Mammoth Lakes, California
June 8th – 14th, 2024 (6 nights)
Mammoth Lakes, located seven hours north of San Diego by car, is an outdoors playground high up in the Eastern Sierra (almost 8,000 feet above sea level). During the winter and spring, there is fantastic skiing/snowboarding at the world famous Mammoth Mountain ski area as well as opportunities for cross country skiing, snowmobiling, snowshoeing and sledding nearby. Spring, summer, and fall allow for camping, hiking, mountain biking, fishing, horseback riding, canoeing, paddle boarding, as well as many more activities (such as leaf peeping when the leaves change colors to vibrant yellows and oranges in the fall)!
Although we have visited Mammoth Lakes many times, this was our first stay in town at New Shady Rest Campground (note – there is also Old Shady Rest Campground right next store). New and Old Shady Rest campgrounds are run by the Inyo National Forest service. The campground is right in the middle of all the great things Mammoth Lakes as to offer, so it makes for an excellent location for exploring. There are no hookups at this campground, but there are water spigots and central dump station ($10). We reserved site #76 ($30/night) which is very spacious and is heavily shaded by tall Jeffrey pines. We received two bars of Verizon mobile phone service (although texting was not consistent – e.g. sometimes text would say downloading but never come through). There is a water spigot close by site #76 and the spigots are threaded: so, we were able to use our hoses to pump the water uphill to our trailer, instead of having to use our dolly. Joining our 25’ and 50’ Zero-G lead free drinking water safe hoses together was still just a few feet too short from being able to fill our 2020 Scamp ’13 directly, so we filled a water jug instead. Since this was at least the third time where our hoses have been just a bit too short to reach our Scamp 13’s fresh water fill port, we ordered an additional hose for future trips.
New Shady Rest Campground is within the town center of Mammoth Lakes and the 7.8 mile paved Town Loop bike path is right at the campground as well. The Mammoth Lakes Welcome Center is walking distance and offers a lot of information on things to do (including trolley maps) as well a nice tourist shop. We brought our mountain bikes (hitched to the back of our Scamp 13’) and enjoyed riding from the campground through town as well as on the paved Town Loop bike path. The path leads high up above town and offers spectacular views of the Eastern Sierra (still snowcapped in mid-June). We road our bikes to the Warming Hut restaurant one day for lunch and enjoyed some great meals! There’s also a nice mostly flat paved trail that goes from the campground through a Jeffrey Pine forest to Shady Rest Park (about 1 mile each way). We enjoyed walking this path every day during our stay. The smells of the pines are wonderful. Although we were warned about bears, we never saw any. The last bear seen in the campground was about two weeks before our arrival. The black bears are mostly regarded as a nuisance in the campground by foraging for food, but are rarely aggressive towards people.
Our Carlsbad neighbor and friend Rob surprised us with a visit (on his way up to Bend, Oregon for a family gathering). He spent a couple of nights at New Shady Rest campground in his Honda Odyssey van which he converted into a camper van. Rob is very familiar with the area as he has spent many years skiing and fly-fishing here. We were fortunate to have him give us a tour of some of his favorite places, including a hike around beautiful Convict Lake and a viewing of the Minarets (mountain peaks) from Minaret Vista (the highest lookout point in Mammoth Lakes, elevation 9,276 feet). The vista offers panoramic views of the famous Minarets, the backside of Mammoth Mountain, and the magnificent Sierra landscape.
Mammoth Lakes has an excellent free trolley system which traverses all over town as well as to the lakes. Some of the trolleys even look like the old fashioned bright red trolleys with open sides! Each trolley route is designated with a color, so it’s important to get a map at the Mammoth Lakes Welcome Center (or view online) to determine which colored route is the right one for your destination. Some of the trolleys even have bike racks, so you can bring your bike with you. The trolley stop right up the street from the campground is designated #12. We found most of the trolleys, regardless of colored route, go to The Village, where one can catch the Lake Basins trolley to the lakes. The Village is designed like a posh European alps village and has various stores and eateries. We had fun taking the trolley up to the lakes and hiking the spectacular Panorama Dome, which features spectacular views of the mountains, Twin Lakes, and waterfalls.
Although we only stayed five days in Mammoth Lakes, there are so many fun things to do, that one could easily spend a couple of weeks here and not get bored. In the late spring, there is great biking, fishing, hiking, boating, shopping, restaurants … to try. Don’t forget about taking the shuttle to the Devils Postpile National Monument and hiking to Rainbow Falls. And, Yosemite is less than an hour’s drive away! We also found it very relaxing sitting in a comfortable chair at the campsite and watch the puffy white clouds pass high above the tall Jeffrey pines. Whatever, you choose to do, make sure to get outdoors, inhale the fresh air, and wonder at the beautiful natural surrounds. The sign at the entrance of town has it right as it says, “The mountains are calling, … John Muir”.
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