Travel Recommendations
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If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.
AStravelers
Well-known member
Go north up to US-50 and then go across the mountains. Alternate route is to go farther north to I-80 and go across.
SR-108 is not passable by a 44' 5th wheel because of the tight turns. Not to mention a short section of the road with a 23% grade, and more places with 10% to 15% grades.
Going down the east side of the mountains on SR-120 is OK if your tow vehicle is not towing more than it is supposed to, AND if you have experience in driving on steep mountain roads. It is a long and pretty steep drop down to Lee Vining. I have not driven the east side of SR-120 through Yosemite.
SR-108 is not passable by a 44' 5th wheel because of the tight turns. Not to mention a short section of the road with a 23% grade, and more places with 10% to 15% grades.
Going down the east side of the mountains on SR-120 is OK if your tow vehicle is not towing more than it is supposed to, AND if you have experience in driving on steep mountain roads. It is a long and pretty steep drop down to Lee Vining. I have not driven the east side of SR-120 through Yosemite.
Lou Schneider
Site Team
- Joined
- Mar 14, 2005
- Posts
- 13,250
Mid-May SR 120 over Tioga Pass is likely to still be closed - it's closed over winter and usually doesn't re-open until mid June or later, depending on when the snowplows can get through. In any case, I don't recommend it for a 44 ft. 5th wheel - like Al said the eastern side descends 2500 ft. in a constant downgrade - very steep and long.
CA 88 is a scenic drive if it's open. However, I suggest going west to CA 99 instead of taking CA 49 north - 49 is scenic, but it's very slow and winding. CA 88 is part of the National Network meaning it's approved for big rig trucks. The downgrade from Carson Pass into Nevada is nowhere near as steep as SR 120.
You can go to Google Maps (https://google.com/maps), while looking in Map mode (not Satellite View), open the menu in the upper left corner and click on Terrain, you'll get a 3D map with elevation contours you can zoom into for any route:
Highway 120 east side Tioga Pass
Highway 88 east of Carson Pass
CA 88 is a scenic drive if it's open. However, I suggest going west to CA 99 instead of taking CA 49 north - 49 is scenic, but it's very slow and winding. CA 88 is part of the National Network meaning it's approved for big rig trucks. The downgrade from Carson Pass into Nevada is nowhere near as steep as SR 120.
You can go to Google Maps (https://google.com/maps), while looking in Map mode (not Satellite View), open the menu in the upper left corner and click on Terrain, you'll get a 3D map with elevation contours you can zoom into for any route:
Highway 120 east side Tioga Pass
Highway 88 east of Carson Pass
SeilerBird
Well-known member
If I were towing that large of a fiver I would take 99 over to near Bakersfield and then 58 to 14 then on to 395. It is a longer route by a few hundred miles but it is way flatter. You need to cross the Sierras to go where you want to go. The Sierras are a very high mountain range and all the passes and the Tehachapi Pass is thousands of feet lower in elevation compared to any other route.
https://www.google.com/maps/dir/Groveland,+California/Minden,+Nevada+89423/@36.3842173,-121.5633704,6.69z/data=!4m19!4m18!1m10!1m1!1s0x8090d5ca01743961:0xcbd7390f95484aba!2m2!1d-120.2308167!2d37.8388779!3m4!1m2!1d-117.3327195!2d35.8853987!3s0x80c13020a6992d7b:0x89341d36368f8!1m5!1m1!1s0x8099bd2ff4425ff7:0x21ce2fce3bce862!2m2!1d-119.7657332!2d38.9540739!3e0
https://www.google.com/maps/dir/Groveland,+California/Minden,+Nevada+89423/@36.3842173,-121.5633704,6.69z/data=!4m19!4m18!1m10!1m1!1s0x8090d5ca01743961:0xcbd7390f95484aba!2m2!1d-120.2308167!2d37.8388779!3m4!1m2!1d-117.3327195!2d35.8853987!3s0x80c13020a6992d7b:0x89341d36368f8!1m5!1m1!1s0x8099bd2ff4425ff7:0x21ce2fce3bce862!2m2!1d-119.7657332!2d38.9540739!3e0
