The rocks tell stories of the upheavals of the earth, and the valley shows where the Earth’s crust has stretched and dropped while the mountains rose to shelter it from storms. Whether you are trekking along the John Muir Trail or wandering among the ancient Great Basin Bristlecone pines or watching the Milky Way arc brilliantly across the sky on a dark moonless night, there’s a story there that goes back to the dawn of history. Photo: Eastern Sierra is a vast and unspoiled region that offers exceptional opportunity for recreation and discovery. We like to say it’s, “Halfway between heaven and, well … heaven!” Death Valley National Park is a little over 150 miles south (almost all of it entirely within in Inyo County) and the gateway to Yosemite National Park is little under 150 miles north.
It ranks as one of the most photographed regions in the USA.īishop is the largest town along the highway corridor that runs through the Eastern Sierra and it’s situated pretty much right in the middle of the region. The Eastern Sierra is a pristine and diverse landscape of deserts and sand dunes, huge mountains and alpine forests, meandering rivers and tumbling waterfalls, spectacular sunsets, spring wildflowers and fabulous fall colors. This adds up to an incredible amount of beautiful and diverse land for adventure and exploration. A staggering 99% of land in Inyo County and 93.6% of Mono County is designated as public lands. Together these two counties cover just under 10% of the total land area of all of California. Inyo County, the second largest county by area in California, and its northern neighbor Mono County (pronounced moh-no) are two of the least populated counties in California. The Eastern Sierra is made up primarily of two counties, Inyo and Mono. The region is on the eastern side of the Sierra Nevada mountain range that divides much of central California into the wetter western side and the drier eastern side. We welcome you and encourage you to visit often and let us know about your fun and findings in the Eastern Sierra. We have giveaways, excellent maps, tips and tricks, and information on best practices for all our guests.
Our visitor center staff have so much information and experience to share with our guests, that visitors to our region usually start right here in Bishop to learn more and plan their best vacations and getaways in the Eastern Sierra. Wherever this takes you, we encourage you to find out more by following the links and reaching out to us. It might just open a window to a whole new experience that you’ve never considered before. It may offer something new or confirm a feeling you have for a special place that you know and love.
Whether you are a frequent guest or first-time visitor this page can guide you to the places that excite you most. All who venture into the known and unknown say it is exciting and rejuvenating. Others are committed to exploration and challenge the extensive opportunities here provide a constant supply of fresh landscapes and hidden treasures to seek out. Many regular visitors to our region spend time in the same places and report that it is very rewarding to find consistency in our natural world. It is a rare event that is seldom witnessed by people when it happens, but the remaining evidence of their unseen movement is obvious for all who visit the playa to see. It was a remarkable experiment using sophisticated technology which proved conclusively that a rare set of weather conditions move large rocks across a flat, desert playa without any human interference whatsoever. One such fascinating study proved, after many years of speculation, why the ‘sailing stones’ on the Racetrack in Death Valley move – seemingly by magic. The Sailing Stones, Racetrack, Death Valley National Park