Adventure Awaits Along Highway 395

June Lake Loop offers a great summer getaway for travelers up Highway 395 East of Yosemite National Park. Surrounded by rugged peaks, this cluster of small lakes offer great fishing and excellent camping opportunities under the watchful eye of 13,000 ft. peaks. Photo by Frank K..

.For lots of San Bernadino and L.A. County residents Highway 395 is the fastest, easiest way to Yosemite. For those of use who live closer to the Bay Area it offers a fun and exciting destination full of history and interesting places to explore.

Las Vegas Review Journal: The 13,000-foot peaks of the Sierras rise abruptly from valleys at the base of the eastern slope. Snow-fed creeks and rivers carve deep canyons and pool into lakes, creating an angler’s paradise. Fish camps, rustic resorts and campgrounds near fishing streams dot these canyons. Anglers need California licenses, available locally. Stands of aspen crowding the water in the canyons create one of the top areas for fall color in the West, beginning next month.

Several side roads invite exploration. Follow Highway 203 to the resort community at Mammoth Lakes, a popular winter sports area. Stop at the national forest regional information station for maps and trail guides, then drive into a gorgeous region along the San Joaquin River. Try the splendid walk along the river to the geological oddity at Devil’s Postpile National Monument. Just when you think the views from the highway can’t get any better, you top a summit to see the expanse of snaggle-tooth crags called the Minarets.

Turn off U.S. 395 for the 16-mile June Lake Loop, popular with mountain bikers. June Lake village offers summer and winter recreation. Four mountain lakes lie along this loop, havens for fishermen, boaters, campers and hikers.

Scenic highways through several passes leave U.S. 395 to breach the wall of mountains. All open to travel in summer, a few close with winter snows.

Perhaps the most spectacular, the road through Tioga Pass accesses Yosemite National Park through its high backcountry. Compared to the traffic in Yosemite Valley, the Tioga Pass route seems uncrowded. A park entry fee applies.

Mono Lake dominates the valley near the turnoff to Tioga Pass. The Mono Basin Scenic Area’s visitor center near Lee Vining introduces this region of recent volcanism. Salty Mono Lake fosters a brine shrimp that attracts large numbers of birds. At least 300 species live or visit there. Where the lake’s mineral-laden underwater springs meet the briny lake water, unusual tufa flowers form, revealed along its shoreline. Mono Lake Tufa State Reserve east of U.S. 395 on Highway 120 preserves and interprets a portion of these formations.

U.S. 395 links many historic towns proud of their Western heritage. Open all year from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., the Laws’ Railroad Museum near Bishop celebrates the importance of the narrow gauge railroad to mining, logging and ranching. Housed in an 1880s schoolhouse, the Mono County Museum in Bridgeport concentrates on regional history, including American Indian artifacts. Bodie Ghost Town, a popular California state historical park, lies a few miles off US 395 between Lee Vining and Bridgeport. Original buildings preserve a colorful era when mining was king.