5 Days in Mammoth Lakes

Main Lodge is the oldest and busiest base, three miles up Minaret Road from town. It has ticket windows, rentals, the Ski & Snowboard School, a restaurant and the Panorama Gondola across the road. Lots A to G are free, and a free shuttle runs from outside the Main Lodge ticket office every ten minutes between 7am and 5pm.

Get your pass or ticket scanned, rent or tune, and eat breakfast before you go up. If you hold a full Ikon Pass, ask about Early Ups, a private lift access from 7:30am for pass holders on selected mornings, with a free breakfast. This is also where Mammoth began, with Dave McCoy's first lifts in the 1950s.

The Panorama Gondola goes straight up from Main Lodge to 11,053 feet, which is the top of the mountain and the highest lift you can ride here. In winter it is simply the lift most skiers use first. It also takes sightseers, and kids 12 and under ride free with a paying adult.

At the top there's a summit sign for the obligatory photo, the Eleven53 interpretive center and café, and a view south to the jagged Minarets. Spend ten minutes looking at the range before you ski anything.

Cornice Bowl sits right at the summit and is the mountain's best-known steep: a wide, fast bowl that is often groomed by winch cat, so it can be smooth rather than scary. Beside it, Hangman's Hollow is a narrow, rocky chute that sends a fall a long way down. It is the real thing for expert skiers.

Be honest with yourself. About 39% of Mammoth is rated very or extremely difficult, so there's a lot of steep, but you need a patrol-open sign and a mountain report that says it's open. If you are an intermediate, skip the chutes, ski the long blue runs from the top and enjoy the view; that is also a very good day. Never duck a rope: it's the quickest way to lose your pass.

Eleven53 at the top of the gondola has the view, which is what you pay for. It's a café, so expect quick food and queues at noon. For something more of a sit-down, the Yodler Restaurant & Bar across from Main Lodge is the other lunch choice at this end of the mountain.

Eat before 12:30 or after 1:30 if you can, because the lunch rush is the one crowd Mammoth has trouble with.

After lunch ride the front side, which is what most visitors mean by skiing at Mammoth: long, wide groomed runs under the gondola, good for linking turns while your body adjusts. The mountain has 10 terrain parks with over 100 jibs and 50 jumps, and the Unbound Main park sits next to Main Lodge, so you can watch riders even if you don't ride the park yourself.

This is also the place for a beginner or rusty skier to rebuild confidence: beginner tickets (adults 89-109 USD, 80-98 EUR) cover only Chairs 7, 11, 15 and 17. If you are unsure, take a lesson here before you head to the steeper terrain.

Take the Red Line to town and end the day at the brewery, at 18 Lake Mary Road on the corner of Main Street and Minaret Road. Mammoth Brewing has been making beer since 1995, and the taproom is open daily from 10am. The kitchen, the EATery, serves from 11:30am.

It's a ski-town brewery, so expect flights, a crowd of locals in sneakers and boots, and the best place to compare notes with other skiers. Order a flight and then one pint of whichever you liked. Dinner is better here than at most bars: a burger or the daily special will do.

The Village Gondola is the easiest way up from town, and part of the free shuttle system. It leaves The Village at Mammoth, the pedestrian square at the heart of the resort, and climbs to Canyon Lodge in a few minutes. In winter it is free, and you don't need a lift ticket to ride it.

That makes the Village the easiest place to stay for a ski trip: you can walk to dinner in the evening and ride the gondola to the mountain in the morning with your skis. If you're staying elsewhere, park in the Village's free two-hour spaces or ride the Blue Line shuttle from the Village to Canyon Lodge.

Canyon Lodge is the middle base: rentals, ski school, a lodge and the lifts into the middle of the mountain. It is closer to town than Main Lodge, which makes it a good alternative on a weekend when Main Lodge is crowded.

Rent, warm up and take the first chair. The base area has free general parking, but most people arrive by gondola. Canyon Lodge and Eagle Lodge both close in mid-April, after which lift access moves to Main Lodge.

