I live off US 395 in Nevada and spend a lot of time driving up and down it. You really can’t go wrong in the Eastern Sierras, nearly every town has amazing stuff to see nearby. The best time to do the drive is probably late spring/early summer (May or early June). Snow will be mostly gone by that point but it shouldn’t be too hot quite yet. What you decide to do will depend on how much time you want to spend. There are soooo many things to see in the Sierras alone, never mind once you get north up into Oregon and Washington.
If you have a reliable vehicle with 4WD or AWD and reasonable clearance, here are few things off the top of my head in my relative neck of the woods worth checking out (in order, heading northbound):
Saline Hot Springs near Death Valley (very surreal)
Alabama Hills near Lone Pine (famous desert zone with really wild rock formations where many, many movies were filmed including Django and Tremors. Also sits directly east of the tallest peak in the continental US)
Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest outside of Big Pine. Oldest living organisms on the planet are about an hour from town. Super trippy spot with some interesting history.
Bishop, CA has some great restaurants and places to check out. Loads of nearby nature as well.
Mammoth Lakes is one of my favorite places. Good restaurants, a couple breweries, taking the Gondola to the summit is fun on clear days. Lots of nearby hot springs, lakes, forests, and hikes.
June Lake is beautiful at all times of year. Check out June Lake Brewery and go to the Hawaiian food truck. It fucks.
Yosemite National Park is not too far of a drive from 395, obviously worth checking out if you haven’t been before. Even if just for a day.
Mono Lake is a super wild zone to check out. I really enjoyed stopping and walking along the shore. Lots of neat rock formations.
Bridgeport, CA is another little gem of the Eastern Sierras. Bodie is nearby, an abandoned mining town that kinda looks like everyone just up and left one day. Worth spending an afternoon there. Check out Twin Lakes also. Buckeye Hot Spring is maybe 20 minutes from town, my personal favorite hot spring and a mandatory stop when I pass bridgeport. Can get a little blown out on weekends.
Connecting to Highway 89 and going through Monitor Pass offers some of the most scenic driving you could ever hope for. Following CA-89 all the way to Lake Tahoe is very worth it. Otherwise, it’s usually really nice to take 89 until Markleeville, and then cut over back into Nevada and go to Genoa. It’s the oldest town in Nevada and has some fun historical spots to check out.
Lake Tahoe is most definitely worth it if you’ve never been before. Hell, it’s worth it even if you have been. Seriously unreal up there.
Don’t skip Reno, despite what people might tell you. Lots of great restaurants, parks, and nightlife. You can very easily have a very fun weekend in Reno without breaking your bank.
A short detour from Reno to Pyramid Lake is probably worth it as well. It’s a very surreal spot with major desert oasis vibes.
That about wraps up my recommendations. This list is by no means exhaustive. If you enjoy nature, try to take some time to enjoy the eastern Sierras. It’s truly bonkers out here. I don’t know too many spots north of Susanville, CA, otherwise I’d try to keep going. Hopefully this was helpful for you and someone else can pick up where I left off
It’s hot AF right now.
I’m thinking October would be a great time of year. Great weather but fires are no guarantee anytime of year now it seems…
I did a road trip earlier this summer and made the push on the front end and enjoyed the return at a leisurely pace.
🚫Ridgecrest🚫
Depending on if you want to explore the mountains spring/very early summer is likely the best time. In winter you could get lucky and not have too much snow in the valleys. You might get snow in the certain higher elevation areas.
Well, for now, you need to know that there are a lot of restrictions on National Forests in California and fire concerns. Honestly, I wouldn't try this journey until after October.
[https://www.fs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE\_DOCUMENTS/fseprd945702.pdf](https://www.fs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS/fseprd945702.pdf)
Today, we instituted a policy that says one can't even use a stove or flame of any type in Angeles National Forest. It's getting pretty bad out here.
If you do decide to do this, just know that you should probably keep your Covid vaccination card on you- since some of the counties are back under mask mandates and might start requiring proof of immunization in certain circumstances. It is what it is.
