Guide Exploring Mammoth Lakes, California | SolarTravels.com

<body> Destination Guides Search for a City Destination Guides > North America > USA > California > Southern California's deserts > High Sierra and the Owens Valley > Mammoth Lakes Mammoth Lakes Travel Options Flights Hotels Vacation Rentals Cars • Mammoth Lakes • Practicalities • Hotels in Mammoth Lakes MAMMOTH LAKES BE THERE NOW Hotels in Mammoth Lakes • Mammoth Lakes Travelodge Mammoth Lakes from $74.99 USD • Sierra Lodge Mammoth Lakes from $89.00 USD • Austria Hof Lodge Mammoth Lakes from $81.98 USD More Hotels in Mammoth Lakes >> Vacation Rentals in Mammoth Lakes • Cinnamon Bear Inn Mammoth Lakes from $109.00 USD More Vacation Rentals in Mammoth Lakes >> READ IT HERE Forty miles north along US-395 from Bishop then five miles west on Hwy-203, the resort town of MAMMOTH LAKES offers the state's premier ski slopes outside the Lake Tahoe basin, and in summer hosts on- and off-road bike races. The setting is stunning, but the town is pricey and prone to testosterone overload. To ski Mammoth Mountain, which looms up behind the resort, pick up lift tickets ($56 per day) from the Main Lodge on Minaret Road, where you can also rent equipment ($26 for basic skis, boots and poles), and book three-hour lessons ($48). In summer, fifty miles of snow-free slopes transform themselves into the 3500-acre Mammoth Mountain Bike Park ($28 a day for trail access and ski lifts, $47 for 4hr bike rental plus two lift rides). One appealing summer-only destination is the DEVIL'S POSTPILE NATIONAL MONUMENT , seven miles southwest of the bike park, reached by shuttle bus ($9.50). A collection of slender, blue-gray basaltic columns, some scaling sixty feet, the Postpile was formed as lava from a volcanic eruption cooled and fractured into multisided forms. From here, a two-mile hike along the San Joaquin River leads to Rainbow Falls which refract the midday sun perfectly. </body>