Mammoth Lakes, CA: Adventure Guide
Crispy cool air, grungy mountain men, where orange sunsets meet white snowflakes. mammoth is a magic land.
"One day you will wake up and there won't be any more time to do the things you've always wanted to do. Do it now." - Paulo Coelho
Mammoth is one of those places that will always have a special place in my heart. With its proximity to SoCal, it is where I grew up snowboarding with my friends and family. It is a nice, traffic-less (jkjk) 6 hours from San Diego and 5 hours from Los Angeles. I'd recommend leaving either early in the morning or late at night (after 8pm, unless there is a storm), in order to skip the L.A. and S.D. 9-5er's heading to and from work.
Some of my best memories in Mammoth are with my best friend, Madison, and her family. We spend our childhood summers going up to mountains to wake board on June Lake and dirt bike on Mammoth and the winters we'd spend chasing snow! I’ve been best friends with Madison for almost 20 years now (since we were 7 years old) and Mammoth has been a big part of our friendship and our adventures. Check out my top five recommended adventures for Mammoth!
FIVE GO-TO ADVENTURES:
Adventure #1: Chase a Snow Storm and Ride the Backside
Season: Winter
This one is for all my skiers and snowboarders! Mammoth is a really amazing mountain; it is similar to Vail in that it is big and spread out. I recommend heading to Mammoth when you know that a storm is coming so you can get fresh snow! Wait for the top to open and hop on Chair 23. The backside always has great snow!
The boys also enjoy the Unbound Terrain Parks at Mammoth. The Unbound Terrain Parks have led the industry in innovation, quality and design for over 20 years. There are a variety of unique parks, 3 half pipes, and tons of jumps! It's where Chris, Caleb, and Abe found their love for park skiing and started working for GoPro!
Adventure #2: Hot Springs
Season: Year round
The hot springs are an awesome adventure during all four seasons. In the summer you will see a lot of people camping out by the hot springs. In the winter, many people enjoy soaking their sore muscles after a good ski day. The beautiful Sierra Mountains surround the hot springs in Mammoth. Add a fiery sunset, calm music, cold beer, and good friends and you’ll have yourself a beautiful, happy, and soul-filling après ski. The hot springs are located near the Mammoth Airport. I don’t want to give too much information away but do some research and you will find them. Make your own adventure and be sure to bring a four-wheel drive vehicle if it has recently snowed.
Adventure #3: June Mountain
Season: Winter and Summer
June Mountain is a lot smaller than Mammoth Mountain but in the wintertime the slopes can be a lot less crowded after a snowstorm or during a holiday weekend. I love going to June Mountain during the week of Christmas or after New Year's when Mammoth’s lines are wrapped around the parking lot. After a day of shredding June, head to June Lake Brewing to share a nice cold one with your buds.
June Lake is not the most beautiful lake, however, in the summer you are allowed to put your boat in the water and go wake boarding! It is cold. Remember to bring a 3/2 wetsuit for wake boarding and inner tubing!
Adventure #4: Dirt Biking + Mountain Biking
Season: Summer/ Early Fall
The dirt biking and mountain biking in Mammoth is legendary!
For Dirt Biking, we’ll start behind Snow Creek and cross Highway 203. The trails are endless and you can even go up the mountain and take a lunch break at the Lodge. Unfortunately, you cannot rent dirt bikes in Mammoth but Eaglerider in Bishops is known to rent dirt bikes for you!
For Mountain Biking, the riding opportunities are just about limitless. The two options for riding are the Mammoth Mountain Bike Park and second the entire Inyo National Forest.These two areas will offer you endless single tracks trails and dirt roads making for a complete mountain biking experience. The girls usually find mountain biking trails off the mountain, while the boys send it on the downhill course.
You can either rent mountain bikes directly from Mammoth or in town for about $25-$100 per day!
Grab a your adventure crew and send it to Mammoth the next chance you get!
Adventure #5: Mono Lake Exploring
Season: All Year Round
Mono Lake is a large, shallow saline soda lake in Mono County, California, 13 miles east from Yosemite and 30 miles north from Mammoth. It was formed at least 760,000 years ago as a terminal lake in an endorheic basin. The lack of an outlet causes high levels of salts to accumulate in the lake forming beautiful statures and views during sunset. There isn't much to do but it is a beautiful viewing area at sunset for meditating or having a photoshoot!
Fun things to do at night:
Grab a beer at Clock Tower Cellar
Dance the night away at Lakanuki's
Grab your crew and go bowling at Mammoth Rock and Bowl
Xx - Erin