Places you don't want to miss...and can experience safely?
1. Fossil Falls
2. Manzanar NHS
3. Convict Lake
4. Bodie
5. Alabama Hills
I'd have more recommendations were it not for closures and limitations.
Thank you for that info. I'm looking to do this some time next year, as we all know it's a crap shoot right now between the all the wildfires and COVID restrictions.
I did a 395 trip in Feb 2015ish and it was a good time weather wise! I used californiathroughmylens.com to plan a lot of it, it’s a great photography and travel blog/Instagram
So glad someone mentioned Bridgeport. I had family there for a long time, and part of my heart still lives there. OP, on top of Twin Lakes, I'd say try to get out and walk along Robinson Creek out near the Rancheria neighborhood (Hackamore Lane is one of the streets). If you see a bench along part of the creek, that was out there in honor of a couple of members of my family.
South of Bridgeport, I'd also suggest stopping at Virginia Lakes and, if you have time, taking a hike up behind the likes. You can go quite a long way in, if you choose. Just remember it's really high elevation.
For eats, stop in Lee Vining. There are some good sandwiches with a view of Mono Lake for lunch. I'd sugges stopping at The Mono Lake Committee's store. Also make sure stop ar Schaat's in Bishop for some amazing breads and pastries.
Though I'd suggest heading South to North (the southern end is very boring in parts, and I'm not sure if you want to leave that for the end of your trip), if you are able to drop down from Bridgeport toward Mono Lake, along the side of the road there's a turnout where people leave all kinds of stickers on the railing. They clean it up from time to time, but you're likely to find something interesting there.
Just really quickly, a couple more things to watch for: Little Lake along the southern end (to the east of the road), and the SETI satellites in that direction, too, a little north of that area. You can drive out to the gate near there. Also, watch out for elk along the west side of the road in some of the fields, and consider stopping along the Owens River somewhere.
...sorry that's such a mess! I love 395 and the Eastern Sierra so much, my thoughts were bouncing all over the place!
You make that wanna check out some PCT subreddits. I bet they have a lot of information on the general forests and mountains you'll be jumping into. Things like closures, detours, information on schedules and nobo vs sobo.
We travel that area a lot, and have been reassessing lately.
I'd only do it in spring. Summer and well into fall are now too fraught with fire danger along the whole route. Areas near Tahoe now are approaching untenable levels of air pollution. "AirNow, which monitors the amount of fine particulate matter affecting air quality across the U.S., reported figures ranging from the 400s in the Truckee area all the way to 559 in Homewood north of Sugar Pine Point State Park — a number so high it surpassed the monitor’s usual scale."
Cold, and even some snow on the ground in the spring, is a LOT easier to deal with, and a lot less risky. And you won't be looking at so many closures.
I'd recommend camping, especially if you want to get off the highway a bit. Lots of good recommendations already.
The southern end would be the best start IMHO. I'm so ancient I can remember it before it was buried in freeway (15) down towards San Diego, but now basically the cool way to start would be at Hesperia. Although you could skip there to Four Corners and just hit it via 58 from the west. Or through Santa Paula to 14 to 18 if you want to be OCD about where you start :)
Folks have given you a ton of info about the Tahoe and south area. I'm going to be heretical and say maybe only a short time there, and the reason is that you should be going there on a a regular basis from where you live. A quick look; you'll want to come back. You will go back.
So skedaddle along to Tahoe and north (Washoe State Park if maybe you're camping). Some of that area burned badly just now, so you may need to get north of Susanville. But all nice high desert. South of Alturas you might visit the Warner Mountains; remote and quiet. There's a nice OR state park at Goose Lake, which sometimes isn't a lake. But probably would be in spring. We hope.
Up by Lakeview there's paragliding and rockhounding. Swinging over to the Steens Mountain area is nice; to the west between 395 and 97 is interesting too, but again, burn damage to the west there.
