Add a Visit to Yosemite High Country to Your Tuolumne or Merced River Rafting Trip
May 21, 2008.Tioga Pass is open! This means that you can now visit Yosemite National Park’s High Country (including Tuolumne Meadows) before or after your Merced River or Tuolumne River rafting trip(s).
Tioga Pass (Hwy 120) is typically the last Central Sierra mountain pass to open for the summer months due to late-season avalanche and rock slide dangers. The other passes in the region (Sonora Pass/Hwy 108, Ebbetts Pass/Hwy 4 and Carson Pass/Hwy 88) were opened a while ago.
If you’ve never been to Tuolumne Meadows – here are just a few of the many reasons to visit Yosemite’s high country:
Cooler temperatures than Yosemite Valley
Fewer people
Location of the headwaters of the Tuolumne River
Granite domes -Stately Pleasure Dome/Polly Dome/Daff Dome/Lembert Dome/Fairview Dome/Medlicott Dome/Pywiak Dome/Mariolumne Dome - providing outstanding rock climbing opportunities (especially if you love face climbing)
Permanent snowfields
Spectacular displays of wildflowers
Wildlife
The John Muir and the Pacific Crest Trails pass through
Cathedral Peak
The entrance fee into Yosemite National Park is $20 per car, which is valid for unlimited entries for seven days, and includes all occupants of the car. An annual Yosemite Pass is $40. For more information about park passes and entrance fees, visit http://www.nps.gov/yose/planyourvisit/feesandreservations.htm
