“The mountains are calling, and I must go,” wrote the 19th-century naturalist and conservationist John Muir. Following Muir’s cue (or, perhaps, his siren song) we made a family trek this summer to the remote, big mountain enclave of Mammoth Lakes for a long weekend packed with alpine adventure, mountain cuisine and a solid dose of prime-time Eastern Sierra living.
Mammoth Lakes’ larger-than-life setting overflows with natural splendors: pristine Alpine lakes, dense forests, hot springs and off-the-charts mountain views. It’s a great alternative to Tahoe — and feels very different. Mammoth will undoubtedly satisfy the most adventurous and active outdoor enthusiasts — campers, hikers, runners, backpackers, fishers, paddlers, road cyclists and mountain bikers. For us, despite three days of non-stop action, it felt like we just got a sampling of the place. The oohs and aahs kept coming and coming, and we really craved more.
Our trip from the Bay Area started with a stop in Tahoe for a fun outdoor production of “Mamma Mia!” at the Lake Tahoe Shakespeare Festival (their summer season runs through August). With Abba’s catchy tunes stuck in our heads, we set out from our hotel in Carson City, Nevada’s state capital, heading south on Highway 395, then transitioning back into California through a scenic high desert landscape, accompanied by the soaring, jagged edifice of the eastern Sierra mountains.
After a midday side trip to the fascinating ghost town of Bodie — a former mining town preserved as a California state historic park — followed by a break for soft-serve Mono Cones near Mono Lake in Lee Vining, we arrived in Mammoth Lakes by mid-afternoon and checked into our comfy condo in the Snowcreek neighborhood on the outskirts of town.
Eager to orient ourselves, we followed the town’s Main Street to Lake Mary Road and the glacier-carved Mammoth Lakes basin. Along the way, we passed pristine Twin Lakes, the Tamarack Lodge and St. Mary’s Lake, where we spotted a huge brown bear sleeping under a pine tree. From the Horseshoe Lake parking lot, we took a short hike to scenic McLeod Lake, a perfect introduction to Mammoth’s summer wonderland.
Dinner that evening at Bleu Market & Kitchen — a restaurant, organic bakery and epicurean marketplace — turned out to be the best meal of the trip. We savored seared scallops with lobster ravioli, truffle mac ‘n’ cheese with Santa Maria tri-tip, and a tasty farm-to-table salad topped with Humboldt Fog goat cheese and a side of crispy calamari.
In the morning, after breakfast burritos at Looney Bean, we hightailed it to Mammoth Mountain, the famed ski resort that transitions each summer into the best, most extensive mountain bike park in the state. The Mammoth bike park has more than 80 miles of lift and shuttle-supported trails to ride. Renting Trek Fuel Ex mountain bikes at the Main Lodge, we rode Chair 11 for a few warm-up runs in Mammoth’s Discovery Zone before riding the gondola to the top of Mammoth Mountain, elevation 11,053 feet.
The summit was wrapped in a heavy mist, as we set out on the intermediate-level, five-mile-long “Off The Top” trail on the mountain’s backside. Following a winding single track trail through a series of switchback turns, we rode through moonlike pumice — the mountain is an old volcano — as we descended to hard-pack and occasionally rocky trails in sunnier pine forests on the mountain’s frontside.
The following day, after picking up breakfast sandwiches and strong coffee from Stellar Brew, we headed to nearby Convict Lake for a fantastic morning of stand-up paddleboarding and kayak paddling (the lake also offers world-class trout fishing). Located just off Highway 395 south of Mammoth Lakes, the oblong-shaped lake is a jaw-dropping sight set beneath soaring, granite-faced Mount Morrison, elevation 12,241 feet. In places, Convict Lake’s waters are 140 feet deep, making this one of the deepest lakes in the region.
A lunch of soup and sandwiches at Mammoth Lake’s Warming Hut was just the thing before heading to Devils Postpile National Monument for the afternoon. By shuttle bus (reservations required), it’s a 30-minute ride from Mammoth Mountain’s Main Lodge to the monument’s ranger station. Enroute, we observed the Minarets, a series of peaks in the Ritter range, looming darkly like J.R.R. Tolkein’s mountains of Mordor on the horizon, before descending to the park. An easy half-mile hike brought us to the park’s namesake formation of basalt columns, which formed some 100,000 years ago.
Over big, country-style breakfasts the next morning at The Stove, we decided that next time we visited we’d check out places like nearby Hot Creek Geologic site, the Devil’s Postpile trails to Rainbow and Minaret falls and more bike park and path adventures.
On the way home, we took the long way through Yosemite’s lovely Tuolumne Meadows, adding a final bit of Alpine splendor to our epic summer family escape to Mammoth Lakes and the Eastern Sierra.
If You Go
Travel: We road-tripped, but an incredibly easy way to visit Mammoth in summer is by air. Direct flights on United from SFO to Eastern Sierra Regional Airport (BIH) in Bishop take only about an hour. visitmammoth.com/flying.
Bleu Market & Kitchen: Open daily during the season from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. for soup, sandwiches and market fare. The bar and lounge are open daily from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. at 106 Old Mammoth Road inMammoth Lakes; www.bleufoods.com.
Warming Hut: Open for breakfast and lunch daily from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. and dinner from 5 to 8 p.m. at 343 Old Mammoth Road, Mammoth Lakes; www.thewarminghutmammoth.com.
The Stove: Open daily for big country breakfasts and lunch fare from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. at 644 Old Mammoth Road; www.thestoverestaurantmammoth.com.
Distant Brewing: This microbrewery and brewpub is open from noon to 9 p.m. daily (10 p.m. Friday-Saturday) at 568 Old Mammoth Road; distantbeer.com.
Looney Bean: This coffee house is open from 6 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. daily at 26H Old Mammoth Road; www.looneybeanmammoth.com.
Stellar Brew: This coffee house is open daily from 5:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. at 3280 Main St.; www.stellarbrew.life.
Snowcreek Resort: This Mammoth Lakes resort offers vacation rentals starting at $170; www.livesnowcreek.com.
Visitor information: Learn more about the region at www.visitmammoth.com and www.monocounty.org.
Join the Conversation
We invite you to use our commenting platform to engage in insightful conversations about issues in our community. We reserve the right at all times to remove any information or materials that are unlawful, threatening, abusive, libelous, defamatory, obscene, vulgar, pornographic, profane, indecent or otherwise objectionable to us, and to disclose any information necessary to satisfy the law, regulation, or government request. We might permanently block any user who abuses these conditions.