Field Trip (Club Members Only) - Mono Lake

Weekend Trip around Mono Lake area.

Photo Credit: Doreen Lawrence

If you have questions, contact Ed Stiglitz, 702-271-5011

Distances:

Las Vegas, NV to Lee Vining, CA: approx. 5hr. 15 min 322 mi.

Elevation: approx. 6781 ft.

Population: 217

Lee Vining to Mono Lake: approx. 2 mi.

Elevation: approx. 6378 ft.

Lee Vining to Bodie: approx. 24.6 mi.

Elevation: 8379 ft.

Lee Vining to Yosemite (Tioga Pass): approx. 5.1 mi.

(Tuolumne Meadows) approx. 20 mi.

Lee Vining to June approx. 13.7 mi.

Elevation: approx.. 7654 ft.

LEE VINING

The entrance to both Yosemite National Park and Mono Lake, Lee Vining is located at the base of the Sierra just below Tioga Pass.  The town is an ideal base camp for exploring the Mono Basin, or nearby Yosemite.  Lee Vining offers two visitor centers, a sporting goods store, trading posts, restaurants, a market, service stations, and many hotel and campground options.  

MONO LAKE - ONE OF THE OLDEST LAKES IN THE WESTERN HEMISPHERE

Mono Lake is hauntingly beautiful, reflecting the snow-capped Sierra Nevada in its shimmering blue waters.  An immense inland sea, the lake fills a natural basin, over 70 square miles in size.

The most distinctive feature at Mono Lake is its eerie tufa towers-mineral structures created when fresh-water springs bubble up through the alkaline waters of the lake. The lake's salty water not only makes you float like a cork, but sustains trillions of brine shrimp, attracting millions of migratory birds to feast on them.

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Bodie (/ˈboʊdiː/ BOH-dee) is a ghost town in the Bodie Hills east of the Sierra Nevada mountain range in Mono County, California, United States. It is about 75 miles (121 km) southeast of Lake Tahoe, and 12 mi (19 km) east-southeast of Bridgeport, [6]  at an elevation of 8,379 feet (2,554 m). [1]  Bodie became a boom town in 1876 (150 years ago) after the discovery of a profitable vein of gold; by 1879 it had established 2,000 structures with a population of roughly 8,000 people. [7]

The town went into decline in the subsequent decades and came to be described as a ghost town by 1915 (111 years ago). The U.S. Department of the Interior recognizes the designated Bodie Historic District as a National Historic Landmark.

Also registered as a California Historical Landmark, [3]  the ghost town officially was established as Bodie State Historic Park in 1962. It receives about 200,000 visitors yearly. [8]  Bodie State Historic Park is partly supported by the Bodie Foundation.

Hours: 9am-6pm $8 for adults $5 children 4-17

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Tioga Pass is a mountain pass in the Sierra Nevada mountain range of California. State Route 120 runs through it, and serves as the eastern entry point for Yosemite National Park, at the Tioga Pass Entrance Station. It is the highest elevation highway pass in California and in the Sierra Nevada at an elevation of 9,945 ft (3,031 m). [1][2]  Mount Dana is to the east of the pass, and Gaylor Peak to the west.

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June Lake

June Lake is a resort community in the Eastern Sierra of California, a few miles north of Mammoth Lakes and a few miles south of Mono Lake and Lee Vining. Known as the “Switzerland of California,” June Lake is famous for its four sparkling lakes, nestled at the base of towering Sierra Nevada mountains. The lakes are June Lake, Gull Lake, Silver Lake, and Grant Lake.

June Lake Loop.

It’s about a 16-mile detour off Highway 395, the main road that traverses the Eastern Sierra, and can be done is less than an hour if you limit your photo stops.

Weather in July (by Weather Atlas)

July in Lee Vining, California, is a warm summer month, with an average temperature varying between 50°F (10°C) and 74.8°F (23.8°C). Bring layered clothing,

Campground:

Mono Vista RV Park 760-647-6401 57 Beaver St. Lee Vining, CA 93541  Camping fee · Tent sites · RV water hookup Lower Lee Vining Campground Lee Vining, CA 93541 760-873-2400 Camping fee · Tent sites ·

RV camping

Moraine Campground near Lee Vining, CA, located at 27 Moraine Cg Rd, Lee Vining, CA 93541, is first-come, first-served (no reservations), so there's no specific reservation phone number Big Bend Campground Poole Power Plant Rd, Lee Vining, CA 93541 Camping fee · Tent sites · RV camping.

No reservations, register at campground, first-come first-served.

Tioga Lake Campground 120 Hwy 120, Lee Vining, CA 93541 760- 873-2400 Tent sites · RV camping ·

Public restroom

There are more campgrounds in the area.

Hotels:

Yosemite Gateway Motel 760-709-1870

51340 Highway 395, Lee Vining, CA

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Lee Vining Motel 760-647-6440

51439 Highway 395 Lee Vining, CA 93541

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Lake View Lodge 760-647-6543

51285 US-395 Lee Vining, CA 93541

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Murphy’s Inn Motel 760-647-6316

51493 US-395 Lee Vining, CA 93541

Restaurants:

Mono Inn

Nicely’s

Tioga Pass Resort Café

Bodie Mike’s Barbeque

The Basin Café

Tierra Antigua Café

Whoa Nellie Deli

Mono Cone

Photographic gear:

Camera(s), tripod, cable release, wide angle lens, telephoto lens, polarizer filter, density filter.

Layered clothing.

Chair to sit on.

Cooler with food, snacks and drinks. (There is no food stores in Bodie. Usually just eat near our cars.)

Day one July 3: Drive to Lee Vining. Shoot sunset at Mono Lake.

Day two July 4: Shoot sunrise at Mono Lake. Go back to Lee Vining and have breakfast. Head to Bodie.

Day three July 5: Shoot sunrise at Mono Lake and/or Yosemite Go back to Lee Vining for breakfast and check out of motel. Go to Yosemite and/or June Lake.