A Highway 395 road trip is the best way to see California’s Eastern Sierra in one drive. The highway runs north along the foot of the Sierra Nevada, with 14,000-foot peaks on one side and high desert on the other, and the scenery changes completely every few miles. In a single day you can walk among granite arches, stand inside a sobering piece of American history, and watch the sun set over an ancient salty lake.
This guide follows the classic route south to north, from Lone Pine to Bridgeport, built around five days with notes on how to shorten it to three.
At a Glance
- Route: Lone Pine to Bridgeport on U.S. Highway 395, about 150 miles end to end
- Time needed: 3 days at a fast pace, 5 days for the full route with day trips
- Best season: June through September for full access; fall for aspen color and thinner crowds
- Bases: Lone Pine, Bishop, Mammoth Lakes, and Lee Vining
- Know before you go: Tioga Pass and Devils Postpile are seasonal, gas stations are far apart, and elevations run from about 4,000 feet to nearly 10,000 feet
Planning a Highway 395 road trip: How Many Days Do You Need?
Three days covers the highlights if you keep moving: Lone Pine and Manzanar on day one, Bishop and Mammoth Lakes on day two, Mono Lake and Bodie on day three. You will see the big stops but skip the side trips that make the route special.
Five days is the sweet spot for a Highway 395 road trip, leaving room for the June Lake Loop, Devils Postpile, the Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest, and an unhurried morning at South Tufa, plus a buffer day for weather.
The whole corridor is under three hours of driving without stops. A practical split is two nights in Lone Pine or Bishop for the southern half, then two nights in Mammoth Lakes or Lee Vining for the northern half.
Lone Pine and the Alabama Hills: Starting Your Highway 395 road trip
Start in Lone Pine, the small town at the foot of Mount Whitney, the tallest peak in the contiguous United States at 14,505 feet.
Just west of town, the Alabama Hills are the first must-see stop on any Highway 395 road trip. Rounded granite boulders and natural arches rise out of the high desert, with the Sierra crest towering behind them. Movie Road winds through the formations past recognizable filming locations, and the short walk to Mobius Arch is the classic first stop. The hills have stood in for the Old West and other planets in hundreds of films.
Go in the morning or late afternoon, when the boulders glow and the peaks turn pink. Bring water and sun protection, because there is no shade and no services among the rocks. Leashed dogs are welcome on the trails, and camping is limited to designated sites with a permit required, so check current rules before planning an overnight stay. Whitney Portal Road climbs 13 miles to the Mount Whitney trailhead, and summit day hikes require a permit.
Manzanar National Historic Site: A Stop That Changes the Trip
Nine miles north of Lone Pine, Manzanar National Historic Site preserves the site where more than 110,000 Japanese Americans were incarcerated during World War II. It is the most sobering stop on a Highway 395 road trip, and one of the most important.
The grounds are open daily from sunrise to sunset, and admission is free. Start at the visitor center, where exhibits and a film tell the story of the camp and the families who lived there, then drive the auto tour road past reconstructed barracks, gardens, and the cemetery monument. The National Park Service site for Manzanar has current visitor center hours, which have varied by season, so check before you go.
Bishop: The Practical Base Camp
Bishop is the largest town in the Owens Valley and the place to resupply on a Highway 395 road trip, with grocery stores, gas stations, motels, and restaurants on a walkable Main Street. It sits at about 4,000 feet.
Bishop Creek Canyon climbs west toward Lake Sabrina, South Lake, and North Lake, with trailheads into the John Muir Wilderness. East on Highway 168, the road rises into the White Mountains toward the Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest, about 36 miles from Big Pine, home to some of the oldest living trees on Earth, the oldest known verified at nearly 5,000 years old. The last stretch of road into the forest is unpaved and rough in places. Our Bishop California travel guide covers climbing, fishing, hot springs, and day trips from town.
The June Lake Loop
The June Lake Loop peels off Highway 395 onto Highway 158 for a scenic loop of about 16 miles past four alpine lakes: June, Gull, Silver, and Grant. It is one of the prettiest short drives on a Highway 395 road trip, especially in fall when the aspen groves turn gold. The town of June Lake has food and lodging, and the lakes offer fishing and kayaking. Allow an hour for the drive alone.
