lisa

Has anyone out there done it?

Bob Brown

It is about 230 - 240 miles LV to Lee Vining. From there over Tioga pass to the valley floor is another 65 - 70 miles. My guess is 5 to 6 hours with stops for scenery added on.

janis

Bob is correct, except for during the winter when Tioga Pass is closed. Add a few hours between December and April.

lisa

I'm thinking of going the first week in April. Unfortunately my only choices for cities to fly into (I'm using a voucher for a free ticket on USAirways) are San Francisco, LA, or Las Vegas. Which would you recommend? I was thinking San Francisco, but have heard that delays are very common at that airport due to fog. Also, any idea what the weather would be like at Yosemite during the first week in April?

Susan

I've done the drive to Yosemite from both Los Angeles and San Francisco. It is about 300 miles from LA and about 200 miles from SF. Are you sure you cannot fly into San Jose Airport or Oakland? If not, I wouldn't worry too much about the fog. Planes land and take off every day from SFO (though today there is a security problem). Statistically, yes, it has more chance of delay for fog than LAX or Las Vegas, but that doesn't mean that the majority of flights don't take off and land on time.

April in Yosemite will be beautiful, though still chilly. The falls will be full. Be sure to make reservations now! The accomodations on the valley floor book up very quickly, especially in the spring and summer. Good luck!

janis

With those airport choices I would definitely use SFO. Yes there are fog delays - but not many in April. This year Tioga may not open by April and you can usually get into Yosemite valley from the west w/o any problems.

Suzie

Tioga Pass usually opens just before or on Memorial Day weekend. The average date of opening is May 30th. It has only opened in April 5 times since 1933. Three of those were during the drought years of the 70s. The others, 1 in '61 the other in '88 were both in late April. This year we've got plenty of snow so the opening will probably not be in April.

If your destination is Yosemite and not Las Vegas I would definitely choose SFO as the drive from there is pretty direct. Yosemite will be very pretty in April. Bring a coat.

lisa

Thanks everybody. Sounds like SFO is my best bet. Sounds like it's about a 4 hour drive from SFO to Yosemite?

Susan

Good ballpark estimate, Lisa. Just don't leave SFO on a Friday after noon!