Visiting Yosemite in mid-April.
 

I'm planning to visit Yosemite in mi-April. Will I need snow chains? If so, will any rental car company allow me to put on chains in their car? I'll be renting a cad in San Francisco.

Another option would be to visit there in late-May, so that I won't have to worry about the snow issue, but I am afraid it will be too crowded.

Please advice.

With front wheel drive cars, all season tires, etc., the chain requirement for cars has general gone away. The requirement in Colorado for the high mountain passes is "chains or adequate snow tires." Who checks adequate snow tires? If the snow is deep enough for chains then you should just stay put till it is over. Late May would be a far better times to visit because it would be spring, spring flowers would be in bloom, and everything would be greening up. Mid-April, especially this year, could still have a lot of snow cover. And some of the roads might not be open. May would be more crowd but not like summer.

I would opt for May.

> Will I need snow chains?

Impossible to say. Here's the rules for chains:

www.nps.gov/yose/planyourvisit/chains.htm
"You must have tire chains or cables in your possession when entering a designated chain control area, even if you're driving a four-wheel drive or rental vehicle. (Designation is by a sign that says, "CHAINS REQUIRED.") Conditions dictate when chains are required, therefore, it's not possible to predict if chains will be required ahead of time. You should have chains when visiting Yosemite from November through March (chain requirements may be in place on occasion as early as September or as late as May).
Within a designated chain control area, you must use chains or cables on your car's drive wheels when the chain control sign does not exempt your car. Even if your car is exempt, you must have chains or cables in your possession."

www.nps.gov/yose/planyourvisit/tirechains.htm
"Rental car companies generally don't provide chains, however rental cars are not exempt from chain requirements, even if they have all-season tires."

You can buy a set of chains from a major auto supply store as you head for Yosemite, and keep them in your possession in order to get through areas where their simple possession would be required. If you never take them out of the box and keep the receipt, you'll be able to return them to that shop for either a full refund or with a small re-stocking fee.

> If so, will any rental car company allow me
> to put on chains in their car?
Some do, some don't. You'll have to check with your rental car company.

<<<With front wheel drive cars, all season tires, etc., the chain requirement for cars has general gone away. The requirement in Colorado for the high mountain passes is "chains or adequate snow tires." Who checks adequate snow tires?>>>

Well, that's not the case in California. The rule going over the summit to Tahoe for example, is generally "chains or 4WD with snow tires on all 4 wheels" and yes, they absolutely do check.

We're driving into Yosemite Valley on April 7 for 2 nights. Only visiting Yosemite Valley, then south to Kings Canyon. Assuming a large snowstorm doesn't hit immediatly before we set out - what are the chances of us needing chains? I'm not a snow person.

Stu Dudley

If there is no snowstorm you should be OK; the roads will have been cleared of any previous snow.

"You can buy a set of chains from a major auto supply store as you head for Yosemite, and keep them in your possession in order to get through areas where their simple possession would be required. If you never take them out of the box and keep the receipt, you'll be able to return them to that shop for either a full refund or with a small re-stocking fee."

When I bought chains a year or two ago at Kragen in San Jose, they were not returnable. The employee who helped me choose the correct size and the cashier who rang them up were very clear about this, and this policy was also printed on the receipt. I asked about it and they said that it is pretty much an industry-wide practice now because otherwise they'd get a bunch of returned tire chains at the end of every season.

> it is pretty much an industry-wide practice now

Hmmmm.
I'd trust NovemberMoon on this one. I admit I don't know for a FACT that you can return chains, I just surmised it based on my experience with other parts at major auto stores in my area. But I have no idea if this carries over to chain sales in California.

Perhaps better advice would be to check weather.com right before you head for Yosemite to get an idea of the expected weather. If chain requirements are possible, you've got three options:
1) chance that carrying chains won't be required. Note that California Highways and National Parks operate under different criteria: you may be permitted to drive right to the border of Yosemite without chains, then not be permitted to enter!
2) buy chains as you leave the airport. I admit I'm not sure what to do at the end of your trip.
3) wait to see if you have to buy chains until you get near to Yosemite. Believe me, if chains ARE required, there will be a LOT of extortionists (excuse, I mean businesses) waiting to sell you chains right as you get to the signs requiring them. Whether it will be price you want to pay is another thing.
4) give up going to Yosemite.

