Page 117 - 2022-2023 Travel Guide to California

The range is home to three national
parks, 15 state parks, two national monu-
ments and 20 officially designated
wilderness areas. Hikers get itchy feet at
the mere mention of its celebrated walking
paths: the John Muir Trail; the Tahoe Rim
Trail; the Pacific Crest Trail; the Tahoe-
Yosemite Trail. At the drop of winter’s first
snowflake, skiers begin making plans for
the three premier ski resorts on America’s
West Coast: Squaw Valley (site of the 1960
Winter Olympics), Heavenly and Mam-
moth Mountain. Streams rushing down
the range’s sheer east slope into the
Owens Valley are renowned for their fly
fishing.
Geographically speaking, the mountain
range is pretty much one big chunk of gra-
nite tilted like a badly placed brick in a
cobblestone street. It’s gently sloped on the
west side and quite steep on the east, lower
in the north and higher in the south. Keep
that in mind when choosing a hiking trail.
For an easier amble, look to the north and
west; for a challenging ascent, head south
and east.
City & Town
Connected by gondola to the Heavenly ski
resort, the bustling town of South Lake
Tahoe, located on the lakeshore and the
Nevada border, has seen an injection of
SPECIAL EVENTS 2022
“LIGHTS ON THE LAKE,” Held each Fourth of July at South Lake Tahoe, it is the largest
synchronized fireworks show west of the Mississippi. July 4 tahoesouth.com
AMERICAN CENTURY GOLF CHAMPIONSHIP It has been called the “Super Bowl of
Celebrity Sports,” with past participants such as Justin Timberlake, Patrick Mahomes and
Aaron Rodgers. July 6-10, South Lake Tahoe americancenturychampionship.com
LONE PINE FILM FESTIVAL The hundreds of Hollywood westerns and other movies filmed
in and around Lone Pine, from 1925’s Riders of the Purple Sage to 2008’s Ironman, are cele-
brated here. Oct. 6-9 lonepinefilmfestival.org
MUST
SEE,
DO
• OLDEST TREES Bristlecone pines growing
high in the White Mountains are the world’s
oldest trees, some surviving nearly 5,000 years.
To visit them, follow Highway 168 for 26 miles
east from the town of Big Pine. An easy, mile-long
trail winds through the Schulman Grove.
• bishopvisitor.com/activities/bristlecone-forest
• CLIMBING “CALIFORNIA’S EVEREST”
At 14,495-feet, Mount Whitney is the highest
summit in the lower 48 states. It is also, surpris-
ingly, the most frequently climbed peak in
California—thanks to a well-graded, 11-mile trail to
the top. Very fit hikers make it up and down in
one long, arduous day. Sounds tough, but it’s so
popular there’s a lottery for the coveted permits.
• nps.gov/seki/planyourvisit/whitney.htm
• MOUNTAIN HAMLET The picturesque
town of Markleeville (pop. 210) is the largest
metropolis in Alpine County, California’s least
populated county. It makes a great base for
fishing excursions and for soaking up the Sierra’s
version of fall colors—the turning of the aspens.
• alpinecounty.com/area-info/markleeville-%26-woodfords
• THE WILD, WILD WEST Possibly the Old
West’s most notorious mining town, Bodie now
exists in a state of “arrested decay” on a high,
windswept plain northeast of Yosemite. It’s one of
America’s most extensive ghost towns.
• www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=509
• LAKE TAHOE SALMON RUN Salmon in
Lake Tahoe? Yes, every autumn the kokanee
salmon congregate by the thousands at the mouth
of Taylor Creek on the south shore to make their
spawning run upstream, drawing bears and mer-
gansers to dine, and people to look on in awe. The
site also has interpretive paths and a sunken
aquarium that suggests you’ve descended
beneath the surface of the creek itself.
• facebook.com/TaylorCreekVisitorCenter
LONE PINE LAKE on the trail to Mount Whitney,
above; Yosemite National Park, opposite.
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