Snow chains in Yosemite?

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.