janmart

Could anyone please tell us how far it is from San Fran to Yosemite Nat Park. We will be in San Fran for 5-6nights in Dec/Jan and then again later in Feb. What will the roads be like? are there any problems in travelling out to Yosemite from San Fran at that time of the year? Could we do it in a day from San Fran? What is the best route at that time of the year to see it? Any suggestions would be appreciated.
Thanks

PaulRabe

Yosemite has its charms during the winter,
www.nps.gov/yose/planyourvisit/winter.htm
but also one MAJOR potential for trouble. Specifically, a blizzard coming through the Sierras can change a beautiful drive to a meter of blowing snow with zero visibility, all within a few hours. Check weather reports and road conditions before you leave.
www.yosemite.national-park.com/hike.htm#road
www.yosemite.com/updates/roadconditions.html
Also check with your rental car company on its policy about tire chains -- many forbid their use. If tire chains are then required for driving into Yosemite, you'd be completely out of luck.

You can easily drive from the Bay Area to Yosemite within a day, even in less than optimal driving conditions. Do NOT arrive at the Yosemite area without lodging, particularly when you might have no choice but to stay there!

J_Correa

Yosemite Valley is at an elevation of about 4000 ft, so it gets snow, but not as much as the higher elevations. Most of the time, the road is open - plows come through after the snow and open the highways. There are 3 approaches to Yosemite valley from the west - Hwy 140 has the lowest elevation, the others go over some passes and are more subject to closures whereas 140 follows the river canyon. Hwy 140 had a major slide last winter though and I don't know the status of the road - whether it is open to general traffic or not. So check that out - Caltrans handles our highways, and they post road conditions on their web site.

In the summertime, without any inclement weather, I would plan a 4 hour drive from SF to Yosemite Valley. In the winter, with the rains along the coast and the valleys and then possible snow in the mountains, I would plan at least 5 hours of driving each way. So, it can be done as a day trip from SF, but you will spend a lot of time in the car and not much in Yosemite. If you are going, I would do an overnight and definitely get your lodging reservations ahead of time. Lodging is in short supply in the park and spread out outside the park, so if you turn up without a reservation, you could spend bunches of your precious vacation time looking for a place to sleep.

Kerry392

I would not reccommend driving to Yosemite for the day. The drive is at least 4 hours and it is VERY BORING!!
Yosemite is amazing and I think you would regret having only a few hours there. I would suggest that you rent a room for a night; we stayed at a Best Western outside of the park. However, keep in mind that any lodging outside the park is at least an hour away from the valley so you will have a bit of a ride.
By all means, go to Yosemite! It will be an experience you never forget!

DAX

I agree with Kerry, you absolutely shouldn't do Yosemite as a day trip. They are plenty of accomodations of different levels inside Yosemite (must reserve) or the Best Western some distance before entering the Park's northwest gate. Yosemite in the winter is exquisite.

Suzie

YOu can easily drive to Yosemite in a day. As has been said in the other posts it's about 4 hours. There may be snow on the roads in the park during that time of year so make sure you carry chains. Because the park is regulated by the feds and not caltrans they can require even 4 wheel drive vehicles to carry chains even though that is unlikely on roads maintained by caltrans. So be prepared.

You can either try to get reservations in the park or in El Portal just outside the Arch Rock entrance in the west. A great place in El Portal is Yosemite View Lodge which is located right on the Merced River. The place in the valley to get in the winter is Yosemit Lodge at the Falls.

Another good link for lodging and info is yosemitefun.com


If you want a driving map use mapquest.com and put San Francisco in the starting location city and CA in the state with Yosemite National Park in the ending location city and CA in the ending location state. It will have you go through Groveland and then dwon to the valley.