Expert: Steve Summers - 12/3/2004

Question
My husband, my dog and I are driving to Lake Tahoe (North Shore) from Orange County for the holidays. For a change, we would like to take it in stages. Is there any way to go other than the coast (101) that has hotels and possibly nice restaurants? We usually drive up the I-5 as fast as we can and arrive exhausted.

Answer
Hi Doreen,

If you are not driving up 101 or 5/99, then I would suggest taking 15 & 395. It's a VERY nice drive once you get past Mojave. Just take 10, 210, or 60 to Barstow, then take 58 to 395 and head north. You COULD take 395 straight from 15, but there are a lot of stop signs through Adelanto. Barstow is better.

We've gone up to Tahoe via 395 before, and you have several choices for stops:

Bishop: Gateway to the Sierras, and home of Schat's Bakery. You can't miss it, just look to the left as you head north (763 N. Main St). Home of the original Sheepherder Bread since 1938, it's a great place to get a sandwich and some bread, cookies, or pull-apart. But if you just want nice dining, go to Whiskey Creek. WC is famous in Mammoth, and they built a second one in Bishop. There are a number of hotels in town, so finding a room shouldn't be a problem.

Mammoth Lakes: At 7000 feet, a VERY nice ski town. There are plenty of accomodations here, including plenty of rentable condos. There are also a LOT of restaurants in town, including Whiskey Creek, Chart House, the Mogul, Ocean Harvest, Ocean Wok, & Shogun. Grumpy's is a cool local burger hangout which is a tradition for us every time we go. Hardly fine dining, but it's a lot of fun. The Restaurant at Convict Lake is great if you can get there. It's about 9 miles south of Mammoth at Convict Lake.

Lee Vining: A cute little town about 5 blocks long, just south of Mono Lake. Just thought I'd mention it because we love Bodie Mike's for BBQ. There are 5 or so hotels, and several restaurants. Gateway to Yosemite, it has a nice small (really small town) feel.

Tahoe is about 3 hours north of Mammoth, if the roads are clear of snow.

Hope this helps,

Steve