Yosemite National Park Travel Information Traveling to Yosemite Travel by car There are four major entrances into the park. All of these routes are relatively windy mountain roads and appropriate time should be budgeted for them.

Highway 120 from the west from Stockton or Modesto. (Map of Yosemite)
This is the fastest route from locations west (Bay Area) and northwest (Sacramento). Route 120 is a bit steep, so RVs and trailers should consider Route 140 instead. In winter, snow makes the lower elevations of Route 140 more attractive.

Highway 140 west from Mariposa and Merced. (Map of Yosemite)
This route mostly travels up the Merced river canyon into Yosemite Valley and is the most scenic western entrance. RV traffic can congest this road a bit too much in summer.

Highway 41 north from Fresno and Los Angeles. (Map of Yosemite)

Highway 120 from the east (Tioga Pass Road) from Lee Vining. (Map of Yosemite)
This road is "closed in winter" which can be as early as November and as late as June (and never earlier than May).

Note: During summer months traffic becomes heavily congested in Yosemite Valley, and parking can be nearly impossible to find. Summer visitors to Yosemite Valley are therefore highly encouraged to use the YARTS shuttle system to get into the park.

Travel by train
Amtrak loves to advertise that you can take a train from the Bay Area to Yosemite. The train travels to Merced where you transfer to a bus which takes two hours to get to the park. As the train takes four hours to get to Merced from Emeryville and a car or bus only takes two, this is a pretty slow way to get there. Nevertheless, it's still a good choice for long-distance train travelers or train-lovers.

Travel by bus
Many tour bus companies run tours from the Bay Area. Some will just take you to Yosemite Valley; others provide full tours to see the Giant Sequoias and Glacier Point.

Extranomical Adventures, (866) 231-3752. Offering one, two, three and five day trips that visit Yosemite Valley and Yosemite's sequoia groves. This company provides pickups from downtown San Francisco hotels or from selected East Bay locations.

Starline Tours (800) 959-3131. Offers pickups from downtown San Francisco hotels and selected East Bay locations, and offering 3.5 hours trips to Yosemite Valley.

YARTS shuttle
The Yosemite Area Regional Transportation System (YARTS) offers reasonably-priced transportation into Yosemite Valley from towns east and west of the park including Merced, Mariposa, El Portal, Lee Vining and Mammoth Lakes. Tickets can be purchased ahead of time or from the shuttle driver. When combined with the free shuttle service that operates within Yosemite Valley YARTS can eliminate many hassles for summer visitors.