The backside of the Village at Mammoth
Mammoth Lakes & Mono Accommodations
When a young man by the name of C. Clarke Keely first visited the region with his family in July of 1920—later to become a surveyor on the Los Angeles Aqueduct, and one of the early summer-homestead pioneers of Old Mammoth—the place to stay was Charlie Summers’ ranch, at what had been the old Wildasinn Hotel (now Snowcreek Phase VII).
“The accommodations consisted of three or four little board cottages,” Keely remembered, years later. “There was what was called the lodging house: a long, two-story building with a tub, wash basin and toilet at each far end of the corridor. The water was heated with an old boiler they had brought down from one of the mines.”
The town of Mammoth Lakes now offers the widest range of accommodations in the Southern Sierra—from boutique to luxury-corporate, from vintage-shag to the latest three-story neo-craftsman vacation home with golf course views, giant flat-screen TV’s, and acres of polished-granite countertop.
June Lake boasts the only real destination spa in the region, open year-round. In Lee Vining there are two motel-upgrades worth consideration, both conveniently located for day-trip forays to Mono Lake, Bodie and the Yosemite High Country.
See THE BOOK for detailed reviews and logistics, camping information, dining, shopping, history and recreation. Click establishment name to visit website.
* denotes special recommendation
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Rock Creek
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One of several popular rustic-cabin summer resorts in the canyon, good base camp for fishing, hiking, biking and horseback riding. Its true charm emerges in winter, when the road is closed, the lakes drifted over, the campgrounds buried in snow.
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Mammoth Lakes
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McCoy’s original A-frame ski lodge, first opened in 1958, renovated in the 1990’s with all manner of neo-craftsman detailing, wood, leather and granite. Short stroll to the gondola, short stumble home from the Yodler, 4 long miles to town.
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Built in 1924 as a rustic fishing retreat for Vaudeville star Eddie Foy and his family, Tamarack is the oldest continuously-operated lodge in Mammoth, and remains one of the classiest of its genre anywhere in the Sierra.
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50 Hillside Drive; 760-934-2526. Seventy-five heated steps above the Village Gondola, varnished plywood, scale version of basaltic columns, twig motifs, kitchens, views, trademark Heavenly Beds, etc.
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June Lake
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5587 Hwy 158, west of town and ski area; 760-648-7004. Cabins with modern kitchens, decks, fireplaces, TV/DVD setups and wireless internet; luxury hotel-style rooms arranged in four-plexes around a fly-fishing pond. Oh and a world-class destination spa.
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Lee Vining
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51 CA 395, at Third Street; 760-647-6310. Tastefully redone 1920's motel. Best value lodging on the east side of the Sierra Crest. (April-Oct. only))
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54411 CA 395; 760-647-6423. Cabins individually, sparingly decorated with wood or Saltillo-tile floors, cotton quilts, painted-clay washbasins, and windows that open to dawn over the lake. On-site dining and boat tours. (April-Oct. only)
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Just outside the park to the east, near the top of the pass. Cabins with kitchenettes, high-value motel rooms with shared bath, dependably better dining than at Tuolomne. Backcountry ski mecca in winter.
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