Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
The area is deservedly popular, and trailhead parking can be challenging; be prepared to
trek an extra half mile from the overflow lot.
DON'T MISS
BENTON HOT SPRINGS
Soak in your own hot springs tub and snooze beneath the moonlight at
Benton Hot
Springs
( 866-466-2824, 760-933-2287;
www.historicbentonhotsprings.com
;
Hwy 120, Benton;
tent & RV sites for 2 people $40-50, d with/without bath incl breakfast $129/109; ), a small his-
toric resort in a 150-year-old former silver-mining town nestled along the White Moun-
tains. Choose from nine well-spaced campsites with private tubs or one of the themed
antique-filled B&B rooms with semi-private tubs. Daytime dips ($10 hourly per person)
are also available, and reservations are essential for all visits.
It's reachable from Mono Lake via Hwy 120 (in summer), Mammoth Lakes by way of
Benton Crossing Rd, or Hwy 6 from Bishop; the first two options are undulating drives
with sweeping red-rock vistas that glow at sunset, and all take approximately one hour.
Bishop and Benton ($6, one hour) on Tuesday and Friday, stopping right at the resort.
If you have time, ask for directions to the
Volcanic Tablelands petroglyphs
off Hwy 6,
where ancient drawings decorate scenic rock walls.
Bishop
The second-largest town in the Eastern Sierra, Bishop is about two hours from Yosemite's
Tioga Pass entrance. A major recreation hub, Bishop offers access to excellent fishing in
nearby lakes, climbing in the Buttermilks just west of town, and hiking in the John Muir
Wilderness via Bishop Creek Canyon and the Rock Creek drainage. The area is especially
lovely in fall when dropping temperatures cloak aspen, willow and cottonwood in myriad
glowing shades.
The earliest inhabitants of the Owens Valley were Paiute and Shoshone Native Americ-
ans, who today live on four reservations. White settlers came on the scene in the 1860s and
began raising cattle to sell to nearby mining settlements.
Sights
