Yosemite sets Glacier Point Road reopening, issues warning about trails to Yosemite Valley
Glacier Point Road in Yosemite National Park is scheduled to reopen at 8 a.m. Friday, April 30.
Yosemite officials announced that this week and a few other updates, including a partial closure of the Four Mile Trail, which drops from Glacier Point down into Yosemite Valley.
That trail will remain closed due to “hazardous conditions” between Glacier Point down to near Union Point, which is located about two-thirds of the way up from Yosemite Valley.
While Glacier Point Road will be open, snow persists in the area and some trails are flooded or blocked by fallen trees. The Yosemite area was hit by a destructive Mono wind event earlier this year.
“If hiking in the area, please be prepared to turn around if snow begins to obscure the trail,” officials said.
Glacier Point Road, which branches off of Wawona Road (Highway 41 outside the park), ends at Glacier Point, a popular overlook above Yosemite Valley.
Wilderness permit reservations for overnight backpack trips with trailheads on Glacier Point Road will also become available for trips starting May 3.
Yosemite wilderness permits are only available online in 2021. Wilderness permits aren’t needed for day hikes.
Tioga Road update, and Glacier Point Road next year
Tioga Road, which crosses over the Sierra in Yosemite and connects to the Eastern Sierra, remains closed due to snow. The road normally reopens in late May or early June. There is no estimated reopening yet for 2021, but snowplowing has started along Tioga Road.
“Plows have reached Tioga Pass,” officials said. “Plowing of side roads, turnouts, parking lots, etc., are in progress. Additional work, including road repairs, removal of trees that may fall onto the road, utility system repair, etc., must all occur prior to road opening.”
Glacier Point Road will be closed in 2022 for a rehabilitation project, and there will be 30-minute delays along the road in 2023.
Yosemite day-use entry pass reservations needed for most
Most visitors will need a day-use entry pass to enter Yosemite starting May 21.
Those passes aren’t required for people with overnight reservations in Yosemite, a bus ticket in, or who just want to recreate in Hetch Hetchy or drive through the park to the other side.
The $2 day-use entry passes are already on sale via recreation.gov for arrivals through July 31, needed in addition to normal park entrance fees. The new reservation system will be in place at least through Sept. 30, “or until local health conditions improve” due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
This story was originally published April 29, 2021 at 12:34 PM with the headline "Yosemite sets Glacier Point Road reopening, issues warning about trails to Yosemite Valley."
