How to get to the Eastern Sierra

! CAR POOL !  Besides the obvious green advantages,  many locations can’t support a large number of cars, and so you might not be able to get to a location if there are lots of cars.  Also, with workshops, much of the learning happens in the car between locations in discussions with others.  Also, if possible, share the driving, it makes for a much easier trip than one person having to do all of the driving.

From San Francisco bay area

From the San Francisco bay area there are three different routes.  Sometimes one or two of these may be closed for snow, so an alternate route is needed.  The routes below run from Tracy to Lee Vining as planning points at both ends. It is probably wise to plan on 5 to 6 hours of travel at a minimum, and possibly as much as 10 hours.

The generally preferred route is to take Hwy 120 through Yosemite and over Tioga pass into Lee Vining. (via hwy 120). The only potential drawback of this route is getting stuck behind a slow camper.  It will take longer than Google maps says for any of the routes. There are a number of places to stop along this route and pick up photos.

The two alternative routes, via Sonora Pass and via Carson Pass, both take significantly longer (2 hours more or so).  Sonora Pass (Hwy 108) is also very twisty and steep, it does have however some spectacular views.

From Reno

The trip south from Reno winds through some picturesque farming and cattle country. (from Reno).  It will take 3 to 3.5 hours usually.

From Los Angeles

This is a long drive.  The map give the route up Hwy 395 from Lancaster so that all southern Cal. locations can plan. (map)  This is a 6 to 8 hour trip. Plan on stopping in Bishop if you can for at least a meal, or make Bishop the hub of your activities.  Bishop is about an hour and 15 minutes south of Lee Vining.