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Is there any publicly accessible and drivable road between the California State Route 120 and the Sherman Pass Road (Forest Route 22S0) that crosses Yosemite/Sierra/Sequoia National Park/Forest?

There is over 200 km between California State Route 120 and Sherman Pass Road (Forest Route 22S0) as shown on the three maps below:

California State Route 120:

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Sherman Pass Road (Forest Route 22S0):

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Distance between California State Route 120 and Sherman Pass Road (Forest Route 22S0):

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    I'm voting to close this question as off-topic because we are a question and answer site, not a map book. Aug 19, 2019 at 16:39
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    @DavidRicherby The question is on-topic, e.g. see Is there no direct straight road from Wailea to Route 37? for a similar question. Aug 19, 2019 at 18:25
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    Or, equivalently, "Look, here's a link to another off-topic question." The question you linked was part of a controversial series of questions where the asker claimed his grandparents were doing all kinds of things -- not a great example at all. And what are you expecting from an answer? You can clearly read maps. The maps say there are no roads. What do you need us for? Aug 19, 2019 at 18:44
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    @DavidRicherby The question I linked to has 18 votes and 2 downvotes, so it seems to have been quite well received. The question was posted less that one year ago. Aug 19, 2019 at 18:56
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    People rarely build roads along mountain ridges. Especially in sparsely populated areas. Especially when a "detour" is just 50% longer than the straight route. In the question you've referenced a direct road at least might have made sense; here it would have been improbable and impractical.
    – IMil
    Aug 20, 2019 at 1:48

1 Answer 1

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No. There is no transverse (east/west) road across the Southern Sierra Nevada between CA120 and Sherman Pass Road.

There is a lot of space there, but it's very rugged. Roads run up into the mountains from the west and from the east, but they're not big, many are unpaved, and they all end well short of the other side of the range. In addition, most of the land in this area is within US National Parks.

Source: I'm a lifelong Californian who loves to drive cars and motorcycles, and I've been driving and riding and looking at maps since the mid-1960s. I've been over CA120 and Sherman Pass many times, they are both lovely. Although I keep looking at maps for roads I've missed, the pass in the middle has yet to appear.

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    the pass in the middle has yet to appear. — I sure hope not!! Isn't that all federally protected wilderness? You should cherish your roadless lands!
    – gerrit
    Aug 19, 2019 at 8:17
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    @gerrit I agree fully. I just keep looking to make sure I've not missed an interesting road. I like maps, and national parks. Aug 19, 2019 at 15:26
  • "Roads run up into the mountains from the west and from the east, but they're not big, many are unpaved, and they all end well short of the line of summits." I believe that CA 203, a short road from the east side, does cross the summit (Minaret Summit) and then dead-ends.
    – user102008
    Aug 19, 2019 at 20:41
  • CA203 does cross Minaret Summit from the east, and dead-ends near Devils Postpile. But Minaret Summit is east of the main line of summits of the Sierra Nevada crest, so I think the statement in my answer is correct. In any event. CA203 doesn't cross the range, and thus doesn't allow a drive from CA99 to US395. Aug 19, 2019 at 20:51
  • Note that while Minaret Summit is fairly far east, farther east than the "Pacific Crest" east face of Mt Ritter (Thousand Island lakes) and Devils Post Pile area does in fact drain west to the pacific via the middle fork of San Joaquin river and not east into the Owens Valley drainage.
    – crasic
    Aug 19, 2019 at 22:16

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