My wife and I are tentatively planning a Utah National Parks trip for early May, 2021. One of the places we'd like to visit is Cedar Breaks National Monument and Brian Head. Cedar Breaks are at an elevation of over 10,000 feet, and according to the Utah DOT, the road leading to them is closed for the season between November and May due to snow and ice. UDOT's website gives rough timeframes for when certain highways in Utah that are closed for season are anticipated to open up -- "early May", "late May," "early June", etc. -- but only says "May" for UT 148. The adjacent road, UT 143 appears to be open all year round despite being at the same 10,000-foot elevation. UDOT TRAFFIC

For planning purposes:
1) Is UT 148 likely to be open in early May (before May 10) in an average year? (Yes, it could be early May in one year, late April the next year, and early June the next depending on how cold things are, but what's a good rule-of-thumb?)
2) Is UT 143 (the adjacent road that's open all year) likely to be icy and treacherous in early May or does UDOT do a good job of keeping it clear and passable?
3) Is a person who's not very experienced in driving in snow and ice likely to have a hard time on either road?

I have no snow or ice driving skills (I grew up in GA and live in NC) and certainly do not want to learn on a twisty mountain road at 10,000 feet of elevation, even if it's in a rental car and I have primary insurance through my credit card . Hence my concern... If it's relevant, we're likely to pick up the rental car in Las Vegas, so the odds of it coming with snow tires is minimal.

It really is hit or miss!! UDOT generally does an excellent job of clearing roads. But there could be a snow storm in May at that altitude. Given you have no experience driving in snow, I would try to plan an alternate itinerary if your day doesn't work. Front wheel drive is not what you want in our mountains. Sure, some people do it. But not many--4 wheel drive is a big help (and probably why any parking lot in Salt Lake City is filled with Subarus )

So I would just plan 2 days--one includes Cedar Breaks, the other doesn't. And check road conditions and weather on the day. We could easily have all 4 seasons in one day in May!

What Stanton-Hyde said, in 2011 we were on our way from Panguich to Bryce and wanted to stop in to Cedar Breaks. The turn down to Cedar breaks had snow over the roof of the car on April 27 with no likelihood of getting it plowed any time soon. The main road was fine, dry and any snow well off the pavement.