Tioga and Glacier Point Roads Plowing and Road Opening Update
Mount Dana, May 30, 2024
Tioga Road
June 7, 2024
Tioga Road opened to vehicles on Monday, June 10, 2024.
Tioga Road is typically open to vehicles from late May or June until sometime in November. Plowing typically begins around April 15.
In some years, Tioga Road opens to cycling one or more days before opening to vehicles. If this occurs in 2024, we'll provide that information here.
Glacier Point Road
May 16, 2024
Glacier Point Road opened to vehicles on Tuesday, May 14, 2024.
Glacier Point Road is typically open to vehicles from sometime in May until sometime in November. Plowing typically begins around April 15.
In some years, Glacier Point Road opens to cycling one or more days before opening to vehicles. If this occurs in 2024, we'll provide that information here.
Will I be able to ride a bicycle on the Tioga or Glacier Point Roads before they open to cars?
In some years, these roads may be open during limited periods to bicycles prior to opening to cars. Any updates regarding pre-opening access on these roads will appear on this webpage. Unless otherwise posted here, both roads are closed to cyclists if they are closed to vehicles.
What does it take to reopen Tioga Road?
Plowing is just the beginning! Plowing crews must safely navigate through multiple avalanche zones. In addition to several feet of snow, downed trees and rockfall often need to be cleared from the road. Park facilities and infrastructure may require repairs after a heavy winter. For the safety of staff and visitors, and for the protection of Yosemite's high country, services such as radio, water, restrooms, and trash must be in place before the road opens. We're not just opening a road—we're essentially opening a park!
Before Plowing Begins
Tioga Road is closed to vehicles for the winter but open to skiers and snowshoers. The road is treated as wilderness during this time.
Tasks:
During winter and early spring, crews complete essential training and prepare equipment.
Plowing 45.5 miles from Crane Flat to Tioga Pass
Plowing begins on or around April 15.
Tasks:
Ahead of the plows, the avalanche team surveys, monitors, and mitigates safety concerns along the route.
Plowing crew clears 1−2 lanes of road to Tioga Pass Entrance.
Caltrans plows Highway 120 from Lee Vining to Tioga Pass Entrance.
Forestry and maintenance crews follow plows to begin clearing trees that pose a safety hazard and replacing road signs.
After snowplows “punch through,” even more work must be completed before the road opens!
Completing this checklist before opening the road to the public ensures the safety of staff and visitors and the protection of high-country resources.
Ongoing tasks throughout phases 1−3:
Continue clearing Tioga Road and plow turnouts, secondary roads, campgrounds, and parking areas.
Clear trees that pose a safety hazard along roads and in administrative and visitor areas.
Repair and set up the potable water system, sewer system, and wastewater treatment plant.
Clear culverts and ditches, repair potholes and other damage to road.
Fabricate and replace signs, as needed.
Phase 1: Access Critical Facilities
Avalanche team continues to support employee safety.
EMS arrives in Tuolumne Meadows to support employee safety.
Set up temporary camp for work crews.
Extensive snow shoveling to access critical facilities and infrastructure.
Assessment of damage to facilities and infrastructure.
Phase 2: Set Up Essential Services
Dig out and set up tent cabins for employees.
De-winterize restrooms and cabins.
Employees begin moving in.
Trash & vault toilets emptied.
Park radio repeaters operational.
Cell & internet service operational.
Phase 3: Final Preparation
Remaining employees arrive and move into housing.
Entrance station, visitor center, and wilderness center de-winterized and set up for opening.
Each spring, plowing crews set out to clear 45.5 miles along the Tioga Road. Crews must safely navigate through multiple avalanche zones. In addition to several feet of snow, downed trees and rockfall often need to be cleared from the road. This video shows footage of plowing operations in May 2023, which was a heavy snow year.
Prior to the plows making their way through avalanche zones, Yosemite's avalanche crews go ahead of the plows to assess the situation; this is especially important at Olmsted Point, the most dangerous of the zones. Each spring this task is crucial for the safety of all employees and in especially heavy snow years can be a daunting task.
After it's deemed safe to begin plowing through the Olmsted Point avalanche zone, crews make their way through with their equipment under a close watch by the park's avalanche team. In 2023, after a record breaking snow year, this didn't occur until June 21!
Along the Tioga Road, ahead of the snow plows, the avalanche team surveys, monitors, and mitigates safety concerns along the route. Crews use explosives to spread charcoal during spring plowing operations to help snow melt faster at Olmsted Point. This helps decrease the avalanche hazard in a well-known avalanche zone along Tioga Road.
Each year, significant work goes into opening Tuolumne Meadows after the plows have cleared the Tioga Road, secondary roads, campgrounds, parking areas, and turnouts. Additional work includes clearing trees that pose safety hazards, repairing and setting up the water system, sewer system and wastewater treatment plant, clearing culverts and ditches, repairing potholes and other damage to roads along with many other tasks. In years of heavy snow, the workload is even more extensive.
Every spring, both visitors and locals look forward to the opening of the Tioga Road, a high-elevation pass that crosses Yosemite National Park. Get a glimpse of what it takes to clear snow and ice from a section of the highway known for dangerous avalanches.
