Visiting Mammoth Lakes recently as things are beginning to open up following the closures from the Covid-19 pandemic was a unique experience. We were able to make reservations at the Old Shady Rest campground the day the state opened it back up for reservations so we considered ourselves lucky.

Growing up in LA as a young lad we visited Mammoth Lakes quite a bit. Mostly we would rent a condo but we also did the tent camping bit and I even went there as a teenager with a couple of friends and hiked into the back country. Mammoth Mountain is also where I skied for the last time later in life, so it holds a special place in my heart.

Natural Beauty

One of my favorite reasons to visit Mammoth Lakes in summer is just the natural beauty. There’s some wonderful paddling and fishing in Twin Lakes, exploring the fault (although it’s really a fissure), and just taking in the incredible beauty that is the Eastern Sierra.

While I wanted to go to Devil’s Postpile when I was there, the road was closed so no such luck. Still, I’ve seen this so many times I could paint a picture…if I could paint a picture.

Some of the things that are normally open seemed not to be available at this time, though I’m sure they’ll be back. For example, typically you can take a ski lift up to the top of the mountain even in summer. There’s usually a trolley bus that drives around and even has a bicycle trailer as there are so many great bike paths including a recently-completed trail that is quite extensive.

Nature is everywhere in Mammoth and the air smells wonderfully like pine trees. While it’s usually really crowded it still wasn’t this particular time so it was quite nice. Although, again, not everything was open but nature doesn’t shut down the outdoors and that’s what I really enjoy the most.

While I’m not a fisherman, those who are tell me Mammoth is outstanding with all the lakes in the area. I do remember visiting the fish hatchery many times as a kid and actually fishing Convict Lake.

Convict Lake is another great spot with amazing surrounding peaks and clear waters. The lake got its name after inmates from nearby Carson City, Nevada had a shootout with locals. How very Wild West!

Old Shady Rest Campground

Apparently we shared this enthusiasm for getting back into the camping world with a lot of other people as the campground remained almost fully booked the entire four days that we were there. Even with the campground being pretty close to capacity, at no time did we ever feel crowded. The campsites are plenty spacious and there were people enjoying Mammoth in everything from tents to luxurious RVs.

Old Shady Rest campground features sites with no hook-ups but under the shadow of pine trees. While we were visiting in June, Mammoth was seeing a heat wave which meant that the days were in the 80s or so, but nights were still cool.

One thing I remember from my childhood visits is the wonderful smell of the pine trees. That’s still there. Our spot in the campground required a wee bit of maneuvering to get even our small 19’ travel trailer into the spot and the people across the way had a very large fifth wheel so there are all sizes of spots.

Each site had a picnic table, a fire ring and a bear box. That bear box was something they were very adamant about everybody using as bears were definitely a fixture in the campground. While they tend not to bug people in tents and RVs, they will eat your lunch or other edible items if left out or easily available.

In fact, the rangers warn you not to have anything in your vehicle (tow vehicle) that might smell like something to eat as bears are easily able to bypass any key system you use to lock the door of your vehicle and simply rip the door right out of the vehicle. They’re very strong.

Bears aside, there were also a good number of mosquitos and other flying pests around as well as large caterpillars on the ground. Still, we use our Thermacell mosquito lamp and that tends to resolve mosquito issues. Remember we’re visiting their home and that’s part of enjoying nature.

Well, except the mosquitos. That’s why there’s the Thermacell.

The setting at Old Shady Rest is really what defines forest camping for me. Even though we’ve had our travel trailer now for almost four years, we’ve never used it to camp at high elevations nor in the forest, surprisingly. I guess we’ve been desert rats since we got it.

Viewing Minaret Peaks in the Eastern Sierra Nevada range from Mammoth Lakes.

Camping among the trees is wonderful with all the windows open to take in that beautiful pine smell that I love so much. Just outside the door are those trees and I actually polished through two books while I was up there, just sitting back in my zero-gravity chair under the trees. It was wonderful!

I had read many times that RV refrigerators don’t tend to work well above about 5500’ in elevation but ours worked marvelously. There were no issues with the fridge, stove, water heater or even cabin heater despite the warnings I had heard and read. Our fridge kept things nicely chilled. Old Shady Rest is at about 7700’ in elevation.

