Tioga Pass
Yosemite / Hwy 120 · near Lee Vining · Sierra Nevada / Yosemite
Road Cycling
At a glance
- Distance
- long
- Best season
- Summer–early fall ONLY; road closed by snow roughly Nov–May
What is here
- Scenery
- mountain
- Amenities
- California's highest paved pass · Yosemite high-country granite & lakes · Tuolumne Meadows beyond the summit · Bucket-list east-side climb
- Best for
- California's highest, most spectacular pass
- Features
- Highest highway pass in California · Gateway to Yosemite's high country · Brutal Lee Vining east-side climb · Granite domes, meadows & alpine lakes
Worth knowing
- Hazards
- SEASONAL — road closed by snow ~November–May · High altitude — thin air, sun & cold · Park/tourist traffic in summer; no shoulder in spots · Fast, cold descents — carry layers
- Beginner friendly
- No
Road Cycling detail
- Ride types
- pass · climb
- Road
- mixed
- Climbing
- 5
- Ride notes
- California's highest highway pass at 9,943 ft — the eastern gateway to Yosemite's high country, a spectacular high-alpine climb past granite domes, meadows, and Tioga Lake, with the brutal east-side ascent from Lee Vining a bucket-list effort
- Stats note
- Summit 9,943 ft; brutal ~12 mi / ~3,200 ft east-side climb from Lee Vining; thin air
- Seasonal
- Yes
- Intl tip
- California's highest highway pass at 9,943 ft (Hwy 120) — the eastern gateway to Yosemite's high country, and one of the most spectacular paved climbs in the state. The east side from Lee Vining is brutal: ~12 mi and ~3,200 ft up a steep, exposed wall past Tioga and Ellery lakes, in thin air, before tipping into the granite domes and meadows of Tuolumne. Strictly seasonal — snow closes it ~Nov–May/June. High-altitude sun, cold, fast descents, summer park traffic. Carry layers and food, pace the thin air.
The guide
Tioga Pass, topping out at 9,943 feet on Highway 120, is the highest highway pass in California and the eastern gateway to Yose…
In the Guidebook
Everything above is yours for free. The written guide to Tioga Pass — what it is actually like, and what we would tell a friend before they went — comes with the Guidebook.
Getting there
- Coordinates
- 37.9107, -119.2578