Switchback Roads to Yosemite with a 5th Wheel RV in Tow

We’d been anticipating this travel day for a week now. Today, we were to leave Thousand Trails Lake Minden (find out more about that campground in the last blog) and headed for a week at Yosemite.

This trip had several things to factor in– the five miles of steep uphill switchback roads of New Priest Grade Road we’d have to travel along Highway 120, whether or not we’d even be able to get into Yosemite National Park during the government shutdown, and the unpredictable shoulder season weather of mid-October in the Sierra Nevada Mountain’s higher elevations.

At our last stop, BJ had done a thorough maintenance check of the truck and trailer, to include replacing the truck’s brake pads–they were still fine, but changing them now was just a bit more piece of mind since we had the time. We loaded up for the day and headed out with views of the mountains in the distance.

When we started up on Highway 120, we were happy to see that it was a fairly new road and had decent shoulders, something we haven’t seen as much of on the steep two lane roads of prior travels. It was a warm day, about mid-70’s, so as we saw signs warning of the 5 miles of steep switchback ahead and to turn off the air-conditioning, we heeded their warning.

We took our time navigating the road, appreciating that the wider shoulders extended through the passes, and enjoying the beautiful views of both mountains and valleys–well, I did, BJ stayed focused on the road! I only tensed up a couple of times when larger trucks or busses were passing on a curve, and didn’t switch to the back seat! I also did a time lapse video of the drive you can check out in the reel on our social media pages, if you’re curious!

A couple of times we had to stop in a turnout to allow the few cars behind us to pass (it’s a California law). This resulted in more work on our truck to get moving from stopped up the passes, something our Ford F250 let us know it didn’t appreciate, and, by the time we made it through 14 minutes later, we were thankful for a spot to pull off and allow the transmission to cool off before continuing on. And in case you were wondering, no we were not overweight for towing, it was just warm and a very steep climb, with 2-3 stops for traffic.

We continued the last little stretch on our journey and arrived at our campground for the next week, Thousand Trails Yosemite Lakes. This campground is in our membership and only about 20 minutes from the park’s front gates.

This campground has lots of spaces, including some under the solar panel farm, a river, mountain views, and plenty of trails and activities (outdoor and a great clubhouse) to keep busy, even without going into the park. It had a bear that frequented the campground dumpsters, and we heard from some in the upper area of a mountain lion around, although we never saw either, just lots of squirrels, deer and geese, as well as other birds.

The nearest town, Groveland, was about half an hour away, for groceries and supplies we needed, but otherwise, we were able to get propane from the campground for reasonable and snacks from the convenience store. Their diesel was priced pretty high, but the Sinclair in Groveland was reasonable, so we filled up there when we went into town. All in all, we enjoyed the campground. We met some great people and would enjoy a future trip here someday.

Be sure to subscribe or follow our social media to check out the next couple of blogs for details on how the shutdown and the October weather impacted our visit into Yosemite National Park and a hike along the Merced Grove Trail.

If you’re not a Thousand Trails member, but are interested, use our referral sign up, linked here, and we will get your information to Sharon and Warren Lewis, our specialists, to help you find a membership that works for your budget and camping style!

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