YOSEMITE NATIONAL PARK — Great news! Tioga Road (continuation of Highway 120 through the park) will open to vehicles on Saturday, July 22, at 8 am. While vault and portable toilets will be available, there will be no water, store or food service, or fuel. Be sure to bring all the food and water you need.
The Tuolumne Meadows Wilderness Center will be open (8 am to 5 pm), and a general information desk near the visitor center will be open from 9 am to 5 pm.
Rockwork to remove debris. NPS Photo
Tioga Road has some damage, so watch for one-lane sections, with delays of up to 15 minutes just east of Olmsted Point.
There is no estimate when Tamarack Flat or Porcupine Flat Campgrounds will open. Other campgrounds on Tioga Road will not open this year.
It’s still snowy up there! Meadows and some trails are flooded. Snow is persisting in some shady areas as low as 8,000 feet, with extensive, deep snow coverage by 9,000 feet. Stay on trails to protect growing plants and plan for wet feet. Marked trails may be hard or impossible to follow; hikers should have GPS and a map and compass (and know how to use them).
Video: “Opening Tioga Road is a complex task in any year.”
The majority of structures accessed by Tioga Road experienced damages. NPS Photo
