Highway 395 through the Eastern Sierra is often cited as the best road trip in California, and it is easy to see why. From Hesperia to the Nevada State Line, there is so much to see and do, you could explore the area for a lifetime and not see it all.
We spent several days driving U.S. Route 395 in the Eastern Sierra, trying to see and experience as much as possible. Along the way we visited ghost towns, prehistoric monuments, and sites filed with strange stories (and maybe even the Twilight Zone).
In this video we explore all 355 miles of Highway 395, otherwise known as El Camino Sierra, as it travels from the high desert through the Eastern Sierra.
Video on the Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest:
Chapters
00:00:00 Intro
00:00:53 The History of Highway 395
00:03:53 Randsburg
00:07:42 Pearsonville
00:09:48 The Grand Army of the Republic
00:12:33 Fossil Falls
00:15:56 The Demon Donkey
00:17:03 Dunmovin
00:20:15 Olancha
00:27:10 Lone Pine and the Museum of Western Film History
00:30:54 Alabama Hills
00:36:20 Manzanar
00:40:57 Winnedumah Paiute Monument
00:42:49 Independence
00:45:06 Big Pine and Copper Top BBQ
00:46:17 The Missing Roosevelt Tree
00:48:14 Keough Hot Springs
00:51:00 Bishop and Erick Schat’s Bakkery
00:53:53 Laws Railroad Museum
01:04:08 Tom’s Place
01:05:47 Convict Lake
01:07:06 Hot Creek Geologic Site
01:09:34 Mammoth
01:13:38 Crestview Rest Area and The Lost Cement Mine
01:15:40 June Lake Loop
01:19:40 Mono Lake
01:24:16 Whoa Nellie Deli
01:25:39 Lee Vining
01:27:55 Adeline Carson Stilts
01:28:34 Bodie
01:35:12 Bridgeport
01:38:36 Topaz Lake
Special thanks to and
○ Gear we use:
►Join us on Patreon:
►Please subscribe for weekly updates showcasing some of our adventures:
►Also please follow Sidetrack Adventures on Instagram:
►Music in this video is from Epidemic Sounds; use our link for a free trial:
source
Just a quick correction: When talking about Mobius Arch framing Mt. Whitney, I used a BLM picture showing it framing Lone Pine Peak, so it doesn't quite match what I'm talking about.
Great documentary! As for Manzanar, I saw my uncle's name listed in the registry.
You missed where the 20 mule team borax road crosses hwy 395
Thanks!
You can't beat a fishing hole where the fish are already cooked when you catch them!🐠
I live in Washington,Grew up on the Idaho Montana Border,but this is one of my favorite places.The Owens Valley area😊
22:25 😂 He must have gone through a traumatic divorce. 😂
Bishop is my birth city and my grandparents lived in Riverside county. Made that drive with my family so many times, Thanks for sharing.
Wow, I didn't know that 1962 was when it became a state park. 1962 was when we went there in the old 1958 Chevrolet Biscayne wagon. it seemed like an awful long drive off of 395. it was all gravel and dirt road then, and you couldn't go very fast..
Took the June lake loop once. My brother and I took his fishing boat to go fishing at June lake for a week one year, all the way from Stockton, Ca. We often went camping at Walker creek at Obsidian camp ground.
Fabulous. I "discovered" your channel a few weeks ago. I've been viewing various episodes and most recently started on the Highway 395 series. Great fun. Excellent video, great down-to-earth talking points about what we're seeing and historical info that isn't too "dry" like you'd get in a history class. The video images remind me of the trips I would take with my folks when visiting relatives in Arizona. I'd sit in the front passenger seat and watch/marvel at the passing scenery. Brings back great memories.
Terrific video introducing me to 395. I'm planning on doing a car camping trip along there, centering on the Mammoth Lakes area, but I think I'll take in Bodie and other spots you mentioned nearby. I appreciate your attention to history and appreciation for all the sights. As an aside – I just drove and camped along hwy 1 from Cambria all the way to the Oregon border. I'd say that entire drive has to rival 395! Thanks again.
you forgot to mention that all those interment camps for the japanese can be credited right to the democratic party the same party that started the k k k did this they've been behind most of the evils in the world like the atomic bombs that where dropped on japan 😢
40:11 The memorial at Manzanar those who died in the internment camp, so some lowlifes decide to use it as a trash disposal area. Give me strength.
Greetings from Tucson 🌵
Death Valley always sounds intimidating, but those sunset colors looked unreal. What's the best time of year to visit?
Great episode. I am a big fan of the Eastern Sierra a d driving up Hwy 395.
You can't cover everything, so I get not mentioning it, but two things I would have loved seeing mention of:
1. The camping in Alabama Hills is on BLM land and is absolutely free. It's a great spot to catch the stars.
2. One of my favorite stops in Bishop is to go see the Hwy 6 sign just up the way from where the 395 turns from downtown Bishop towards Mammoth. It's great to see that sign say 2,650 miles or whatever to a town in Massachusetts!
