Embalse El Yeso Tour with Picnic: Road Status and the Day

Embalse El Yeso, the El Yeso reservoir (or El Yeso dam in some tour titles), sits high in the Cajón del Maipo, in the commune of San José de Maipo. The Ministry of Public Works (MOP) puts it at 2,558 m above sea level, with a storage capacity of 220 cubic hectometres, and it holds water for Greater Santiago. The picnic tours from Santiago are sold on it and on its turquoise water.

As of 11 November 2026, though, no vehicle may drive the last stretch of the road to it. The tours still run every day, and on the closure days they have taken their groups somewhere else in the valley. If you book for a November date, expect that other day.

Road status, 11 November 2026

The road to the reservoir is Ruta G-455. A 2018 resolution of the Santiago regional transport authority (Seremi de Transportes y Telecomunicaciones de la Región Metropolitana, Res. 5.615 exenta of 5 September 2018) bans all motor vehicles on it from km 21.7, at the Las Cáscaras sector, from April each year. The end month is moved by later resolutions, and in 2026 it was moved three times:

The October extension followed a report from the provincial roads office (Vialidad Cordillera) of snow build-up on the upper slopes, unstable banks and repeated rockfall. The November one cites the national geology service (Sernageomin) on the danger of mass movements, and a report from the Army’s Mountain Division of a high probability of avalanches, “especially for the tourists who come to the area”. The resolution names no end day. We found no reopening notice, and another extension would follow the same path, so we print no reopening date.

The park at the reservoir agrees: on 11 November 2026 the status board of Asociación Parque Cordillera, which runs the visitor park, showed “Parque Natural El Yeso - Laguna Negra” as “cerrado” (closed).

What the tours ran instead

The reviews of Oliveira Chile’s picnic day tell the story day by day. At least 25 reviews dated 8 October to 4 November 2026 say the group did not reach the reservoir. The other day they describe has varied: Lagunillas (a ski area, “abandoned” in one review), the Salto El Yeso waterfall, Las Melosas, the El Volcán viewpoint, then the picnic, lunch, the mini-zoo and the Chocolate House. Many reviewers liked the other day, some for their first snow; the low-rated reviews are about the notice. A 13 October reviewer wrote that the tour “should have been cancelled” if the closure was known; a 4 November one advised asking for a refund.

From 30 October the reviews change again. Several dated 30 October to 7 November describe walking up to the reservoir, “a couple of kilometers” on “a rough and often muddy road”, with “a significant incline”. Whether walking past the barrier is allowed is not something we could settle at an official source: the Diario Oficial resolutions speak of vehicles only. We don’t say it is allowed, and the tour may not offer it on your day.

What this means for booking: the free cancellation ends 24 hours before the start, and the operator’s pickup message arrives after 8:30 p.m. the evening before. Decide on the road before your cancellation deadline.

See dates and the cancellation deadline

When the road is open: what you see

The picnic tours stop at a viewpoint over the water. The park’s own trail, the Cortina del Embalse, is about 3 km and easy, and crosses the dam wall. Asociación Parque Cordillera’s board lists the park as open Thursday to Monday, 8:00 to 18:00, with entry at CLP 3,450 for adults and CLP 2,300 for seniors and children (11 November 2026). In winter it runs a separate route to Laguna del Encañado and Laguna Negra for guides and tour operators only.

Whether the fee is in the tour price depends on the operator. On MTO Tour Chile's day the Cordillera Park visit is optional and its fee is not included. Aprendi a Viajar Chile's picnic day has no extra entrance fees. For Oliveira Chile’s picnic day the fee is not stated.

Embalse El Yeso tour: which day to book

Three picnic days and one that goes further up the valley. All four start with pickup in Santiago and all four list El Yeso, so the closure applies to each of them.

Prices, ratings and review counts from our November 2026 data check; operators change prices by season and date, so read them as the shape of the market, not a quote.

The map of the whole valley is in how to get to the Cajón del Maipo from Santiago, and the weather side of the closure is in the Cajón del Maipo in winter.