The trip from the east is the most spectacular and scenic of all the routes into Tuolumne County. You have two choices. . .Sonora Pass or Tioga Pass. You might want to take one coming and the other going for the maximum Sierra Nevada and Yosemite experience.
U.S. Highway 395 follows the eastern side of the Sierra Nevada in two states, California and Nevada. If you are coming from below Mono Lake, you will travel north on Highway 395 and if you are north of Mono Lake, you will travel south.
From the north, go south to Sonora Junction. Turn right onto Highway 108 and follow this over Sonora Pass, the second highest pass through the Sierra Nevada. You will pass through Strawberry, Pinecrest, Long Barn, Mi Wuk Village, Twain Harte, Standard, and into Sonora. Continue west on Highway 108 until you reach Mono Way. Take a right continue into downtown Sonora. Washington Street is the main street of Sonora and at Stockton Road, it also becomes Highway 49. Continue until you reach Fraguero Road on the right. At 8773 Fraguero Road, the welcome mat is out!
If you're traveling north on Highway 395, you will pass through Lone Pine, Independence, and Bishop. In Lee Vining, Highway 120, a left turn, takes you up to 10,000 feet through Tioga Pass, the highest pass through the Sierra Nevada. There is a National Park fee for traveling this highway as it is the northern part of Yosemite National Park and some say the most beautiful. . .especially Tuolumne Meadows. You will follow this highway until you reach the end and then turn right (a left turn will take you into Yosemite Valley). Follow Highway 120 out of the National Park. You will pass through Buck Meadows, Big Oak Flat, and Groveland. When you reach the bottom of the steep grade outside Groveland (Moccasin), you will follow this past Don Pedro Lake to Jacksonville Road (your first right). You can continue on Highway 120/49 to Chinese Camp and turn right onto Highway 49 and then onto Highway 108. Follow the Bay Area Directions from this point on.
It is shorter to take Jacksonville Road. Follow this road into Jamestown. In the center of town on Main Street, turn right and then left on Humbug Street which will take you across Highway 108 to Rawhide Road. If you miss Humbug Street, Main Street exits onto Highway 108. Go straight across to Jamestown-Shaw's Flat Road. Use the directions from the Bay Area and Points West directions once you are on Rawhide Road or Jamestown Shaw's Flat Road.
You can also turn right on Highway 108 and take the Highway 49 and Business District exit (right) into Sonora and turn left on Washington Street (Stockton ends at Washington). Once on Washington Street/49, just follow it until you reach Fraguero Road (on the right)! We'll keep a light on fer ya!