Driving in Northern California in December

[Soul_Patch]

My wife and i are going to San Diego in December to her brothers graduation from the USMC bootcamp.

We want to rent a car and drive up to Yosemite and Mammoth Lakes during our stay.

Does anyone know how the roads are in and around Yosemite during that time?

Are they really bad, prone to closures? How would a south texas boy with no snow driving experienc fair?

[shelshor]

Get chains before ya go

[Fillmoe]

Mostly mountain top driving on curvy roads... I hate the drive up to Yosemite, simply because it makes me nauseas with all of the windy roads... As far as the roads they are in good condition and the view is nice as you follow Yosemite River until you hit the actual park. Every now and then you might get some minor rock slippage on the roads, but I have never seen anything major and I usually go up there once a summer. As far as snow I have never drove up their in the winter so I can't help you there.

[Slomo]

I did a similar route in early April 2002 and there was still a lot of snow on the mountain passes so that many were still closed for traffic. From Yosemite park I had to turn north for two more passes before finding one that was open (I wanted to sleep over in Bishop before going to Death Valley national park).

The roads themselves are good and quite picturesque, just be sure to be equipped for winter conditions.

[Soul_Patch]

yea the road closures are what i worry about most. It wuold suck (sort of) to get stuck up there for days, and miss our flight back home out of San Diego.

about chains, do the car rental places rent them with the car?

[tlongII]

Do you have a 4X4?

[Soul_Patch]

Ill be renting a car, most likely some buick equiv.

[tlongII]

Chain up then.

[nacho estrada]

Chains are sold at shops along the roadside if weather requires it. I just drove that last December in a rental Chevy HHR without chains without issues in moderate snow. Listening to the AM station posted on the roadsigns provided updates all the time as to changing weather and if it was mandatory to have chains on your tires if you didnt have 4 wheel drive... And I too was like you .. a south texas boy with no prior snow driving experience.. NO SWEAT!

[CavsSuperFan]

I spent Thanksgiving up in Yosemite years ago...It was raining very hard & several boulders rolled down the mountain & closed the road...About 100 yards in front of us...Mammoth is always open because of the snow skier season...But Yosemite can be quite rough in the winter months...

I have never been stuck in the snow with 2 wheel drive, chains & slow driving....

[Spurs>All]

To the OP: be aware that they close the Tioga Pass road when the snow gets to a certain point and it stays closed until the middle of the spring. That will not keep you from getting to Yosemite but it does close off access to the backcountry. You will still be able to get to the valley (which is what most people think of when they think of Yosemite) and of course the ski area which is worth visiting for, among other reasons, the awesome overlook into the valley.

The Sierras get butt-kicking amounts of snow so be sure you pack a bit of an emergency kit before you head out, just in case.

[Spurs>All]

Ooops, two other things. If the Tioga Pass road is closed you will have no easy way to access Mammoth Lakes. It's a long way to any of the other roads over the mountains, the majority of which will close in the winter at some point, too. EDIT: Here are the dates the pass has closed (http://www.monobasinresearch.org/data/tiogapass.htm) since the 1930's. You'll be lucky if it's still open.

And Yosemite's not really "Northern California." That would be Redding, Mt. Shasta, Eureka, etc.

[slayermin]

The fog can be a bitch in some areas.

[bendmz]

did you say "ROCK SLIPAGE ?" :wtf

[Soul_Patch]

Yea after reading a lot yesterday i found out about the Tioga rd being closed most of the winter. I think we will go up to the Yosemite Lodge in the Valley, spend a couple of days, then head out.

Im thinking we will fly out of San Jose to avoid driving all the way back to San Diego.

[CavsSuperFan]

did you say "ROCK SLIPAGE ?" :wtf

I should clarify...We saw boulders, taller than the roof of a Suburban...Roll down the mountain, due to heavy rains....Yosemite is a wilderness...

[Soul_Patch]

It looks so fuckin awesome. I am totaly stoked about going.

winter will make it that much better i think.

[Spurs>All]

Yosemite is cool in the winter because there aren't the crowds down in the valley you see in the summer. Snow on Half Dome ... too cool Enjoy.

[Sportcamper]

The rivers (http://mongabay.org/images/adventures_gifs/yosemite_waterfall.jpg) and water falls (http://www.panoramio.com/photos/original/827508.jpg) in Yosemite are soooo awesome in winter...

[spurster]

My wife and i are going to San Diego in December to her brothers graduation from the USMC bootcamp.

We want to rent a car and drive up to Yosemite and Mammoth Lakes during our stay.

Does anyone know how the roads are in and around Yosemite during that time?

Are they really bad, prone to closures? How would a south texas boy with no snow driving experienc fair?
No snow driving experience, and you want to learn on mountain roads in December! What kind of death wish do you have?

[Slomo]

The rivers (http://mongabay.org/images/adventures_gifs/yosemite_waterfall.jpg) and water falls (http://www.panoramio.com/photos/original/827508.jpg) in Yosemite are soooo awesome in winter...Yeah, Yosemite national park blew me away. Because of all the hype and publicity I expected it to be special, but I was still very surprised when I saw it. Really unique place.

And since you mentioned the rivers and waterfalls, how about El Capitan? 1000 m of granite straight up!