Our accidental "national park." - Owens Valley, CA - includes trip planning guide

Sunset, Sept, 1994 by Jeff Phillips

While some fisheries were wiped out by early DWP diversions, hatcheries were built, and today overall fishing here ranks among the best in the state. Last winter Mono County supervisor Andrea Lawrence assembled a blue ribbon committee (including Pister) to draft a proposal to designate Mono County a National Trou Fishing Area to identify the diversity of fishing and recreation opportunities in this region. "Our natural resources are our best assets," she says, "and we should be building tourism and our economy around the best management of those resources."

Local writer and fishing guide Fred Rowe estimates that 90 percent of the consistently best fishing is west of U.S. 395 in the larger, regularly stocked lakes and streams tucked in Sierra canyons. Bait dunkers and lure casters may d at least as well as fly fishers, but should check on regulations and recommende tackle at local tackle shops.

East of U.S. 395, fly fishers can test dry-fly and nymphing (subsurface fly) skills for wild trout on classic spring-creek sections of the Owens River and Hot Creek, and on Crowley Lake. Best public access to the Owens is at Benton Crossing, 6 miles east of U.S. 395 (turn off U.S. 395 at the old green church) on Benton Crossing Road. Rough dirt roads provide access to several miles of river here.

Hot Creek, named for the natural thermal pools you can soak in 3 1/3 miles down Hot Creek Hatchery Road (water temperature can be scalding in pockets), is just north of the Benton Crossing turnoff and offers good fishing along a mile of bank upstream from the thermal pools. Both Hot Creek and the Owens River are regulated for catch-and-release fishing with barbless hooks; check seasonal fly patterns at tackle shops in Mammoth.

The Mammoth basin is also a grand destination for hiking, although it has far fewer concentrated aspen groves than other areas. A good local hike that is short on color but loaded with historic atmosphere is the short loop stroll through the site of the Mammoth Consolidated Gold Mine at Coldwater Creek Campground just above Lake Mary. The preserved buildings and equipment were use from 1927 to 1934.

In recent years, the Mammoth ski area has also become a center for heavy-duty off-road mountain biking in summer and early fall. This season, trails will be open daily through September; cost for a day of bike schussing is $18. To check weekend operation in October and bike rentals, call the Mammoth Adventure Connection at (619) 934-0606.

One of Mammoth's better half-day loops for less gung ho pedalers is the 10-mile circumnavigation of Inyo Craters. Doing the loop counterclockwise gets you past the long stretch through the woods on wide gravel logging roads while you're fresh and saves the spectacularly open, almost Arctic-looking Sierra panoramas across Crater Flat for the last few miles. Get a map and an update on road conditions and access at the Inyo National Forest visitor center.

Mono Lake: canoeing, roundups, and lakeside hikes

Prepare yourself. It's only 26 miles from Mammoth Lakes to Lee Vining, but the drive up U.S. 395 and over Deadman Summit is almost a journey to another planet Where the Mammoth Lakes Basin is a soft Japanese brush painting of mountains, water, and trees, the Mono Basin is an expressionist glare of space and rock an light.