Page 104 - 2024/2025 Travel Guide to CALIFORNIA

CANOEING BENEATH THE SIERRA RAMPARTS, above.
DRIVE TOUR
energy and interest in recent years. With a large inventory of hotel rooms and a cluster of hotel-casinos just a few steps over the border, it’s a good bet for inex- pensive lodging. In Truckee, a handsome old railroad and lumber town between Donner Pass and Squaw Valley, a collec- tion of Old West historic buildings along Commercial Row houses busy restau- rants and bars, some adorned with portraits of gunslingers and despera- does. Farther south, sprawling Bishop sports the Owens Valley’s most exten- sive collection of lodging, dining and resupply outlets.
The Great Outdoors
Just a few hours’ drive from San Francisco or Los Angeles, the Sierra Nevada has been California’s outdoor playground almost since the arrival of the original 49ers. In Yosemite Valley, spectators with tele- scopes watch the progress of climbers inching their way up the impossibly sheer granite walls. Tempted to try it? Sign up for an introductory class at the Yosemite Mountaineering School—or at least treat yourself to a “Go Climb a Rock” T-shirt. With some of the most reliably sunny summer weather of any major mountain range, the High Sierra is a hiker’s paradise, from easy day walks in the Desolation Wilderness to challenging, multi-week journeys through Kings Canyon and Sequoia national parks. Skiers have their choice of world-class venues, from beginner-friendly Granlibakken to the double-diamond chutes of Squaw Valley and Heavenly. In summer, many of the resorts—particularly Northstar and Mam- moth—convert their lifts and gondolas to carry mountain bikes.
Heritage & Culture
Native Americans, pioneer emigrants and gold miners all left their mark on the High Sierra—often literally. At Grinding Rock
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2024-25 TRAVEL GUIDE TO CALIFORNIA
Highway 120 is a magical mystery tour through the heart of Yosemite National Park’s exquisite high country. From the handsome old mining town of GROVELAND, follow 120 east into the park (HETCH HETCHY, the fraternal twin of Yosemite Valley that was dammed to provide San Francisco’s water supply, is a short side trip) past the TUOLUMNE GROVE of giant sequoias and up into the rarefied alpine world.
Pull over at OLMSTED POINT to view HALF DOME from an angle you’ve never seen before. You’ll traverse TUOLUMNE MEADOWS, the jumping-off point for some of Yosemite’s finest hiking trails, and cross 9,943-foot TIOGA PASS before descending three-quarters of a vertical mile to shimmering MONO LAKE.
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