Caltrans on Friday, April 29th, opened its gate on State Route 120 W near Lee Vining. Motorists can now travel up to the eastern entrance of Yosemite National Park, CA.
The park entrance is still closed at this time and drivers will not be able to access Tioga Road or Tioga Pass. The route offers some of the best spring skiing and riding in the world.
Last year Tioga Road opened on May 27th. The earliest it has opened in the last 10 years was May 2nd, in 2014.
Tioga Road closes due to snow usually from sometime in November through late May or early June. The road closure extends from the Tuolumne Grove, just east of Crane Flat, to Tioga Pass Entrance Station. (Highway 120, the continuation of the Tioga Road outside the park, is often closed in winter from Tioga Pass to five miles west of Lee Vining.)
When Tioga Road is closed, it is not possible to drive to Tuolumne Meadows or enter Yosemite National Park from the east. All other park entrances, including those along Highway 120 from the west, Hetch Hetchy, Highway 140, and Highway 41, remain open all year.