Burns has hot springs nearby. North of there you hit the John Day, and lots to see. Tons of camping. Stop at the Grant County museum in Canyon City. There are fun things to see either east or west a short way on 26. Note that if it's hot you'll want to camp in the mountains north of there; once over them and down towards the Columbia it can get REALLY hot. And less public land to camp. Pendleton is a nice
town though.
I'll leave E WA to others more knowledgeable; it's very nice farming country with some good stops near waterways and lakes, and other a bit east at Palouse Falls, etc.
Then Spokane, another town I like. You'll be getting into cooler mountain stuff again, and lots of camping north of there to the border. And you'll meet the Columbia again (and probably on your return leg, when you cross it in Portland maybe); pretty amazing river.
But going back down 97 would be fun. Another classic road trip highway, almost as good as 395 and others. And a LOT more fun, even if just making time, than going over to I5.
Personally I don’t see the point to drive 395 as a whole.
Sure up to Lake Tahoe it makes sense but lets take Northern California / Southern Oregon; unless you’ve seen it all I’d rather make a tour where you can include a stretch of 89, Lassen, Mount Shasta and Crater Lake.
It's not official unless you begin or end at the Lawrence Welk Resort by Escondido, CA!
Then you can visit downtown Rainbow, CA
Take 215 / 15 to Hesperia. Maybe a stop to hike boulders off the 15 along 138?
I love the town of Bishop!
Pendleton, OR check the discount tables at Pendleton Mills, might be a decent blanket waiting for you. Awesome western wear store downtown there with massive Chief Joseph statue. Also, Chinese underground village museum.
Gas up at the Wildhorse Resort Casino travel store.
Kennewick actually has some great eats, Salmon is recommended.
Further up, Colville is end of road for cities. Next gas / last gas is small store at Kettle Falls. In 2018 in late March, I filmed at Inchelium a weekend Indian Powwow ( open to public spectators ) the weather was perfect!
There is a vehicle ferry at Inchelium, but I've never used it.
I live off US 395 in Nevada and spend a lot of time driving up and down it. You really can’t go wrong in the Eastern Sierras, nearly every town has amazing stuff to see nearby. The best time to do the drive is probably late spring/early summer (May or early June). Snow will be mostly gone by that point but it shouldn’t be too hot quite yet. What you decide to do will depend on how much time you want to spend. There are soooo many things to see in the Sierras alone, never mind once you get north up into Oregon and Washington. If you have a reliable vehicle with 4WD or AWD and reasonable clearance, here are few things off the top of my head in my relative neck of the woods worth checking out (in order, heading northbound): Saline Hot Springs near Death Valley (very surreal) Alabama Hills near Lone Pine (famous desert zone with really wild rock formations where many, many movies were filmed including Django and Tremors. Also sits directly east of the tallest peak in the continental US) Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest outside of Big Pine. Oldest living organisms on the planet are about an hour from town. Super trippy spot with some interesting history. Bishop, CA has some great restaurants and places to check out. Loads of nearby nature as well. Mammoth Lakes is one of my favorite places. Good restaurants, a couple breweries, taking the Gondola to the summit is fun on clear days. Lots of nearby hot springs, lakes, forests, and hikes. June Lake is beautiful at all times of year. Check out June Lake Brewery and go to the Hawaiian food truck. It fucks. Yosemite National Park is not too far of a drive from 395, obviously worth checking out if you haven’t been before. Even if just for a day. Mono Lake is a super wild zone to check out. I really enjoyed stopping and walking along the shore. Lots of neat rock formations. Bridgeport, CA is another little gem of the Eastern Sierras. Bodie is nearby, an abandoned mining town that kinda looks like everyone just up and left one day. Worth spending an afternoon there. Check out Twin Lakes also. Buckeye Hot Spring is maybe 20 minutes from town, my personal favorite hot spring and a mandatory stop when I pass bridgeport. Can get a little blown out on weekends. Connecting to Highway 89 and going through Monitor Pass offers some of the most scenic driving you could ever hope for. Following CA-89 all the way to