Mammoth Lakes and Devils Postpile
Mammoth Lakes is the resort town of the route, sitting at about 7,953 feet with a ski mountain rising to 11,053 feet above it. In winter, it is a serious ski town; in summer, it is a hiking and biking base, with the Lakes Basin above town holding Lake Mary, Twin Lakes, and Lake George. Our Mammoth Lakes travel guide covers the town season by season.
The headline side trip is Devils Postpile National Monument, a wall of columnar basalt formed as ancient lava cooled into hexagonal columns, with the 101-foot Rainbow Falls a short hike beyond it. Access is seasonal and takes planning on a Highway 395 road trip. The monument is generally open from about mid-June through mid-October, and during the shuttle season most visitors must ride the mandatory Reds Meadow shuttle from near Mammoth Mountain Main Lodge. Shuttle tickets are $15 for adults and $7 for children ages 3 to 17, and outside shuttle hours, a $10 per vehicle amenity fee applies; check current prices and schedules. The National Park Service hours page for Devils Postpile lists the operating season and shuttle dates. Once the shuttle stops running, driving in may be possible when the road is open, but the monument typically closes by late October.
Lee Vining and Mono Lake
Lee Vining is the small town closest to Mono Lake, and the practical base for the north end of a Highway 395 road trip. Fuel up here, grab food and water, and check conditions before heading to the shore.
Mono Lake is one of the strangest and most beautiful places in California. It has no outlet, so over a very long time the water has grown about two and a half times as salty as the ocean, and calcium-carbonate spires called tufa towers rise out of the shallows. The best introduction is South Tufa, where a one-mile interpretive trail winds among the towers. Entry is $3 per person, with children under 16 free, and the Mono Lake Committee runs free guided tours in season. Go at sunrise or sunset, when low light turns the towers gold and pink. Our Mono Lake guide covers South Tufa, birding, swimming, and Bodie, and the Mono Lake Committee visit page lists current tours and lake conditions.
Do not climb on the tufa, which took centuries to form and cannot be repaired once damaged. The lake islands are closed April 1 to August 1 to protect nesting gulls. Leashed dogs are allowed in most areas of the reserve, but not on the State Reserve boardwalk or in Mono Lake County Park. The boardwalk below County Park was damaged in the May 2025 Inn Fire and is closed, so check current status. You can swim here, but keep the salty water out of your eyes and away from cuts.
Bodie: The Ghost Town at the End of a Dirt Road
From Lee Vining, the classic add-on to a Highway 395 road trip is Bodie State Historic Park, about 13 miles east of Highway 395 on State Route 270, the last stretch unpaved. Allow 30 to 45 minutes from the highway, and two to three hours in town.
Bodie is a genuine gold-mining ghost town preserved in a state of arrested decay. At its peak in the late 1870s, it held about 2,000 structures and roughly 8,000 people; fires in 1892 and 1932 and the end of mining in 1942 left a fraction standing, and California State Parks now preserves what remains, with interiors left as they were. Walk the deserted streets, peer through windows at the church, schoolhouse, saloon, and jail, and ask at the museum bookstore about Stamp Mill tours. There is no food or gasoline at Bodie, so bring everything you need.
Admission is $8 per adult and $5 for ages 4 to 17, with children under 4 free; check current fees. Summer hours are generally 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., with shorter hours in winter, and the park sits at 8,375 feet, so bring layers even in summer. Dogs are welcome on a leash but are not allowed on the Stamp Mill tour or in the museum, and drones are prohibited. Nothing may be collected or removed, not a rock, a plant, or a nail. The California State Parks page for Bodie has current hours, fees, and winter access notes.
Bridgeport and the Tioga Pass Decision
Bridgeport, about 25 miles north of Lee Vining, is the quiet ranching town at the north end of this Highway 395 road trip. It makes a good final overnight, with a historic courthouse and a slower pace than the resort towns to the south. From here, the Highway 395 road trip route continues north toward Reno and Lake Tahoe.
The bigger decision at the north end is Tioga Pass. Highway 120 climbs from Lee Vining over the 9,945-foot pass into Yosemite National Park, the only convenient crossing from the Eastern Sierra into Yosemite Valley. The road is seasonal: it typically opens in late May or June and closes with the snow, usually sometime in November, though in 2026 it closed in late October. When it is closed, there is no shortcut across the Sierra. If Tioga Pass is open, the drive over it is one of California’s great scenic routes. If it is closed, save Yosemite for a separate trip. Either way, check current conditions on Caltrans QuickMap before you drive.
