Mammoth Lakes | An Eastern Sierra Road Trip
When writing about our family’s road trips, I always wonder if the story to tell here is more about the destinations or the priceless act of road tripping itself. I am often trying to convince families to create space for road trips in their travel planning. There is nothing like it really. Old fashioned clean fun with a touch of modern day conveniences thrown in for sanity sake. Road trips are the symbol of American travel from families to hippies to nomads to truckers. The wide open spaces and untethered itineraries make road trips the hallmark of our summers and touchstones for our memory banks.
Highway 395 or bust!
As we drove south from our home in Lake Tahoe, we admired the views of our beloved lake as we said good-bye to Big Blue. The kids are always most excited and engaged in the first few hours of any day on the road. Especially days that start with spontaneous road trip Slurpies. We drove over Carson Pass to Markleeville and on to highway 395. Our first stop was Bodie State Park.
We spent 4 days working our way through the Eastern Sierra. Dipping in lakes and hiking trails are favorites for our family. It’s when we disconnect from everyday life and connect with each other. It’s simple and affordable, but also priceless. We stayed at the Westin Monache Mammoth which hosted such a wonderful location for us. It was right in the Mammoth Village with many restaurant choices and extremely dog friendly should you decide to bring along your family canine too.
Lakes to Explore
There are literally one hundred lakes to choose from when planning your trip to the Eastern Sierra. Some of our favorites include Lake George, Lake Mamie, Lake Mary, and Twin Lakes all pictured above. Each of these lakes can be found in the Upper Lakes region just above Mammoth Village. Rock Creek Lake, Convict Lake, and Mono Lake are just a short drive on 395 and can been done as day trips from the Westin Monache Mammoth.