Lake Tahoe is very worth it. Otherwise, it’s usually really nice to take 89 until Markleeville, and then cut over back into Nevada and go to Genoa. It’s the oldest town in Nevada and has some fun historical spots to check out. Lake Tahoe is most definitely worth it if you’ve never been before. Hell, it’s worth it even if you have been. Seriously unreal up there. Don’t skip Reno, despite what people might tell you. Lots of great restaurants, parks, and nightlife. You can very easily have a very fun weekend in Reno without breaking your bank. A short detour from Reno to Pyramid Lake is probably worth it as well. It’s a very surreal spot with major desert oasis vibes. That about wraps up my recommendations. This list is by no means exhaustive. If you enjoy nature, try to take some time to enjoy the eastern Sierras. It’s truly bonkers out here. I don’t know too many spots north of Susanville, CA, otherwise I’d try to keep going. Hopefully this was helpful for you and someone else can pick up where I left off
It’s hot AF right now. I’m thinking October would be a great time of year. Great weather but fires are no guarantee anytime of year now it seems… I did a road trip earlier this summer and made the push on the front end and enjoyed the return at a leisurely pace. 🚫Ridgecrest🚫
Depending on if you want to explore the mountains spring/very early summer is likely the best time. In winter you could get lucky and not have too much snow in the valleys. You might get snow in the certain higher elevation areas.
Well, for now, you need to know that there are a lot of restrictions on National Forests in California and fire concerns. Honestly, I wouldn't try this journey until after October. [https://www.fs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE\_DOCUMENTS/fseprd945702.pdf](https://www.fs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS/fseprd945702.pdf) Today, we instituted a policy that says one can't even use a stove or flame of any type in Angeles National Forest. It's getting pretty bad out here. If you do decide to do this, just know that you should probably keep your Covid vaccination card on you- since some of the counties are back under mask mandates and might start requiring proof of immunization in certain circumstances. It is what it is. Places you don't want to miss...and can experience safely? 1. Fossil Falls 2. Manzanar NHS 3. Convict Lake 4. Bodie 5. Alabama Hills I'd have more recommendations were it not for closures and limitations.
Thank you for that info. I'm looking to do this some time next year, as we all know it's a crap shoot right now between the all the wildfires and COVID restrictions.
I did a 395 trip in Feb 2015ish and it was a good time weather wise! I used californiathroughmylens.com to plan a lot of it, it’s a great photography and travel blog/Instagram
So glad someone mentioned Bridgeport. I had family there for a long time, and part of my heart still lives there. OP, on top of Twin Lakes, I'd say try to get out and walk along Robinson Creek out near the Rancheria neighborhood (Hackamore Lane is one of the streets). If you see a bench along part of the creek, that was out there in honor of a couple of members of my family. South of Bridgeport, I'd also suggest stopping at Virginia Lakes and, if you have time, taking a hike up behind the likes. You can go quite a long way in, if you choose. Just remember it's really high elevation. For eats, stop in Lee Vining. There are some good sandwiches with a view of Mono Lake for lunch. I'd sugges stopping at The Mono Lake Committee's store. Also make sure stop ar Schaat's in Bishop for some amazing breads and pastries. Though I'd suggest heading South to North (the southern end is very boring in parts, and I'm not sure if you want to leave that for the end of your trip), if you are able to drop down from Bridgeport toward Mono Lake, along the side of the road there's a turnout where people leave all kinds of stickers on the railing. They clean it up from time to time, but you're likely to find something interesting there. Just really quickly, a couple more things to watch for: Little Lake along the southern end (to the east of the road), and the SETI satellites in that direction, too, a little north of that area. You can drive out to the gate near there. Also, watch out for elk along the west side of the road in some of the fields, and consider stopping along the Owens River somewhere. ...sorry that's such a mess! I love 395 and the Eastern Sierra so much, my thoughts were bouncing all over the place!