Practical Information for a Highway 395 road trip
Driving Distances
- Lone Pine to Bishop: about 57 miles, roughly 1 hour
- Bishop to Mammoth Lakes: 42 miles, about 45 minutes
- Mammoth Lakes to Lee Vining: about 30 miles, about 40 minutes
- Lee Vining to Bridgeport: about 25 miles, about 30 minutes
- Lone Pine to Bridgeport: about 150 miles, under 3 hours
Gas, Food, and Supplies
Fuel is available in Lone Pine, Independence, Bishop, Mammoth Lakes, Lee Vining, and Bridgeport, but the stretches between towns have little or nothing. On a Highway 395 road trip, fill the tank in Bishop and again in Mammoth Lakes. The towns have restaurants and markets, while Bodie, the Alabama Hills, and the Mono Lake shoreline have no services at all, so carry water and snacks for every stop away from town.
Best Seasons
June through September is the main season, when Tioga Pass, Devils Postpile, and the high-country roads are open. Fall brings gold aspen and thinner crowds, but early snow can close high roads with little warning. Winter is ski season in Mammoth Lakes, but Tioga Pass is closed, Devils Postpile is closed to vehicles, and Bodie is reachable only by skis, snowshoes, or snowmobile.
Dogs on a Highway 395 road trip
Dogs can join much of this route, with rules that change by stop. Leashed dogs are welcome in the Alabama Hills, on most Mono Lake shoreline trails, and in many outdoor areas around Mammoth Lakes. They are not allowed on the State Reserve boardwalk, in Mono Lake County Park, in the Bodie museum, or on the Stamp Mill tour, and shuttle services have specific pet rules.
Altitude and Weather
Elevations climb fast, from about 4,000 feet in Bishop to about 8,000 feet in Mammoth Lakes and nearly 10,000 feet at Tioga Pass. Take it easy on the first day if you are coming from sea level, and drink water steadily. Temperatures can swing sharply with elevation, and afternoon thunderstorms are possible in summer. Pack layers for every stop on a Highway 395 road trip, and download offline maps before leaving town, since cell service is unreliable in the canyons.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many days do you need for a Highway 395 road trip?
Three days cover the highlights: Lone Pine and Manzanar, Bishop and Mammoth Lakes, then Mono Lake and Bodie. Five days is better, leaving room for the June Lake Loop, Devils Postpile, and the Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest.
When is the best time to drive Highway 395?
June through September is the best window for a first Highway 395 road trip, since Tioga Pass, Devils Postpile, and the high-country roads are open. Fall is excellent for aspen color and quieter trails. Winter suits a Mammoth Lakes ski trip, not a full corridor drive.
Can you drive Highway 395 into Yosemite?
Yes, when Tioga Pass is open. Highway 120 runs west from Lee Vining over Tioga Pass into Yosemite National Park, typically from late May or June until sometime in November. When the pass is closed for winter, there is no direct crossing. Check current status before building your Highway 395 road trip itinerary around it.
Is Highway 395 dog-friendly?
Partly. Leashed dogs are welcome in the Alabama Hills, on most Mono Lake shoreline trails, and in many outdoor areas around Mammoth Lakes. They are not allowed on the State Reserve boardwalk, in Mono Lake County Park, in the Bodie museum, or on the Stamp Mill tour. Check the rules at each stop.
Do you need permits or reservations on Highway 395?
Most stops need none. Hiking Mount Whitney requires a permit, wilderness permits are required for overnight trips, and Devils Postpile requires a shuttle ticket during shuttle season. Campgrounds and popular lodging book up in summer, so reserve ahead.
Conclusion
A Highway 395 road trip packs an unlikely amount of California into 150 miles: desert arches, a sobering historic site, alpine lakes, a ghost town, and a lake that grows towers of stone. Drive it south to north and give it five days if you can. Check current conditions for Tioga Pass and Devils Postpile before you go, and leave time for the unplanned stop, because on a Highway 395 road trip the unplanned stop is usually the one you remember.
