Death valley to Yosemite

Hi, my girlfriend & I are planning a road trip for next April/May starting in Vegas, ending up in LA after 3 weeks. We will be staying in Death Valley at Furnace Creek for 2 nights enroute from Grand canyon to Yosemite. What I need to know is the best route to get from DV to Yosemite taking into account the time of year (Tioga Pass closed!), rough milage, & approximate driving time. We'd like to see sunrise in DV, & arrive in Yosemite before sundown, so I recon we can allow 8/9 hours for drive. Any suggestions welcome.

Thanks.

Dave

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Originally Posted by davebadllama

for next April/May starting in Vegas, ending up in LA after 3 weeks. We will be staying in Death Valley at Furnace Creek for 2 nights enroute from Grand canyon to Yosemite. What I need to know is the best route to get from DV to Yosemite taking into account the time of year (Tioga Pass closed!), rough milage, & approximate driving time. We'd like to see sunrise in DV, & arrive in Yosemite before sundown, so I recon we can allow 8/9 hours for drive.

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Dave,
Welcome to the Forum! Well, the fastest route would be the southern route and it will certainly take all of the eight hours you have planned for. There is a slight chance that Sherman Pass and the Kennedy Meadows route will be open in May.

But the most reliable route will be CA-190 to SR 178 to US-395 to SR-58 to SR-99 to SR-41 to Yosemite National Park. For more ideas, look at the bottom of this page. This is a very popular topic on this forum!

Mark

Thanks for that, looks like that'll be the route we use then. Is it a comfortable 8 hour drive, with time for stopping, or will we be pushing it to make it in that time?

I've had a look at the maps featured on this site, we're heading for Yosemite View Lodge in El Portal, and I was wondering if we should cut off SR41 at Oakhurst onto 49 then the 140 at Mariposa, or continue up Sr41 through the park?

Dave

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Originally Posted by davebadllama

I've had a look at the maps featured on this site, we're heading for Yosemite View Lodge in El Portal, and I was wondering if we should cut off SR41 at Oakhurst onto 49 then the 140 at Mariposa, or continue up Sr41 through the park?

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Either route is fine. SR-49 is the "Gold Rush Trail" and is interesting in its own right. But SR-41 is very scenic.

Mark

After careful thought & poring over maps, we've decided to break the journey between DV & Yosemite into 2 days with an overnight stop over. With that in mind, should we stick to existing route, & aim to stop in Bakersfield, or will the 395 be passable to get us north towards Lake Tahoe, then double back to West yosemite?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by davebadllama

After careful thought & poring over maps, we've decided to break the journey between DV & Yosemite into 2 days with an overnight stop over. With that in mind, should we stick to existing route, & aim to stop in Bakersfield, or will the 395 be passable to get us north towards Lake Tahoe, then double back to West yosemite?

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With the extra day, I would recommend the Eastern Sierra route (via US-395) -- hard to predict snow fall in March and April in September (now) but US-395 is rarely closed for long and it is possible that Sonora Pass might be open (beautiful drive) or you can make your way up to Lake Tahoe and, again depending upon the snow levels use US-50 or Interstate 80.

If there is a lot of snow on the projected days you are considering, I would still suggest the southern route -- but not stay at Bakersfield as a first choice. I would suggest that Lake Isabella would be far more scenic or even Tehachapi. If Sonora Pass is open, Murphy's is a very nice, upscale gold rush town on the way to Yosemite.

mark

Thanks for that, your help has been very useful. Weather permitting, the eastern route it is.

Dave