Sierra Nevada driving roads
7 roads and 150 mapped miles. Pick a road to see its route, character and access notes.
Compare the Sonora and Tioga pass crossings with destination roads such as Rock Creek, Bishop Creek Canyon and Horseshoe Meadow. These are mapped sections rather than a single connected itinerary; check each road's access sources when planning a mountain drive.
Choose a road
- Bishop Creek Canyon Road · Hwy 168The eastern Highway 168, climbing from Bishop up Bishop Creek Canyon past Aspendell to Lake Sabrina at over 9,100 feet, with South Lake Road forking off the same canyon.
- Highway 168 · Shaver Lake to Huntington LakeThe western Sierra climb from the San Joaquin Valley foothills through Shaver Lake to Huntington Lake, continuing as Kaiser Pass Road toward Florence Lake.
- Horseshoe Meadow RoadA steep climb out of Lone Pine up the eastern Sierra escarpment through six switchbacks and exposed shelf sections to over 10,000 feet — the second-highest paved road in California.
- Nine Mile Canyon RoadA fast, wide-open descent dropping around 3,000 feet in its last 10 miles from the Kennedy Meadows area down to Highway 395, with long unguarded drops off the canyon edge.
- Rock Creek RoadCalifornia’s highest paved public road, climbing from Tom’s Place on Highway 395 to the Mosquito Flat trailhead at over 10,200 feet.
- Sonora Pass · Hwy 108The steep eastern climb over the Sierra crest, narrow and continuously curving with grades reported as high as 26% near the summit.
- Tioga Pass · Hwy 120The east side of the highest highway pass in the Sierra Nevada, switchbacking down from the Yosemite boundary toward Lee Vining and Mono Lake.