Tires best for traction on gravel slope?

I don't think any tire will help much, probably nothing short of a four wheel drive. Are you renting, or it's your place? If the latter, at least get it regraded? Or paved?

 

You'll have to live with it. Try slow and steady and never stop.

 

You need one of these! Amazing.

 

I can't really recommend a tire for you, Seattler, but I would not recommend the Pirelli Cinturato p7 All Season Plus for those conditions. We're extremely happy with them on our Prius here in Southern California but the tread pattern is not aggressive enough for what you are asking it to do. Good LRR tire on the highway and relatively quiet but not a super wet traction and dirt road tire.

 

I wouldn't rule out the snow tire. You will compromise your dry road traction and ride for sure, but if you just need to get into your driveway, a mud / snow tire is going to have a larger tread pattern lined with tiny layers of silica glass that grab onto slippery surfaces such as ice, rocks etc.

Another option, have you tried backing up the slope in reverse?

 

You would need off-road tires. But those are not made for passenger vehicles. Your best bet would be a snow tires that have lots of open spaces between the tread patches. This looks good. Firestone Winterforce

Have you looked into getting the driveway paved? Expensive for sure.

Are emergency vehicles there, esp Ambulance, 4x4? Would a first responder even make it up your driveway? In a medical emergency, time is of the essence.

 

I would suggest looking for tire designs found on smaller SUV or vehicles with off-road abilities like our Outback which comes with Bridgestone Duelers. Finding such designs in a 15inch would probably be very limited so you'd have to consider moving up to 16 inch wheels too.

 

Several years ago for a non-Prius, a tire dealer -- I don't remember which one, but it was most likely a local tire store -- suggested something like fotomoto is talking about for our passenger vehicle.

I never saw that it really gave us any better traction in the backwoods or going up my driveway -- and what the original poster is talking about sounds suspiciously like my situation (hey, this isn't Kevin posting under Seattler, is it?).

But the "truck tires" did affect handling on "regular roads" and the tires wore quickly. But, it may be worth a try.

I lose traction a few times a year in pretty much the same places in the Prius.

I don't mind losing the traction so much, it is the "shut down" that I hate.