Sonora Pass

Best pass ever, puts the Donner pass to shame. kind of high up and hard to get to though. It would be better if they could make it more accessible. With just atad more parking.

Route 108 that runs through Stanislaus National Forest, The road’s closed during the winter. Just east of Strawberry just near the sleading at Leland. I park at the lot, I get a pakring annual pass at the stop at Strawberrry. There are the usual snowmobilers. I come to cross country ski. The road is snowed and iced over.
I ski for several hours. The grade is gentle and pretty. The road is just perfect to cross country. I see snowmobiliers pass by every hour or so. They are cordial and slow as they pass. I stop frequently to see the sights and views.

Wonderful view and drive coming in this way to Yosemite. We go to Yosemite a lot and this is one of our favorite drives. Wish they had a better sign about the summit other than just the elevation marked on the toll station but that’s just the tourist in me wanting to collect more pictures of ourselves.

If you’re feeling disappointed by the masses of people clogging Yosemite and really want some awesome picture taking opportunities while heading eastward, you definitely want to take this pass!
The serenity and beautiful views along this pass are breathtaking to say the least — especially the valley view right before you start heading down the last set of curves on the other side.
Right now, (late September) the colors are just starting to turn. I imagine in about a week the will be in full swing. So if you have the opportunity to drive through here, do it!

Sonora Pass is the majority of the 80mile section of Route 108 that runs through Stanislaus National Forest, just north of Yosemite National Park. With a top elevation of 9,624ft, Sonora Pass is the 2^nd highest road in the High Sierra Nevada range (and in California as a whole). Only Tioga Pass is higher, though I found Sonora to be a more challenging drive. Though you won’t go from sea level up to that elevation you will go from around 5,000 feet at some points. The middle 35 miles or so Sonora Pass has some crazy hairpin turns as well as steep elevation changes while clinging to the side of mountains. It’s a drive that will test the performance of any vehicle and if you’re in an automatic, chances are the regular drive gear isn’t going to cut it. Due to the nature of this road it’s closed during the winter (usually around November to April). Closure goes from about 7miles east of the town of Strawberry to about 5miles west of the 395 intersection. Along Sonora Pass you’ll see some of the most amazing views in California (they’ll be spots to pull off the road on some of the best spots). Despite its proximity to Yosemite the views and landscape seems very different then what you’d see on Tioga Pass (Route 120) to the south. This is a great variety if you’re also visiting Yosemite on the same trip. In addition to the views you’ll pass some of the smallest towns in the country. The towns don’t have much to them or anything interesting to see or visit except for the road sign telling you you’re entering a town with the name, elevation, and population. Most of the towns have populations in the 3 digits but I definitely saw signs for a couple towns who boasted a population of 25 or less. I ended up on Sonora Pass because after spending time in Yosemite I drove east across the park on Tioga Road, checked out Bodie (the countries largest ghost town), and finally drove west on the Sonora Pass (on the way back to San Francisco). It was definitely one of the highlights to the trip, and I highly recommend anyone else who has the time to do the same.