Glacier Point Road Biking

Date: May 2, 2026

With this year’s snow season being rather sad, I was awaiting the potential for an early bike day on Glacier Point or Tioga Road. I checked the Yosemite road status webpage daily, and on April 28th the page updated to say Glacier Point road was open to bikers only, with no estimated opening date for cars yet. I brought it up with a cycling friend and we decided to commit to riding it on Saturday if it stayed closed to cars through the weekend. (The forecast showed some chance for rain on Sunday.)

By Friday night I had gathered a group of 5 of us to go ride and take advantage of this limited opportunity. We headed out around 5 AM and got to the parking lot at the turn off for Glacier Point Road just before 9:30 AM. We saw many other bikers coming up from the valley or starting at the same parking lot. The weather was partly cloudy and just the right temperature, perfect for the ride.

The ride out has two main climbs, with a descent in the middle and at the end for a round trip mileage of 32 miles and 3600 ft of climbing. The grade never really got excessively steep, and the steepest part was probably the climb back out from Glacier Point. Riding the final descent to Glacier Point and seeing Half Dome right in front of you will be a sight I won’t forget for a while. On the ride back, the descent to the parking lot was an uninterrupted 5 miles of just pure speed that felt like flying. It was incredible being able to use the entire road for biking and not having to worry about cars. So many other bikers were out there that day and it was fun seeing all the other riders. Some of those riders were flying past us uphill; I hope to be that strong one day! Combined with the stunning scenery of the Yosemite wilderness, this was an epic ride that will be hard to top.

Tioga opened for bikers only for one day on Thursday May 14th with one day's notice, and I didn’t get to ride it. For next time!