Doh.

It's still early in the season.

And in most public buses, one's allowed to stand while it's moving. Hence, those buses can carry a lot more people than the seats available. I wouldn't worry that they would leave you stranded due to no seats being available.

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I need a ride from Ten Lakes TH to Lukens Lake TH. Any chance the bus stops at "non-stops" along the way to pick up, not just drop off?

I see they posted pick up sites for Valley--> TM but what about the opposite direction?

Have taken this bus 4X now - thoughts :
With the PCT Peloton coming through this week, afternoon bus was full, to and from Valley (35+ riders). Driver mentioned the day before, 3 PCT were standing at the start. BTW, 90% of the riders are regular backpackers - backpacks ride under bus - big doors. Driver requests riders not open the bay doors themselves as can break easily. Let the driver open the bay doors.

We boarded Curry ~1:30 and with the road delays at White Wolf, bus arrived TM Store at 4:00 PM. Interesting that the bus originally routed only to Olmsted Point but the larger bus could not make the turn there, so then the route was extended to TM Visitors Center. However, in a June 13th afternoon hail storm, bus driver wisely decided to not drop off 35 backpackers, in the rain, to be picked up soon by the 20-passenger mini bus...

Now, bus from Valley regularly seen dropping off hikers at the store - as it should be. Boarding from TM - Valley still at Visitors Center (as of June 26th), but when talking with drivers, this location also being discussed as to actually starting the run at the store - also as it should be.

Bus funded only for this year - Driver said, "Write to the park to request continuing this bus in the future". Anybody know who/where to exactly ?

Once, Valley bound, we saw someone flagging down the bus at Yosemite Creek (used a real flag too - flagger was sitting ~100 feet, up the road, before trailhead where others in party were waiting - bus driver pulled over easily - no problems boarding on route.

Bus driver asks at start, who is going where? Pulled over 4 - 5 X to let off hikers (where safe)

This bus is a great asset to the park! Hope it continues..

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markskor

Bus funded only for this year - Driver said, "Write to the park to request continuing this bus in the future". Anybody know who/where to exactly ?

Via U.S. Postal Mail, send your letter to:

Superintendent Don Neubacher
Attn: Tuolumne Meadows Hiker Bus
P.O. BOX 577
YOSEMITE NATIONAL PARK, CA 95389-0577

Via email the following would probably be the best address: yose_planning@nps.gov with the subject line being: Tuolumne Meadows Hiker Bus .

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This is indeed amazing! They have never had this service in the past?

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Paris92
They have never had this service in the past?

Not that I know of. The only service, other than YARTS, was a once up and once down DNC bus.