Mammoth Lakes, Eastern Sierra: Find heart-stopping scenery, biking, hiking and more

We had not done an extended visit to Mammoth Lakes and the Eastern Sierra region in several years, so I brushed up on famous naturalist and Sierra Club founder John Muir.

He, when viewing the Sierra from a distance, wrote in The Yosemite, 1912, “the mighty Sierra, miles in height, and so gloriously colored and so radiant, it seemed not clothed with light but holy composed of it, like the wall of some celestial city. Then it seemed to me that the Sierra should be called, not the Nevada or Snowy Range, but the Range of Light.”

So, off we went with our little camping trailer, having had the good fortune to book several nights camping just above Mammoth Lakes, finding the Eastern Sierra green, rivers flowing rapidly, dotted with scenic lakes and full of other-worldly destinations! It is a region of heart-stopping scenery, with biking, hiking and fishing options galore; we would rediscover why the area shows off so well the Range of Light.

Our route took us past secondary attractions including gold rush ghost town Bodie, Mono Lake, the June Lake Loop, Devils Postpile National Monument and Manzanar. We took the Highway 88 route east over the Sierra, then followed Highway 395 south, reaching first the Bodie State Historic Park intersection.  

Bodie, high in the volcanic mountains north of Mono Lake, was founded in 1859 when Waterman Body discovered gold. The population would grow to almost 10,000, famous for its lawlessness, robbers, and some of the worst climate in the west.

The town is maintained in a state of "arrested decay" by the State Historic Park. Only 5% of the original buildings remain — but it's an impressive remainder! Among its memorable old structures are the Methodist Church, erected 1882 and the sawmill, used for cutting firewood for winters when snow reached 20 feet deep, with winds up to 100 mph and temperatures to 40 below zero!

Above the town stands the old Standard Mine and Mill, on the west slope of Bodie Bluff. Though the old mill buildings are closed to the public, the mill extracted more than $15 million in gold over its 25 year run and remains an imposing presence over the town. Along Bodie's Main Street you'll find the old post office, the IOOF Hall, Miner’s Hall with adjacent morgue, Boone Store and Warehouse, the old firehouse and Wheaton and Hollis Hotel (the hotel lobby, complete with bar and pool table, looks like gold prospectors left minutes earlier)!

Mono Lake lies just south, one of the oldest lakes in North America at 760,000 years old. With no outlet, fed by six major streams that keep it from evaporating and minerals flowing into the lake for eons, it's 2.5 times saltier than the ocean and extremely buoyant. Though no fish can live in the alkaline waters, it's flush with life - millions of brine shrimp and alkali flies feed thousands of migratory birds.

Tour the shoreline tufa tower gardens for an experience like no other, the result of springs rising up from the lake floor and depositing minerals as they grow upwards. Once 30, 40 or 50 feet under the lake's surface, they have been revealed in stark, alien contrast over the past 90 years, as LA water interests siphoned off streamflow, dropping lake level by 60+ feet. The South Tufa Reserve, on Hwy. 120 just 5 miles east of Highway 395 offers an easy hike through some of the most intriguing topography, with tufa towers rising out of the lake like ghost pirate ships.

Motoring south on 395, Highway 203 takes one to Mammoth Lakes. We drove just four miles above the town to Lake Mary Campground. At 8966 feet, with thin air and gorgeous scenery, it's one of six lakes in the Lake Mary Loop, all with scenic campgrounds and interconnected by a lovely paved biking and hiking trails. Lake Mary is wondrous in the late afternoon to early evening light and shows off a different personality in the early morning!

The town is home to Mammoth Mountain Ski Resort, one of the largest in the west, and in summer a mecca for mountain bikers. It caters to tourists year-round, with lodging, restaurants, retail and sports shops, all aimed at youthful, outdoorsy visitors. The Mammoth Brewing Company and Eatery is a must stop with fine craft beers and some of the best brewpub food we have had in a long while!

Just past the ski area on Hwy. 203 is Devils Postpiles National Monument. A short 1/2 mile hike takes one past a pristine stretch of the Upper Middle Fork San Joaquin River, then to the postpiles. Here, about 80,000 years ago, basalt lava flowed; as it cooled and contracted it split into the symmetrical vertical, hexagonal columns that constitute the postpiles. Further down the river is Rainbow Falls, which drops 101 feet over a volcanic cliff.

Fishing, touring, hiking and biking options are abundant, up and down the Eastern Sierra; each turn yields wondrous new vistas! If more time, also tour the nearby June Lakes Loop, with another half-dozen campgrounds on equally stunning lakes, all in the shadow of the Range of Light.

For more information: Bodie State Historic Park, parks.ca.gov/Bodie; Mono Basin Visitor Center, fs.fed.us/r5/Inyo; Mammoth Lakes Chamber of Commerce: mammothlakeschamber.org; Devils Postpile National Monument, nps.gov/depo.

Contact Tim at tviall@msn.com. Happy travels in the West!