Tioga Road, Tuolumne Meadows

Winter update-- the road is closed for the 2009-2010 winter season. Overall this year it closed later than normal, though there were some temporary closures before the big snow that closed it for the season.

The high road through Tuolumne provides the easiest access to a high Alpine meadow in the Sierra. From the east you have a long steep climb to the park boundary at Tioga Pass -- a relatively low pass over the Sierra, which is why the road was built. Then the Tuolumne meadow area with the campground and visitor center. Tenaya Lake is a good place for starting an interesting hike to Clouds Rest (and continuing to the valley if your car can drive itself). Olmstead Point gives you a view of Half Dome and is the critical avalanche zone for the snow plows every spring. The road continues down into the forest and Crane Flat.

The road has many trailheads, which save the long climb from the valley floor. Winter and spring are possible only on skis or snow shoes, but summer and early fall are great times to visit and get away from the crowds. Especiall fall when facilities are closing and there is no overnight parking allowed on the road -- once it snows the road is closed. Recently a summer shuttle from Olmstead Point to Tuolumne Lodge.

Tuolumne is the largest alpine meadow in the Sierra, also the most accessible and most crowded. But compared to Yosemite Valley, or much of Yellowstone, it is deserted. Even moreso in the winter when it is under several feet of snow. If you get out of your car and start walking you quickly leave the people behind.

Snow steadily accumulates with each winter storm, then steadily and quickly melts to feed the streams and falls. The meadow itself provides San Francisco with subdized water. San Francisco pays nothing to protect the important watershed. Below the meadow, Hetch Hetchy has been destroyed by San Francisco to produce power that is mostly sold to make money for the city. The water storage is primarily lower in the Tuolumne basin at Don Pedro.

Olmstead Point provides a different view of Half Dome. The higher Clouds Rest (to the left) provides even better views. This is one of the critical zones for opening the road each spring -- with the large expanse of bare rock it is prime avalanches terrain. Walk out to the views that are a bit beyond the parking lot. For stereo views, see Olmstead Point Stereo

Tenaya Lake, which feeds Tenaya Creek (and eventually Mirror Lake), provides a good break along the road. No motorized boats are allowed in the park. Glen Aulin (11 miles round-trip from the road), one of the High Sierra Camps, is along the Tuolumne River. The cascade provides a beautiful setting. The High Sierra Camps provide one way for people to experience the back country without the effort, but they require luck and advance planning (enter the lottery in the winter). Occasionally, in extreme years the camps do not open due to the late snow melt. Along the trails, the peaks surrounding Tuolumne provide outstanding backdrops for the river. From the road, take one of the trails up or down stream. Once you are away from the road the crowds thin out and you can enjoy the scenery away from cars. Pothole Dome with its easy walk up the rock lets you have an overview of the meadow to the east. Pothole is the western limit of the meadow. Not too far past here you cross the not very obvious divide between the Tuolumne and the Merced (or locally, the Tenaya). Gaylor Peak stands on the Sierra Crest, on the opposite side of Tioga Pass from Mt. Dana. From here you have views to the east (Mono Lake region) and to the west toward Tuolumne Meadow. Tioga Pass requires a long steep climb from Lee Vinning and Mono Lake.

Though not really on the Tioga road -- it is on the old road to Big Oak Flat, which is now a walking path -- the Tuolumne Grove is a quiet place to see Sequoias. Including what is left of a Tunnel Tree. Mariposa Grove on the southern edge of the park is larger and more accessible (and thus more crowded).

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