Reader William writes in to ask:
“I am planning on a weekend trip to Yosemite over the President weekend. This is my first trip to the park and I have done a lot of research. One thing that I am concerned about is getting in and out of the park . I read about the need to carry chains in the car. I have never used tire chains before and not sure of how would I know if it becomes necessary and if there are facilities on the way to install the chains. I also heard that highway 41 is the easier of the 3 road to get in and out of the park but not for sure. Any advice you can give me would be helpful.”
Well William, in all the years I’ve been going to Yosemite I’ve only chained up twice. Both times there were installers there to put them on for $20. You will have the fun job of taking them off should you chain up so I recommend carrying a couple of screw drivers, pliers, a tarp to kneel on and some good gloves. You’ll want to get a set of chains before coming into the park and have someone show you how to put them on. Usually your local mechanic will show you how and fit them (cut off any extra links) for a small fee. Should you have to chain up just remember to drive slow.
As for the best road to come in on, I’m going to recommend Highway 140 from Merced. The road is in the river canyon of the Merced so it stays relatively free of ice and snow. The rockslide that blocked the road last summer has a really cool detour around it so there’s no worries about that.
Now for the fun part, there IS a winter storm coming in this weekend. It’s supposed to be here Wednesday or Thursday and last on through the weekend. Rain is forecast with a slight chance of snow. That said, I can’t for sure tell you what it’s going to be like when you come up. But if you take it slow and steady you should be fine.
Good luck. Have a safe trip and keep reading here for updates.