Old Yosemite Coulterville Rd

Old Yosemite Coulterville Road is a historic trail located in Stanislaus National Forest that crosses over into Yosemite National Park. Coulterville Road was opened in 1874 and was the first highway into Yosemite, a toll road that mainly served stagecoaches. The road was popular until around 1915, when free alternatives such as Big Oak Flat Road made Coulterville Road obsolete. Today, the forest service maintains Coulterville Road for vehicle travel. While it may not be the quickest or most efficient way to enter Yosemite, Coulterville Road provides miles of beautiful scenery on seldom-traveled forest service routes and is a fantastic way to start your visit to Yosemite National Park.

Old Yosemite Coulterville Road is well maintained by the forest service, and the vast majority of the road could be done in a 2WD. However, there is one large obstacle that requires 4WD. On the Yosemite side of the trail, there is a large pile of downed trees that have been covered with loose dirt to allow vehicles to travel over them. Other than the one obstacle, the trail is graded dirt with small hills and ruts and a shallow water crossing. Camping is not allowed.