• View of Half Dome and Washington Column in Yosemite Valley

    Yosemite

    National Park California

Yosemite National Park to Re-Open Big Oak Flat Road at 5:00 pm Tuesday, September 8

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Date: September 7, 2009

Yosemite National Park Acting Superintendent Dave Uberuaga announces that the Big Oak Flat Road from Crane Flat to the El Portal Road will re-open at 5:00 pm Tuesday, September 8.  The road, which has been closed since Wednesday, August 26 due to the Big Meadow Fire, allows visitors to enter Yosemite Valley via Highway 120 from Groveland.  

“Working under difficult conditions, the fire crews demonstrated ingenuity, determination, and painstaking attention to safety in finishing the task of making the Big Oak Flat Road through Yosemite National Park safe again for travelers,” stated Uberuaga.

Drivers are advised to exercise caution when the road re-opens due to smoke on the road from vegetation still burning inside the fire area.  In addition, burned areas adjacent to the road remain closed to the public by order of the Superintendent as provided in 36 CFR 1.5.  Tamarack and Crane Flat Campgrounds remain closed, as do the following trails: Old Big Oak Flat Trailhead to El Capitan; Rockslides to El Capitan; and Tamarack Creek to El Capitan. 

Did You Know?

Upper Yosemite Fall with spring runoff

Yosemite Falls is fed mostly by snowmelt.  Peak flow usually happens in late May, but by August, Yosemite Falls is often dry.  It begins flowing again a few months later, after winter snows arrive.