The terrain in the middle of Mammoth is the most intermediate-friendly: long blue groomers that run between Canyon and Main, with tree-lined cruisers that hold their snow in the shade. The mountain is mostly north-facing, which is why it keeps its snow so well into spring.

If you want a challenge, take a lift up and cut across to the summit side and ski back down to Canyon. There's no need to be a hero: many of the best Mammoth days are made of simple laps that finish in front of the lodge at lunchtime. Wear sunscreen: you are close to the sun, and the snow reflects it.

Eat at the lodge or ride down to the Village for lunch, where you have more choices. The Patty Shack at the base of the mountain in the Village is the classic ski-town burger stop, and burgers are a safe order at any on-mountain restaurant.

A burger and a drink is easily 25 USD (22 EUR) at ski-resort prices. If you want to save, pack a sandwich and eat on the deck.

The Village at Mammoth is the pedestrian center of the resort, a small square of shops, restaurants and condos around a plaza with a stage. It's walkable, compact and the gondola starts here, which is the whole point of it.

Have a drink on a patio with your boots off; the best time is 3 to 5pm, when everyone comes down at once.

Barbecue is the safe choice here. Smokeyard BBQ & Chop Shop, at 1111 Forest Trail, was started by two South African brothers and mixes barbecue with steakhouse cuts; a second barbecue place, the Smoke Shack, is on the town side. Order the ribs, brisket or a burger and share a few sides.

If you prefer something lighter, the Village also has Italian and Mexican restaurants, a gelato place and a distillery bar. Book dinner on Friday and Saturday, because everyone in town does the same thing.

Eagle Lodge is the south-side base, with a lot, rentals, ski school and a quieter feel than Main Lodge. The Yellow Line shuttle drops you at the door from the Village, and the Green Line links it to the Sierra Nevada Road and Old Mammoth Road area.

It is also the lowest point of the mountain: the 7,953-foot base elevation that is quoted for Mammoth sits here, so the 3,100-foot vertical starts at this lodge. It opens on 11 December 2026 and closes in mid-April, along with Canyon Lodge. Rent here for the day and eat later, after you've skied your first laps.

Start with the easier runs near Eagle while your legs and lungs wake up. The steepest terrain opens later in the morning, so there's no hurry to be at the top.

Mammoth is a big place with 25 lifts, including 8 express quads and 4 express six-packs, so you can cover a lot of ground. Use the trail map in the Ikon Pass app to plan your day, and keep an eye on the lift status: wind can close the high lifts, and a closed lift changes your plan.

Climax is a steep, open bowl under the gondola on the summit side. Together with Cornice Bowl, Hangman's Hollow and the Dropout Chutes it forms the mountain's expert core.

Open bowls are exposed to wind. On blustery days, wind-buffed snow can collect in places like the Dropout Chutes and Climax, but the best snow depends on the day, so ask patrol at the lodge where it is.

Eat at Eagle Lodge, or ski over to the Mill Café, a barbecue spot at the base of Chair 2. After lunch you can head back toward the gondola or ski the afternoon at Eagle.

If you want a real sit-down meal, leave the mountain a little early, shuttle to town and eat there. A Mexican plate at Roberto's Café on Old Mammoth Road, in business since 1985, or a pizza at Giovanni's, open since 1986 on the same road, both beat a ski-lodge sandwich.

Mammoth offers seven uphill routes from the base lodges for people who want to earn their turns on skins. A season uphill pass costs 79 USD (71 EUR), and it's free for Ikon Pass holders, who still sign a waiver and take a short training with Ski Patrol.

Routes close whenever avalanche control work is under way, and you may climb only on the designated routes during the ski area's operating hours, so there are no dawn or dusk laps. It suits a quiet afternoon, if you have skins and brakes and are down before the lifts close.

Old Mammoth Road is where the town itself eats: pizza, Mexican, ramen, a few bars and a small supermarket. It's a short drive or shuttle ride from the lodges and the Village, and it's where you'll see more locals than visitors.

The Stove, at 644 Old Mammoth Road, has served breakfast here for decades and is the town's classic morning stop, so keep it in mind for tomorrow. For dinner, order at one of the Mexican places or share a pizza.

