Best Route to Yosemite

[raymondfl]

Hi everyone, we are in Cheyenne, in the parking lot of freightliner service center, getting small repair should be on the road tomorrow towards Lake Tahoe. Going to stay there a few days and then head to Yosemite. But as I look at the map there does not seem to be a good way to get there. Should I take 395 back up to I-80 and then over to I-5 down to CA 120 and across to Groveland. Is there a way to come down more along the west side of Yosemite and more direct to Groveland? We have a 40' motorhome and will be towing. Any help will be appreciated.
Thanks

[Pogoil]

140, Best route by far. Have taken every route in but if you do not have reservations you most likely cannot get them.

Good luck.

Pogoil.

[bobcatcharlie]

I've driven our 40'over Tioga pass. Seemed OK for me. No problems. Yosemite will be crowded in the summer. I found no place to park so just passed through. Been there before so no big deal.

[CManley]

msmith1199 wrote:
That is the safest route, but I still think you would be better off taking 89 South to 88 and then 88 to 49 and 49 to 120. And yes, there is no way to get to Yosemite without going uphill and no way to get out without going downhill. I don't know why they had to put that darn park in the mountains anyway!

I like this route as well, much better scenery than down the valley. Out of curiosity I checked the mileage and time both directions.

1. 89 to 88 to 49 to 120 = 157 miles, 3 hrs and 20 mins
2. 50 to 99 to 120 = 226 miles, 4 hours and 7 mins.

There is a 47 minute difference.
-Option one is through foothill roads slower travel with winding roads and better scenery
-Option two primarily HWY driving once you are too Placerville on HWY 50

[msmith1199]

raymondfl wrote:
I would like to thank everyone for the information, it sounds like no matter how I go I will be climbing a hill higher than Space Mountain.
After considering all the inputs I think I will take 50 to 99 to 120. Sounds like going east on 120 to Groveland will be fun. I will be the slow flat lander.
Thanks again.

That is the safest route, but I still think you would be better off taking 89 South to 88 and then 88 to 49 and 49 to 120. And yes, there is no way to get to Yosemite without going uphill and no way to get out without going downhill. I don't know why they had to put that darn park in the mountains anyway! 🙂

If anybody is too scared of grades, then the best road into Yosemite is Highway 140 through Merced. Highway 140 mostly follows along the Merced River and right into Yosemite Valley. It stays at the lowest elevation but even it still has hills.

[tropical36]

raymondfl wrote:
I would like to thank everyone for the information, it sounds like no matter how I go I will be climbing a hill higher than Space Mountain.
After considering all the inputs I think I will take 50 to 99 to 120. Sounds like going east on 120 to Groveland will be fun. I will be the slow flat lander.
Thanks again.

You'll be fine and if you go out that way, be sure to gear down, so as not to be overheating your brakes. Here's a good look at that road with the hairpins beginning west of Groveland, towards Moccassin and pretty much ending where 120 takes a NW turn... Priest Grade

[2bzy2c]

Good choice. You can't go wrong with either way.

[raymondfl]

I would like to thank everyone for the information, it sounds like no matter how I go I will be climbing a hill higher than Space Mountain.
After considering all the inputs I think I will take 50 to 99 to 120. Sounds like going east on 120 to Groveland will be fun. I will be the slow flat lander.
Thanks again.

[CManley]

raymondfl wrote:
Hi everyone, we are in Cheyenne, in the parking lot of freightliner service center, getting small repair should be on the road tomorrow towards Lake Tahoe. Going to stay there a few days and then head to Yosemite. But as I look at the map there does not seem to be a good way to get there. Should I take 395 back up to I-80 and then over to I-5 down to CA 120 and across to Groveland. Is there a way to come down more along the west side of Yosemite and more direct to Groveland? We have a 40' motorhome and will be towing. Any help will be appreciated.
Thanks

raymondfl,

From Lake Tahoe there are two options that depend if your are on the North or South Side of the Lake,

North Lake Tahoe to Groveland:

1. HWY 89 to HWY 80
2. HWY 80 to Business 80 to HWY 99 South (toward Fresno)
3. HWY 99 to 120 east
4. Next Stop Groveland.

South Lake Tahoe:

1. HWY 50 West to HWY 99 South (toward Fresno)
2. HWY 99 to 120 east
3. Next Stop Groveland.

Note before you get to Groveland there is a grade to climb that is on the steep side. Take it slow and you will be fine. I have traveled this route 3 times this year, take it slow and life is good.

The route from South Lake Tahoe is the simplest. I would NOT travel HWY 395 to HWY 120 to get to Groveland/Yosemite. The grade out of Mono Lake on HWY 120 is excessive.

[Movin__on]

Any route you take to Yosemite Will take your breath. Hair raising drive in a motorhome. I had a week to recuperate before driving back out.

[tropical36]

msmith1199 wrote:
To the OP, I see you are from Florida. I've been in California all my life and over all these mountain passes dozens of times, so consider that when taking my advice here. To me all the routes that have been described for you are no big deal. I wouldn't even have cautioned you about Priest Grade as to me it's nothing. It's just a slow climb going up with lots of switch backs, but that's just a normal mountain road for us in California. I sometimes forget that the tallest mountain in Florida is Space Mountain. Tropical36 is talking about the road too, but he's also from Florida. I like the part where he says he's originally from WV so he should be used to those kinds of roads. The highest elevation in WV is less than 5,000 feet. In California we call that a hill, not a mountain. I guess some of these mountain roads can get pretty hairy if you're mostly used to driving around in the flat country.

Actually, I didn't have a problem with Priest Grade, it was just a surprise after coming in from the east and thought, I'd better more than announce it, for the benefit of others, as well. No, WV isn't much for altitude, but some of the back roads can be quite steep and curvy. We used to say that you could see your tail lights while going around some of them and a 40ft coach with a toad might be pretty intimidating to many. As for cars, we'd slide around the turns, just for funniness, in the old days and there wasn't much for guard rails, either.

[tropical36]

msmith1199 wrote:
The route described, going out the west and ending up in Oakdale, is a very long ways from Bass Lake. The lake Campground in Oakdale as at Woodward Reservoir and it's a County run park.

That's the one, most surely and a nice place for the money. Right outside of town too, so surely it wasn't Bass Lake. In fact I would have not known of it, if not asking in the store for a place to stay when fueling up.

[msmith1199]

The route described, going out the west and ending up in Oakdale, is a very long ways from Bass Lake. The lake Campground in Oakdale as at Woodward Reservoir and it's a County run park.

[MrWizard]

We came in from the east and not pulling a toad over Tioga pass and into Yosemite valley, but don't see what difference it would have made. Now leaving the park and going out the west end, towards the wine country, was nothing but steep downhill and twisting turns. We were glad to find a nice lake campground in Oakdale to spend the night afterwards and from there it was smooth sailing to the coast and beyond.

did you stay at "Bass Lake" ?

long time since i've been there, but me and the kids really enjoyed it

[msmith1199]

If you did a year ago then it hasn't been improved since then. I own land at the top of Priest Grade and camp on it all the time so I've been up and down it a hundred times or more. Just isn't that big of a deal to me. If there is traffic that is that much slower that you then tap the horn and get them to use a turnout. If not pull over and wait to give yourself some distance from them. Nobody should be afraid of Priest Grade because as mountain roads go, it just isn't that difficult of a road. It's the main route into Yosemite for almost all traffic coming in from the North so it's a good road.