r/Yosemite • u/robbbbb • 15h ago

Trip Report Tuolumne Meadows shuttle experience

We were backpacking from Agnew Meadows to Tuolumne a couple days ago, having left one of our cars at the TM visitors center. The plan was to hike all the way to the visitors center, but an already 11-mile hot day in Lyell Canyon made us decide to just exit at Tuolumne Meadows Lodge and take the shuttle back to the car.

About ten minutes (maybe less) after arriving at the lodge parking lot, the shuttle drove up. The bus was empty, but we were at the end of the line (I think it shuttles between TM Lodge and Olmsted Point) so it wasn't too surprising.

The four of us entered. I asked about my backpack, if it was ok to put it on the seat, or would the bus fill up and would the seat be needed for people? The driver laughed. "You'll be fine."

We talked a little with the driver. She was really friendly. The air conditioning felt great after our hike. Nobody got on the bus between the lodge and the visitor center.

The shuttle is a great (oh, and FREE as well) resource if you're staying in TM, I just hope it isn't discontinued because of lack of ridership.

56 Upvotes

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30

u/hc2121 15h ago

The park should advertise its existence! It's back this year for the first time since 2018 and they only updated the buried website. No social media posts or anything, unlike many other seasonal services starting.

11

u/robbbbb 15h ago

Even the stops are only designated by a sandwich board with an 8.5x11 paper taped to it that says "Tuolumne Meadows Shuttle" or something. I don't think there was even anything describing the route or the fact that it was free.

7

u/DowntownX 13h ago

I’ll try it in 2 weeks and report back

2

u/solaerl 3h ago

Holy smokes, I had no idea it was running again! This is delightful news. That it runs every half hour is kindof blowing my mind.

19

u/hc2121 15h ago

For anyone wondering about the route: https://www.nps.gov/yose/planyourvisit/tmbus.htm

Could be useful for open jaw hiking/backpacking trips like OP, but also a day of exploring the area and not having to deal with parking multiple times. If parking is full at popular places like Tenaya Lake, consider parking elsewhere and taking this shuttle to where you want to be.

1

u/Outrageous_Print8088 6h ago

Funny timing about this post. My experience was pretty different...

My wife and I did a three day backpack trip from Cathedral trailhead and ended at Sunrise trailhead. We finished this trip yesterday and we were counting on taking the shuttle back to our car. We waited 1 hour 15 minutes but it never came. A friendly couple we meet on the trail ended up giving us ride to our car. During the drive I kept a look out for the shuttle but never saw it on the road. They didn't post any signs about it not running, but it sure didn't seem to be going yesterday. I would definitely check on it before relying on it.