Best time to visit Death Valley AND Yosemite?

Posted on 24 May 2009

I just saw and replied to a forum post asking about the best time to try to visit Death Valley, the eastern Sierra, Tioga Pass/Tuolumne Meadows and Yosemite Valley in one trip that starts in Las Vegas and ends in Sacramento. I’m reposting my reply here since I’ve heard others ask similar questions elsewhere. Note that despite the lengthy post, this doesn’t by any means completely answer this question. So, with minor edits, here is what I posted:

When to do a trip that includes Death Valley and Yosemite Valley and everything in between? This is a very tough question.

The “best” time to visit Death Valley is generally thought to be in the November to early April time frame – but that coincides with closure of the Tioga Pass entrance into Yosemite National Park, typically lasting from possibly (but not always) late October or mid-November until (usually) sometime in May.

So, I think it becomes a question of which end of the trip you want to compromise. Do you want to deal with Death Valley during the very hottest time or do you want to deal with the potential for a very long drive around the southern part of the Sierra (and missing the “east side”) in order to get to The Valley after the pass closes?

I travel and photograph throughout this area a lot, so let me offer some ideas. First, if you time things just right you might be able to visit Death Valley when the heat is beginning to diminish a little bit in early fall, while the aspens are achieving their best color in the eastern Sierra, Tioga Pass is still open (and the High Sierra more deserted but very, very beautiful)… but at the expense of seeing waterfalls and other spring stuff in the Valley. (Or… you might do the trip the other way around to lessen the chances of an early road closure on Tioga and increase the odds of very slightly cooler weather in DV.)

You would fly into Las Vegas and then drive to Death Valley, spending a few days there. Yes, it will be hot and dry – but it is virtually always (with very limited exceptions) dry in DV and it doesn’t seem like you’ll have the option of visiting during the “cool” season AND hitting the eastern Sierra and then crossing into Yosemite via Tioga. Try to reach the eastern Sierra right around the end of the first week of October – there will be wonderful fall aspen color at this time, though you’ll have to consult locally to find out where it is best at the exact time of your visit. The peak can vary depending upon fall weather, the amount of precip in the earlier portion of the year, elevation, and so on. But at this point it WILL be good somewhere. I’ll spare you the very long list of possible locations for now, but from Bishop north there are many, many possibilities.

It is virtually certain Tioga Pass will still be open – though it isn’t at all out of the question that a short dusting of snow might close it for a day or two. It is (just barely – hasn’t happened for a long time) possible that the pass could close by mid-October, but it is almost certain that you’ll be able to get across around the end of the first week of October or even a week later. Worst case, you might need to wait for 24 hours on the east side for the road to re-open.

I absolutely love the Tioga/Tuolumne area at this time of year. I often backpack right into mid-October. It is quiet, there are way fewer people, the weather is beautiful in almost all cases (when it does snow it usually is a few inches that melt quickly), and everything seems to be slowing down in preparation for winter.

Now the “bad news.” In many ways early October is the least scenic time to visit the Valley. The waterfalls will have shrunk or in some cases disappeared. The meadows will have gone brown and golden, but little or no fall color will have come to the trees yet. (They can be quite spectacular a few weeks later.) But still, it IS the Valley! It may not be the waterfall-roaring-wildflower-blooming Valley but it has a different charm this time of year. And you will NOT encounter the crazy crowds of the early season. This is a very lovely time to visit the redwood groves and to take in a sunrise/sunset at Glacier Point.

I’ve written too much already, so I’ll save some other ideas for a follow-up post or replies to comments to this post.