The road was formally dedicated on 28 July 1915. Stephen Mather was in attendance, and broke a bottle filled with Pacific Ocean water over the symbolic "15,000 Rock," memorialized in contemporary cartoons and now enshrined in the Yosemite Museum.52 The Tioga Road was opened to automobiles following the ceremonies, and by 1 October approximately 350 cars had made use of the road. The completion of the John Muir Trail in 1915 attracted many users. The park charged an additional five dollar fee for passage over the road.53 One of the early motorists reported that the trip was truly exciting:
- These 21 miles are the most exasperating I have ever driven. I will personally guarantee there isn't a trickier road anywhere. It is a good deal like a roller coaster, only rougher! but if your car's in good shape, and you are confident of your driving skills; if you are looking for an adventurous route and breathtaking scenery, there's no better place to find it than along the Tioga Road!54
Mark Daniels, Superintendent and Landscape Engineer of the National Parks, noted the significance of the acquisition of the Tioga Road in his 1915 annual report to the secretary of the Interior. He wrote "it will be the most popular pass through the Sierra Nevada Mountains, as well as being a favorite for local drivers."55 Daniels was not far off in his prediction; the road remains one of the most popular mountain drives in California.
The (old) Tioga Road left the Big Oak Flat Road at Crocker's Station (sometimes called "Crocker's Sierra Resort"). Passing Carl Inn 3 miles east, the road then struck off to the northeast to reach the small enclave of Aspen Valley. Here, Jeremiah Hodgdon in 1878 had built a two-story log cabin, later used by the road builders and patrolling cavalry. In the 1920s, several tourist cabins were built here and the small resort flourished until World War II. Nine miles further northeast along the Middle Fork of the Tuolumne River, the road swung back to the southeast near Harden Lake. From there, the road crossed the ridge to drop to Yosemite Creek where the present Yosemite Creek campground is located. It gained the ridge again, following it through Porcupine Flat and Snow Flat before dropping to Tenaya Lake. The road followed the north shore of the lake and headed northeast again to Tuolumne Meadows. From there, it followed the Dana Fork of the Tuolumne River before reaching Tioga Pass. The unsurfaced road was 12'-15' wide, and had grades of up to 15 percent.56 The original entrance and checking station was located at Tuolumne Meadows; a checking station was added at Aspen Valley in 1918.57
The Tuolumne Meadows region soon saw more improvements. The Sierra Club built the Parsons Memorial Lodge at Lembert Soda Springs in 1915. The striking stone building was designed by Berkeley arts-and-crafts architect Bernard Maybeck. The Sierra Club maintained ownership until 1973, when they sold the property to the National Park Service. Commercial interests were also attracted to the area. Hoping to attract the new road users, the Desmond Park Service Company erected a tourist camp on the old John Murphy place at Tenaya Lake in 1916. The camp flourished until 1938, when it was dismantled and replaced by the more remote May Lake High Sierra Camp. The Desmond Park Service Company also built the Tuolumne Meadows Lodge in 1916; operations were soon suspended on account of the war and the Desmond company's failure. The Lodge was expanded and reconstructed in 1923 by its new operator, the Yosemite Park & Curry Company.58
Park Supervisor Gabriel Sovulewski oversaw the maintenance of the Tioga Road in the years immediately following its acquisition. In the spring of 1916, he assigned 24 men and two horse teams to repairing washouts. The crew removed more than 30 trees that were down across the road and rebuilt the bridge over
