Re: Yosemite National Park Announces Tioga Road To Open to Unrestricted Vehicular Traffic on Monday, July 1

Tioga Road to remain open with limited hours through the weekend

Yosemite National Park announces the Tioga Road will open to unrestricted vehicular traffic on Monday, July 1st, at 8:00 a.m.

From now until the full opening Monday morning, vehicular access will continue to be available from 10:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. There will continue to be no stopping along the road and no overnight parking.. Park Rangers will sweep the road after each open and closed period to make sure visitors are utilizing the corridor only to cross the Sierra. Bicycles will be allowed during daylight hours throughout the weekend.

The park implemented the limited opening the past couple of weeks to allow crews to remove snow, set up utility systems to open restrooms and facilities, and prepare for summer operations. This resulted in better protection of park resources with no day use of the area as operations were coming on line. Areas along the Tioga Road, and specifically Tuolumne Meadows, are ecologically sensitive areas and the full opening with restrooms available for visitors will mitigate many resource issues that were seen in past openings where the road was opened with no facilities available for the public.

Visitor Services such as general park information and restrooms will be available beginning Monday. Other visitor services, such as campgrounds, lodging, and the store and grill, will be opened incrementally throughout the month of July.

Yosemite National Park extends its gratitude to the visiting public for complying with the limited opening, and helping to protect the park's precious resources.

Yosemite National Park is open year-round. All motorists should drive with caution and be aware of possible hazards in the roadway, including rocks, debris, and water. Tioga Road may be impacted by incoming storm activity, including snow and icy driving conditions, over the next several weeks. Tioga Road may temporarily close due to weather and unsafe driving conditions at any time. Tioga Road is a seasonal road through Yosemite National Park, typically open from late spring to early fall.

For updated 24-hour road and weather conditions for Yosemite National Park, please call +1 209 372-0200.

Wow...since 1933, there have only been 4 other July openings...the last one more than 20 years ago (Jul 1 in 1998 and 1936, Jul 5 in 1938 and Jul 8 in 1933)!

Details here

Bear in mind, moreover, that the middle section of the road was not re-aligned until 1961 so in the stretch just west of Tenaya Lake, the old road still went up to Snow Flat (one proposed re-routing of this stretch was supposed to go even further north...behind Mt. Hoffman) and even the far east and far west ends did not open on the current alignment until Fall of 1938 so those 3 dates in the 30's actually apply to the Old Tioga Road meaning that the current road has only once before opened this late!

BTW, for those of you who are interested in the old roads and unfamiliar with the HAER (Historic Architectural Engineering Reports) write-ups on these roads, they're fascinating reading. The one for the Great Sierra Wagon Road/Tioga Road is here (and probably a couple of other places online as well).

I don't have links to the Coulterville, Wawona or Big Oak Flat Road reports handy but can look them up if you're interested and can't find them.