Water is available in the campground with spigots located throughout the facility. We were happy that the spigot was really close to our campsite but we still had to use two 25’ hoses to fill the tanks when needed. Our neighbors with the fifth wheel were there with a group of other campers and I think every member of the group donated a hose so they could reach the same water spigot that we used to fill their tanks.

While Old Shady Rest doesn’t have any provisions to dump tanks, New Shady Rest does with two dump stations available. Both of these are in really great shape and charge $10 for a dump. There is a water spigot there to use for tank flushing and such and the system accepts both cash and credit cards. I did have to break camp one day to take advantage of the dump station. New Shady Rest is just across the street from Old Shady Rest so they’re very close.

There are also shower houses and restrooms at Old Shady Rest and friends who visited reported that the ranger, Anthony, was doing a first-rate job of keeping these very clean. Anthony was readily available to answer questions and also offer firewood for sale, though we brought our propane fire pit so we were set. There were some other campers who had traditional fires and a couple of those were very, very good at the job of building fires.

Old Shady Rest is also right at the entrance to the town of Mammoth Lakes and close to downtown. You could easily walk to the two main grocery stores in town as well as a Starbucks right across the street.

Mammoth Trails

I’m not going to fool any of you into thinking I somehow found religion from being lazy (remember I read two entire books in four days!) but there were a lot of trails in the area, including several accessible right from the campground. I saw folks trekking by the entire time I was making sure my zero-gravity chair wasn’t going to be occupied by someone lazier than myself. There were folks on bicycles and those on foot.

Mammoth is actually full of trails of all sorts. In an earlier life I spent several days hiking into the back woods of Mammoth with friends, finding an Alpine lake and camping on its shore.

Today there are hikes of all skill levels including those heading to Alpine lakes. Mammoth is a wonderful destination for hiking and trails and, despite its popularity, is still a great example of how mother nature can create a beautiful place to visit.

In particular there’s a newer trail called the Lakes Basin Path. This 5.3 mile paved road, more than a trail, allows bicyclists and walkers to visit popular things right from the town of Mammoth Lakes including Horseshoe Lake, Twin Lakes Vista, Tamarack Lodge and Lake Mamie. It’s not that steep (no more than 12% but typically 4%) so you’ll definitely want to bring your bicycles.

The Town of Mammoth Lakes

In the time since I last visited Mammoth it has grown appreciably. While it used to be a sleepy mountain town with incredible skiing, and it still is to a certain degree, developers have built some pretty mammoth housing projects. North of what used to be the center of town are a number of large-scale condos with restaurants and shops on the ground floor.

Most of these places were open or just in the start of reopening following the Coronavirus pandemic closures. It appeared that all were taking precautions about outdoor seating and social distancing.

While I usually will try several places in a town, especially if there’s a German restaurant or brewery, this time the only place I went to was John’s Pizza Works. As such we had a BBQ chicken pizza along with their wings.

I was told that the recipe for the Asian wing sauce was one that was coveted and I can see why. Their Matsu wings were really delicious with a sauce I liked so much I dipped the pizza crust in it too. The pizza was certainly decent and they serve locally-brewed beer as well.

The fact that I didn’t go to either of the breweries, the distillery or the German restaurant is proof that we’ll have to go back soon! Very soon! And I will actually bring my bicycle next time.

Other stuff

One of the things our friends Mark and Rebecca told us about is that Mammoth has a “bear whisperer” - Steve Searles. He was a hunter but found that he got more enjoyment out of saving the creatures instead of shooting them. But he doesn’t just care for and provide information on how to live with bears, but also other wildlife including coyotes, deer and more.

Searles does a lot of education for the two-legged invaders on how to behave in the bears’ home. For example, did you know that bird feeders, keeping a messy camp and not using a bear can when hiking the back country are ways to engage the bears inappropriately?

This story is absolutely a “to be continued” tale. Now that I realize how close by Mammoth Lakes is to our home base in Lake County and how much I enjoy so many of the activities and scenery of Mammoth Lakes, I definitely plan to go back soon. I would absolutely stay at the Old Shady Rest campground again, especially for the price and the trees and the wonderful pine tree smells. Perhaps we’ll catch you there!