In any case, great work!
I'm 69,an old truck driver. Love California, miss traveling. You're video shows help me enjoy what I can't do anymore. Thank you
HWY 89 was a gerat way to start down 395 when I traveled across the country. Thanks for the tour in the other direction
I noticed that you always drive in the passing lane. That's illegal.
I've been traveling US 395 my entire life. It is truly one of the absolutely hidden gems of California. I've been to so many of the places shown in this video. Thanks for opening my eyes to more places I've heard of but never gone to. Great work!
Excellent video! You really captured so much of the 395s off the attractions! Good job! Well done!
I usually quit watching a video after about 25 minutes. But this one had me for the full 100. I love 395 and you really did it justice.
Another great adventure! I'm on US-395 with some regularity. However it's also cool between the southern NV/CA state line and Gardnerville. North of Minden it just becomes a less exciting 4-lane until you get into Carson City (at least before I-580 bypassed downtown.) Also the miniature log house in Laws is reportedly originally a child's toy house, complete with miniature furniture. Thanks for another super video.
The Eastern Sierra Visitor Center in Lone Pine has a terrain model, LA Aqueduct display, and other stuff worth seeing.
You forgot to mention the Bodie 5own curse.
Came out the Eastern entrance of Yosemite. Hit 395 around Mono Lake. Drove all the way to Reno. It was pretty boring. Hells gate, Bodie and a few lake is all there is.
I think Olancha was where I veered west and went up a back road into the Sierras. It was sketchy going for a bit. But the map was true. I can't recall if the whole thing was paved, but enough was to inspire my progress. Once up on the mountain, the road improved rapidly. That was probably early-to-mid-80s.
Is the Randsburg ice cream shop we used to visit in the 90s still operating?
One of my favorite routes.
Of the 3100+ counties (or county equivalents) in the lower 48 states, Inyo county contains both the highest and lowest points (Mt. Whitney and Badwater Basin respectively). I love a good fact!
💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙
Years ago
Me and my friends taken a long trips HY 395 to Lake Tahoe..
Beautiful trips
Thanks
Steve still here buddy like I said I love this channel , I love history myself , and you go to some really cool places and most I know nothing about , thanks man….Jimmie….Augusta , Ga….HOME OF THE MASTER'S ….JAMES BROWN….STEVE MORSE and me……
Fabulous as always one of my 1st visits to The US took 395 and returned on every chance since. Great Job Mr Thisis Steve. Can only agree with the other comments
Great video!!! Thank you!!!
We will be doing this drive from So Oregon in the future….
It's sad that LA is basically robbing all of the state's water resources and claiming to be environmentalists 🤷
Alabama Hills is just another mountain range on its own crustal block, made of the same stuff the Sierra crest is made of. You're seeing only the tippy-top of the mountain range though, as the rest of it is buried in 11,000 feet of sediment that has filled the entire Owens Valley from glacial till coming off the Sierra Escarpment. The rounded shapes of the rocks are a consequence of 10s of thousands of years of weathering and erosion from all the windblown sand and silt brought into the valley from the two mountain ranges on either side of the valley.
27:15 This Quality Inn is where I normally stay in Lone Pine on my way back to WA or down to SoCal. All things considered, a nice hotel with friendly staff; but be prepared to pay some money if you're stopping there during climbing season. This is ground zero for all the folks climbing Mt Whitney in the summertime, and the hotel fills up fast. Same with just about all the motels and hotels in Lone Pine. But along with Hollywood, that is what props up Lone Pine's economy. I've never driven up to Whitney Portal, but I go out of my way to stop in Lone Pine for no other reason than to gaze up at Mt Whitney in the morning when the sun is shining on the peak but I haven't gotten out of the shadow of the Inyo Mountains behind me. One of many simple pleasures I experience along this stretch of US-395.
Seems the LA dept of water and power is a real life monster that should finally be put in check, they have destroyed alot of the valley areas and are sucking the water from other areas that need it more, I don't see why they can't desalinate the sea which they are right next to…
I lived in Mammoth Lakes for years, and I think some of my favorite moments were driving up and down the 395 when i went down to Southern California to visit my family. The drive is beautiful. I would also drive down to Bishop, then take Highway 6 and just enjoy the views.
I have a video for when I worked out there and I saw the evil donkey. But personally all donkeys are evil
Randsburg has Randsberg days every year and it’s a blast. Talk should check it out.
That was a salesmans model for a Sears log home from the catalog !!
I know of another camp they were imprisoned at on the west coast. I researched it's history, and I believe it is not told because of what it has been used for tool make good memories over the bad memories. To tell you the truth there is more then 10 camps. The Washington State Fairgrounds in Puyallup, Washington was used for a camp for the Japanese/American Citizens too.