Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
photographs of primitively equipped local rock climbers scaling Sierra peaks, including
Mt Whitney.
Fans of
Mary Austin
(1868-1934), renowned author of
The Land of Little Rain
and vo-
cal foe of the desertification of the Owens Valley, can follow signs leading to her former
house at 253 Market St.
West of town via Onion Valley Rd (Market St in town), pretty
Onion Valley
harbors the
trailhead for the
Kearsage Pass
(9.4 miles round-trip), an old Paiute trade route. This is
also the quickest eastside access to the Pacific Crest Trail and Kings Canyon National
Park.
In addition to a few small motels in town, Onion Valley has a couple of
campgrounds
( 877-444-6777;
www.recreation.gov
;
tent & RV sites $16; May-Sep)
along Independence
Creek. At 9200ft, the Onion Valley campground is right at the Kearsage Pass trailhead and
popular with backpackers.
Inexplicably located in a town otherwise inhabited by greasy spoon diners,
Still Life
Cafe
( 760-878-2555; 135 S Edward St; lunch $9-16, dinner $16-24; 11am-3pm & 6-9:30pm
Wed-Mon)
, a French gourmet bistro, pops out like an orchid in a salt flat. Escargot, duck-
liver mousse, steak au poivre and other French delectables are served with Gallic charm in
this bright, artistic dining room.
In the historic Masonic lodge next to the courthouse, bustling
Jenny's Cafe
(246 N Ed-
wards St; mains $8-11; 7am-2pm Sat-Tue, 7am-8pm Thu & Fri)
serves rib-sticking fare like bur-
gers, sandwiches and steaks in a country kitchen setting of rooster-print curtains and old
teapots.
Manzanar National Historic Site
A stark wooden guard tower alerts drivers to one of the darkest chapters in US history,
which unfolded on a barren and windy sweep of land some 5 miles south of Independence.
Little remains of the infamous war concentration camp, a dusty square mile where more
than 10,000 people of Japanese ancestry were corralled during WWII following the attack
on Pearl Harbor. The camp's lone remaining building, the former high-school auditorium,
houses a superb
interpretive center
(
760-878-2194;
www.nps.gov/manz
;
9am-4:30pm
Nov-Mar, to 5:30pm Apr-Oct;
)
. A visit here is one of the historical highlights of the state
and should not be missed.