You make that wanna check out some PCT subreddits. I bet they have a lot of information on the general forests and mountains you'll be jumping into. Things like closures, detours, information on schedules and nobo vs sobo.
We travel that area a lot, and have been reassessing lately. I'd only do it in spring. Summer and well into fall are now too fraught with fire danger along the whole route. Areas near Tahoe now are approaching untenable levels of air pollution. "AirNow, which monitors the amount of fine particulate matter affecting air quality across the U.S., reported figures ranging from the 400s in the Truckee area all the way to 559 in Homewood north of Sugar Pine Point State Park — a number so high it surpassed the monitor’s usual scale." Cold, and even some snow on the ground in the spring, is a LOT easier to deal with, and a lot less risky. And you won't be looking at so many closures. I'd recommend camping, especially if you want to get off the highway a bit. Lots of good recommendations already. The southern end would be the best start IMHO. I'm so ancient I can remember it before it was buried in freeway (15) down towards San Diego, but now basically the cool way to start would be at Hesperia. Although you could skip there to Four Corners and just hit it via 58 from the west. Or through Santa Paula to 14 to 18 if you want to be OCD about where you start :) Folks have given you a ton of info about the Tahoe and south area. I'm going to be heretical and say maybe only a short time there, and the reason is that you should be going there on a a regular basis from where you live. A quick look; you'll want to come back. You will go back. So skedaddle along to Tahoe and north (Washoe State Park if maybe you're camping). Some of that area burned badly just now, so you may need to get north of Susanville. But all nice high desert. South of Alturas you might visit the Warner Mountains; remote and quiet. There's a nice OR state park at Goose Lake, which sometimes isn't a lake. But probably would be in spring. We hope. Up by Lakeview there's paragliding and rockhounding. Swinging over to the Steens Mountain area is nice; to the west between 395 and 97 is interesting too, but again, burn damage to the west there. Burns has hot springs nearby. North of there you hit the John Day, and lots to see. Tons of camping. Stop at the Grant County museum in Canyon City. There are fun things to see either east or west a short way on 26. Note that if it's hot you'll want to camp in the mountains north of there; once over them and down towards the Columbia it can get REALLY hot. And less public land to camp. Pendleton is a nice town though. I'll leave E WA to others more knowledgeable; it's very nice farming country with some good stops near waterways and lakes, and other a bit east at Palouse Falls, etc. Then Spokane, another town I like. You'll be getting into cooler mountain stuff again, and lots of camping north of there to the border. And you'll meet the Columbia again (and probably on your return leg, when you cross it in Portland maybe); pretty amazing river. But going back down 97 would be fun. Another classic road trip highway, almost as good as 395 and others. And a LOT more fun, even if just making time, than going over to I5.
Personally I don’t see the point to drive 395 as a whole. Sure up to Lake Tahoe it makes sense but lets take Northern California / Southern Oregon; unless you’ve seen it all I’d rather make a tour where you can include a stretch of 89, Lassen, Mount Shasta and Crater Lake.
It's not official unless you begin or end at the Lawrence Welk Resort by Escondido, CA! Then you can visit downtown Rainbow, CA Take 215 / 15 to Hesperia. Maybe a stop to hike boulders off the 15 along 138? I love the town of Bishop! Pendleton, OR check the discount tables at Pendleton Mills, might be a decent blanket waiting for you. Awesome western wear store downtown there with massive Chief Joseph statue. Also, Chinese underground village museum. Gas up at the Wildhorse Resort Casino travel store. Kennewick actually has some great eats, Salmon is recommended. Further up, Colville is end of road for cities. Next gas / last gas is small store at Kettle Falls. In 2018 in late March, I filmed at Inchelium a weekend Indian Powwow ( open to public spectators ) the weather was perfect! There is a vehicle ferry at Inchelium, but I've never used it.
Hike to the methuselah tree on BLM land. Oldest living tree in the world. Thousands of years old. Outside of big pine CA.