Any good options? I can't think of any. Just don't try my idea -- apparently it won't work.

Anyone posting about Calif rules -- should know Calif rules.

Because they don't care and don't check in CO matters not one bit . . .

Not only do they 'care' in CA --yes they do check. Even when the pavement is dry, there can be roadblocks where CHP/Caltrans check every single car for either 4wd+snow tires, or for chains.

Not one of us knows if you will need chains. This week chains are going to be required due to a series of storms getting lower in altitude each day.

Post back about a week before your trip and we can give you a better idea. More than likely you will be fine and chains won't be required -- but storms can happen any time. (Don't put chains on a rental car since it will most likely void your insurance)

I can't speak for Yosemite(I imagine the same rule applies there though), but I saw people in Sequoia being turned away at the entrance for not having chains. Even if you have chains, you will probably want someone else to put them on. Most car rentals do not allow it. I don't like to break rules, but I would in this case. Now, you would taking a huge liabilty in doing this. If the chain comes off, it is likely to damage the car pretty badly. If you had to have roadside assistance, you would have to pay dearly for it. So you would need to figure out the risks on that. Not for sure what the stipulation would be if you were in an accident.

Some places rent chains At best, I think stores should at least charge a % restocking fee on unopened tire chains.

Always better to be prepared than not.

We were there the 3rd week of May and didn't have problems with crowds this past year. I think Memorial Day weekend would want to be avoided. It snowed on us t

BTW, it snowed on us that week.

Sorry !!! Please disregard my post. My mine set was on Yellowstone and not Yosemite. Both start with a Y and end in an e. My comments were based on my experience of winter driving in Colorado and Wy and the more casual approach to chain requirements on cars and pickups.

I think that the rules in CA are more strict than in CO because there are a lot of people who go to the mountains(residents and visitors) who have no experience driving in snow. It really fouls up the roads when people get stuck and it can cost a lot of they have to get rescued.

If this were my trip, I'd go with a chain rental or just buy a set and consider it part of the cost of the trip - then donate them on the way out. There's got to be a Goodwill or something not far off the route.

"<i>If this were my trip, I'd go with a chain rental or just buy a set and consider it part of the cost of the trip - then donate them on the way out</i>"

But - the OP will have a <u>rental</u> car and one can't usually use chains on a rental car . . . Just having the chains pop loose and scar the body work -- and they'd be out hundreds of $$$

AND - there is every chance there won't be any snow. This whole discussion needs to wait til closer to the date, when we know what the weather will be like. There is only a small chance it will be winter storm-ish.

I bought cables in January - I wish I could remember which auto supply chain I bought them at. I think it was either Kagan or Pep Boys. I was told that I could return them if I didn't need them but would be charged a 25% restocking fee.

But we did end up needing them. Although we weren't asked about chains when we entered Yosemite, we were pulled over by a park ranger for not having them on the car. He let us go when we showed them that we did have them but told us that he would have given us a ticket if we hadn't had them with us.

It's hard to say if you'll need chains in April. When I went to Yosemite last April, it was about 70 degrees when I arrived. Two days later it snowed and I was really worried about safely getting home since I didn't have chains with me then.

It sounds like it may be better to plan going to Yosemite in May instead of April. I'm thinking about mid-May to avoid Memorial Day. Hope there will not be too many people...

janis - I guess I was in a hurry and forgot a sentence. If it is required to carry chains in the car, then they need to HAVE chains. They don't have to actually use them unless they are driving while it is snowing. But yeah - I get that they are in a rental car.

I drove through Yosemite in Janurary in a rental car and while only the main roads were open we did not need chains or get checked. We went to Lake Tahoe after Yosemite and got caught in a snowstorm and I wished I'd had them. There were stations selling them along the freeway but we made it into town without the chains. Mountain roads are not fun to drive on in the snow.

If you have a choice, I would think May would be a better choice. Maybe, Maripossa Grove Road, Tioga Road and Glacier Point Road will be open at that time. Maripossa opened the day we got there last year On about the the 20th of May. Tioga and Glacier Point was still closed. I think most people consider the waterfalls at their peak in May.