Drives California
Tioga Pass
Tioga Road and CA-120, Crane Flat to Lee Vining · Yosemite National Park, California
Yosemite's high country by car: Tioga Road from Crane Flat past Olmsted Point, Tenaya Lake and Tuolumne Meadows to Tioga Pass at 9,945 feet, the highest highway pass in California, then down the steep east side to Lee Vining.
- Distance
- 59 mi
- Drive time
- 1 hr 45 min
- Climbing
- 6,200 ft
- Highest point
- ≈ 9,900 ft
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The drive
Tioga Road runs across the top of Yosemite, far above the crowds in the Valley: granite domes and glacial erratics at Olmsted Point, the shore of Tenaya Lake, and Tuolumne Meadows, the largest subalpine meadow in the Sierra Nevada, at about 8,600 feet.
Past the Tioga Pass entrance the road leaves the park and drops steeply down Lee Vining Canyon to US-395, a few minutes from Mono Lake.
Stops along the way
- Olmsted Point At about 8,400 feet: a quarter-mile walk among glacial erratics, with a view down Tenaya Canyon.
- Tenaya Lake The largest lake in Yosemite's frontcountry, right beside the road.
- Tuolumne Meadows The largest subalpine meadow in the Sierra Nevada, at about 8,600 feet.
- Tioga Pass 9,945 feet, the highest highway pass in California, at the park's east entrance.
When to go
Tioga Road is closed by snow for much of the year. In 2026 it opened on May 15. It closes with the first big storm of autumn, anywhere from late October to late November: November 12 in 2025, November 11 in 2024, October 31 in 2022 and October 21 in 2021. From October 15 there's no overnight parking along the road, and in October 2026 expect short construction delays between Olmsted Point and Tioga Pass, Monday to Thursday.
Good to know
- A Yosemite entrance pass is required: $35 per car or $30 per motorcycle, valid for seven days, paid by card. Since January 2026, visitors who aren't US residents pay a $100 surcharge per person aged 16 and over. No reservation is needed in 2026.
- There's no gas in Tuolumne Meadows. Crane Flat has 24-hour pumps.
- Cell service is poor: AT&T has none at Tuolumne Meadows and Verizon is unreliable. The nearest reliable signal is in Lee Vining, so download the route first.
- Tuolumne's services can close from September, before the road does.
More drives
- Big Sur, Highway 1 CA-1, Carmel to San Simeon · 89 mi · Sweeping
- Going-to-the-Sun Road West Glacier to St. Mary · 51 mi · Sweeping
- Beartooth Highway US-212, Red Lodge to Cooke City · 65 mi · Sweeping
Free to plan and drive with a signal. Carve Apex downloads the whole route for driving with none.
Sources: Yosemite road conditions, Tioga Road (NPS), Yosemite fees (NPS), Yosemite reservations (NPS), Wikipedia: Tioga Pass. Distance, time, elevation and intensity are from Carve's route. Checked 2026-10-06.