The road to June Mountain follows California Highway 158, the June Lake Loop, a short road that leaves US-395 north of Mammoth and winds to the small lake village of June Lake. It's the quiet version of a Sierra mountain town, with the resort at the end of the road.

Drive it in daylight with chains in the trunk. If conditions are bad, June Mountain's road conditions page tells you what's open.

June Mountain has 7 lifts, 41 trails and 1,500 acres, and a smaller, family-sized feel. Kids 12 and under ski free all season, which is why the lodge is full of families rather than racers.

It's the right choice if you want a day of uncrowded skiing, easy cruising and no queues, and you've had enough of the high summit. Experts will find less to do than at Mammoth, so treat it as the relaxed day of the trip. The Mammoth lift ticket is valid at June on the same day, but beginner tickets are not.

The Chalet is June Mountain's lodge, a classic base-area building with hot food, a deck and the usual burger and chili. The site lists it under Dining, though not with a menu, so treat it as a simple, fast lunch.

If the deck is sunny, eat outside. Then leave on time: the drive from June to South Tufa is about 15 miles and 30 minutes, and you want to be there well before sunset.

Mono Lake is an ancient salt lake in a closed basin, and the tufa towers around its shore are the reason to come: limestone spires formed underwater where freshwater springs mix with the alkaline lake, now exposed because the water level has dropped. South Tufa is the standard place to walk among them, on a short loop trail about 28 miles north of Mammoth.

Winter is a good time to go. The crowds are gone, the snow on the Sierra crest behind the lake is bright, and the low light at 4pm makes the spires glow. The access road is not plowed, so after a snowfall you may have to walk in; check conditions before you drive. State Parks lists the 3 USD fee per vehicle, the Mono Lake Committee per person.

The Lakes Basin is a bowl of frozen lakes and pines above town, reached by Lake Mary Road, 3 miles from the center. Tamarack Cross-Country Ski Center is at the end, and it opens on 16 November 2026 with 19 miles of groomed trails.

A US Forest Service volunteer naturalist leads a free 90-minute snowshoe tour on Fridays to Sundays from 10:30am, and teaches the trees, animals and geology of the basin. Snowshoes are not provided, but you can rent them from The Yurt, so arrive early. It's an easy, slow walk, a good break after four ski days.

Convict Lake is a mountain lake under a steep Sierra ridge, 11 miles southeast of Mammoth on a short paved road off US-395. In winter it's frozen and white, and the lower part of the shore is a good hour on snowshoes or microspikes. The south side can be icy, so go slowly.

Convict Lake Resort, about a third of a mile from the lake, has a restaurant known for trout and Country French cooking (its winter dinner days vary, so call before you plan on it), and the Forest Service points out that the whole lakeside loop is not always open in winter, so stay on the part that is clearly trodden.

Hot Creek is a stream that runs over a hot spring field, so the water in the canyon steams and bubbles, with blue-green pools. It sits inside the Long Valley Caldera, about 10 miles southeast of town. You can look from the fenced viewpoints, but swimming and wading are banned: the Forest Service closed it to bathing in 2006 after geysers up to six feet high appeared and the water temperature jumped without warning.

Don't be fooled by the pretty pools. This is a volcanic area, and the water can scald in seconds. Stay behind the fence, take photos and enjoy the steam in the cold air. If you want a soak, drive on to the next stop.

Wild Willy's, also called Crowley Hot Springs, is the legal alternative to Hot Creek: natural pools on BLM land in Long Valley, reached by a short walk on a boardwalk from a parking lot at the end of a dirt road off Benton Crossing Road. It's free.

Go late afternoon and soak while the Sierra crest turns pink. Bring a swimsuit, a warm robe, shoes you can slip off at the pool and a dry towel; it's an open-air pool in winter, so changing is cold. The last 1.5 miles of dirt road can be impassable in snow, and in winter you may have to walk it, so call the BLM Bishop Field Office (760-872-5000) before you drive out. Don't leave trash: the pools are shared.

Finish with pizza at Giovanni's on Old Mammoth Road, open since 1986, or a warm bowl of noodles in town. It's casual, family-sized food after a day outside.