Page 102 - 2025-2026 Travel Guide to California

SUNRISE AT LAKE TAHOE, above; Heavenly Ski Resort, South Lake Tahoe, below right.
DRIVE TOUR
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.
100 2025-26 TRAVEL GUIDE TO CALIFORNIA
INSIDER’S TIP
For an intimate and unusual
exploration of MONO LAKE, rent
kayaks to paddle around the weirdly
picturesque TUFA TOWERS and
other landmarks.
calderakayak.com
outcrop of marbleized limestone. Some
1,185 mortar holes they left behind consti-
tute the largest such collection in North
America. In the Hope Valley, just south of
Lake Tahoe, you can still see ruts in the
rocks left by the covered wagons of settlers
on the Emigrant Trail. The shafts of tho-
usands of abandoned mines pockmark the
High Sierra. One of the best places to see one
is the Great Sierra Mine, a short but steep
hike from Tioga Pass in Yosemite.
Family Fun
If the kids aren’t yet ready for full-on
camping, Lake Tahoe has two old-timey
resorts with knotty-pine cabins scattered in
the trees near the lakeshore, with bike,
paddleboat rentals and ice cream parlors.
Camp Richardson is on the west shore, near
Tahoe City; Zephyr Cove is on the south
shore, just over the border in Nevada.
camprichardson.com zephyrcove.com
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