Snow chains in Yosemite?

Hello,

We are planning to hire a car to visit Yosemite (driving from San Francisco) in April. Will we need snow chains?

We have been told that most hire car companies don't provide snow chains and we can't work out if we have to have a set with us by law or not. One company said that we should just buy some but this seems a bit extreme as we'll be flying back to Britian two days after our trip!

Thanks, N

It depends on where you are going. For the most part the snow there is well beyond what snow chains will get you through. There are places where you will see "chains required", but truthfully they are rare. Most tires on rental cars are MS (mud & Snow) rated FWIW. While not chains or studs, in most nighway cases they work pretty well.

Long and short the answer is "it depends, but probably not".

Ed

Assuming you are going in the main road, through El Portal, you could probably rent chains at a gas station in the off chance that there is a late snow storm and police require chains. Not cheap, but for a one-time deal and with the odds against your needing them, better than buying.

I would recommend buying a set somewhere where you will be passing by again on the way back. This way, if you don't use them, you can just return them on your way back to SF. That is what my husband and I did when we went up there last year. I believe the chains were around $30, so not a major investment.

I've been to Yosemite many times.
If I was driving from SF to Yosemite through Mariposa and the El Portal entrance in April I would not worry about carrying chains.

There will be signs along the way informing you if chains are required. If they are, you can buy them along the way for $20 or $30.

So, to merge what several people have said into one recommendation:

-- It's rather unlikely that you'd need chains in April.
-- If that rather unlikely event occurred, you'd be able to buy them along your way.

Therefore, don't bother worrying about it in advance.

Just hire an all wheel drive or 4 wheel drive car and don't worry about chains....

I drive my Honda Civic everywhere-and every time-my neighbors drive their honkin huge 4wd's through snowfalls, ice storms, hail and the like. I've done it in every state, Alaska and Montana cheerfully included. The skateboard sized car presently has 253,000 miles on it and no accidents. And though I grew up driving off road vehicles, one thing I've learned for sure is that 4wd is entirely overrated for paved surfaces nearly always. Most importantly if you don't know HOW to properly use it-and about .0001% seem to-it breeds overconfidence and causes more problems than it can ever solve. I rescue people from their stuck in snowdrift Chevy Subdivisions and Ford Exploiters just about every winter. And we merrily toodle off in a Honda that has about 5 inches of ground clearance.

Screw 4wd, its all but useless for paved roads.

Ed

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<hr>And though I grew up driving off road vehicles, one thing I've learned for sure is that 4wd is entirely overrated for paved surfaces nearly always. Most importantly if you don't know HOW to properly use it-and about .0001% seem to-it breeds overconfidence and causes more problems than it can ever solve. <hr></blockquote>
I completely agree. Learned this the hard way in -- you guessed it -- my all-wheel-drive Ford Explorer. Funny how those damned things won't bulldog their way through a snowbank.

Over confidnence in a 4WD: when I lived in Washington, DC, there were always people driving in the snow, or even ice, who forgot-- until it was too late-- that 4WD does not help you stop quicker.

Rubber on ice is still rubber on ice, no matter how many wheels are powered.

I have driven that route dozens of times in April. I never used chains. No, don't buy them. The northern and southern roads in climb up and then down over a mountain, and there could be snow on these roads. Highway 140 (Merced) follows the road up a gentle river canyon. Highway 120 will look shorter on a map, and in clear weather is a bit quicker. Yosemite Valley never has snow in April, but the mountains that tower about it may. Badger Pass may be open above it for skiing. Amtrak from San Francisco to Yosemite is about $40, and you don't need a car when you get there. Technically there is a law that requires carrying chains past certain marked points. Don't worry about the law, it really won't get you in trouble, there won't be any such signs with people there asking you about chains. If this happens, just drive back to WalMart in Merced and get a set for $25 and return them (unopened) on the way back. If you are asked if you have chains and lie, and then crash, yes - you violated a law.

Yeah Ragz, good point about the "chains required" signs. In my life of driving the mountain west-now 30 years+ of driving-I have seen cops checking precisely twice. It just doesn't happen often enough to be an issue.

Ed

Whilst this thread is old, the same no doubts applies, as I am going to California in April, and was concerned about the need for snow chains, as most car rental companies I have spoken with will not allows chains.

Looks like as long as we check on the weather before setting out, we should be okay without.

Can I also check if the easier trails like the Mist Trail will be easy enough to navigate (acknowledgeing that if it snows/or poors down, atht there might be an usse) for normal hicking with standard walking boots ?

To disagree a little with what's above, regardless of what Ed has seen himself, highway patrol on the Sierra passes do stop cars if chains are required and turn them back. This is for safety, not to harass anyone. As noted, you can generally pick up chains in Mariposa at the gas station.

Also the weather can change quickly; if you're going to high elevations, carry chains. I was caught in a blizzard in the Sierras on a previously sunny day, discovered my (cheap, used) chains didn't latch, and ended up having to pay a tow truck on Donner Pass to cut me some for another $100.

There are hotlines during the winter that will tell you when you are required to carry chains. Google "california highway patrol road conditions" to get the number.