Tioga Pass
The highest highway pass in California and the only road across Yosemite's high country. Plowing normally starts around April 15, and the opening date swings more than almost any road in the Sierra — April 8 in the 1977 drought, July 22 after the record 2023 winter.
This year
Live plow-season reports load here. For today's conditions, go straight to Yosemite NP's status page.
Conditions change by the hour at 9,943 feet — check Yosemite NP's status page before you drive.
Plow progress: Yosemite NP's plowing updates.
The record
Usually opens in late May or June; the biggest winters have held it shut into July.
Will it be open for your trip?
| If your dates start… | The road was already open in | That's |
|---|---|---|
| May 15 | 23 of 69 years | 33% |
| June 1 | 50 of 69 years | 72% |
| June 15 | 58 of 69 years | 84% |
| July 1 | 68 of 69 years | 99% |
| July 15 | 68 of 69 years | 99% |
| August 1 | 69 of 69 years | 100% |
Odds come from the full record below — past springs, not a promise about this one.
When does Tioga Pass close?
Stays open until the first big lasting storm, usually mid-November. The winter closure covers Tioga Road between Crane Flat and Tioga Pass.
| If you're driving on… | The road was still open in | That's |
|---|---|---|
| October 15 | 46 of 46 years | 100% |
| December 1 | 5 of 46 years | 11% |
| December 8 | 3 of 46 years | 7% |
| December 15 | 2 of 46 years | 4% |
| December 22 | 2 of 46 years | 4% |
| January 1 | 1 of 46 years | 2% |
Closing dates come from the same record as the openings — the year-by-year table below. Past autumns, not a promise about this one: a single storm can end the season a fortnight early.
Every year on record
| Year | Opened | Closed | April 1 snowpack | Notes | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | May 15 | — | — | nps.gov | |
| 2025 | May 26 | November 12 | 72% | — | |
| 2024 | June 10 | November 11 | 99% | — | |
| 2023 | July 22 | November 15 | 244% | Latest opening on the books after the record 2023 winter. | — |
| 2022 | May 27 | October 31 | 41% | — | |
| 2021 | May 27 | October 21 | 63% | — | |
| 2020 | June 15 | November 5 | 46% | Opening delayed by the COVID-19 park closure. | — |
| 2019 | July 1 | November 19 | 176% | — | |
| 2018 | May 21 | November 20 | 67% | — | |
| 2017 | June 29 | November 14 | 177% | — | |
| 2016 | May 18 | November 16 | 89% | — | |
| 2015 | May 4 | November 1 | 7% | Driest April 1 snowpack on the books — 7 percent of median. | — |
| 2014 | May 2 | November 13 | 33% | — | |
| 2013 | May 11 | November 18 | 52% | — | |
| 2012 | May 7 | November 8 | 43% | — | |
| 2011 | June 18 | December 31 | 178% | Stayed open to New Year's Eve. | — |
| 2010 | June 5 | January 17, 2011 | 107% | Stayed open to January 17 — the latest close on the books. | — |
| 2009 | May 19 | November 12 | 92% | — | |
| 2008 | May 21 | October 30 | 99% | — | |
| 2007 | May 11 | December 6 | 46% | — | |
| 2006 | June 17 | November 27 | 129% | — | |
| 2005 | June 24 | November 25 | 163% | — | |
| 2004 | May 14 | October 17 | 83% | — | |
| 2003 | May 31 | October 31 | 65% | — | |
| 2002 | May 22 | November 5 | 95% | — | |
| 2001 | May 12 | November 11 | 67% | — | |
| 2000 | May 18 | November 9 | 97% | — | |
| 1999 | May 28 | November 23 | 110% | — | |
| 1998 | July 1 | November 12 | 156% | — | |
| 1997 | June 13 | November 12 | 105% | — | |
| 1996 | May 13 | November 5 | 111% | — | |
| 1995 | June 30 | December 11 | 178% | — | |
| 1994 | May 25 | November 10 | 51% | — | |
| 1993 | June 3 | November 24 | 159% | — | |
| 1992 | May 15 | November 10 | 58% | — | |
| 1991 | May 26 | November 14 | 79% | — | |
| 1990 | May 17 | November 19 | 45% | — | |
| 1989 | May 12 | November 24 | 83% | — | |
| 1988 | April 29 | November 14 | 31% | — | |
| 1987 | May 2 | November 13 | 51% | — | |
| 1986 | May 24 | November 29 | 137% | — | |
| 1985 | May 8 | November 12 | 97% | — | |
| 1984 | May 19 | November 8 | 85% | — | |
| 1983 | June 29 | November 11 | 224% | — | |
| 1982 | May 28 | November 15 | 131% | — | |
| 1981 | May 15 | November 12 | 77% | — | |
| 1980 | June 6 | December 2 | 144% | — | |
| 1979 | May 18 | — | — | — | |
| 1978 | June 3 | — | — | — | |
| 1977 | April 8 | — | — | Drought-year opening on April 8 — earliest on the books. | — |
| 1976 | April 10 | — | — | — | |
| 1975 | May 29 | — | — | — | |
| 1974 | May 17 | — | — | — | |
| 1973 | May 18 | — | — | — | |
| 1972 | April 20 | — | — | — | |
| 1971 | May 14 | — | — | — | |
| 1970 | May 16 | — | — | — | |
| 1969 | June 7 | — | — | — | |
| 1968 | May 10 | — | — | — | |
| 1967 | June 17 | — | — | — | |
| 1966 | May 28 | — | — | — | |
| 1965 | May 29 | — | — | — | |
| 1964 | May 15 | — | — | — | |
| 1963 | May 30 | — | — | — | |
| 1962 | May 23 | — | — | — | |
| 1961 | April 21 | — | — | — | |
| 1960 | May 13 | — | — | — | |
| 1958 | June 22 | — | — | — | |
| 1957 | May 25 | — | — | — |
Record drawn from NPS Yosemite: historical seasonal opening and closing dates · NPS Yosemite: Tioga Road plowing updates · NPS news release: 2026 opening, May 15. Years with their own link were taken from that record. Last checked August 20, 2026.
Tioga Pass: opening and closing questions
- When does Tioga Pass close for the winter?
- Stays open until the first big lasting storm, usually mid-November. Across the 46 closings on record the gate has gone shut around November 13 — as early as October 17 in 2004, as late as January 17 in 2010. The winter closure covers Tioga Road between Crane Flat and Tioga Pass.
- When did Tioga Pass close last?
- The most recent closing on the record is November 12, 2025. Every other season we can source is in the table on this page.
- Can you drive Tioga Pass in winter?
- No. Tioga Road between Crane Flat and Tioga Pass is gated once the season ends, and it stays shut until spring plowing gets through. Yosemite NP posts the gate's current state.
- Is Tioga Pass open right now?
- This page is the season record, not the road's condition this morning. National Park Service — Yosemite National Park publishes today's state of the road, and that is the one to check before you drive — conditions turn over in hours at this elevation. For planning: the usual season runs from about May 22 to about November 13.
- When does Tioga Pass open again?
- Usually opens in late May or June; the biggest winters have held it shut into July. The median of the 69 openings on record is May 22; the earliest was April 8 in 1977 and the latest July 22 in 2023.