Road Trip: 395 to Bishop Creek
Finally, after canceling twice.
What a beautiful Road Trip moment when the view turns from special to spectacular.
Journal
We had planned a trip to Bishop Creek last year.
Then came the virus followed by the wildfires-twice canceled.
The road to Bishop Creek is boring, beautiful, whimsical, magical and filled with small town history.
Remember to check the roads if driving through main street on holidays or local town celebrations.
Drive Time: 4 hours with stops.
Early on a Tuesday, the traffic was light, passing by Red Rock Canyon State Park the scenic cliffs and buttes show-off color transformations, especially in the early morning when the shadows are playing with the sunrise. The campground is dog-friendly. There are accessible features with 50 primitive campsites, water, pit toilets, a table, and fire rings; there are no RV hookups, showers, or group sites. If you are not camping there, it is still worth the drive-through of the campground; it has incredible gorgeous hues of color and rock formations.
Red Rock Canyon State Park
You can see the geographical shift in the rock formations driving along the highway.
Some may hate the long boring journey before you hit Lone Pine, but the landscape along the way is part of the beauty of the road. The drive has so many visuals, from desert to volcanic fields. The Owens Valley is rich with farmland and extortionary views of Mount Whitney. We notice more solar panel fields and wind turbines taking over the desert, but there are still empty spaces for the imagination to wonder.
Keep a lookout for the Tule Elk grazing as you drive down the highway.
Lone Pine is the gateway to Mt. Whitney and Death Valley
Take out your cameras
Driving down main street
Vintage Sporting Goods
Great place to stop for fishing license
Things to do in Lone Pine
Diaz Lake
Stop by the Lone Pine Film History Museum-Looking for your favorite western film memories?
If you drive up to Whitney Portal, note the high altitude, especially if you plan on hiking.
The Alabama Hills is filled with history, so have your cameras ready for amazing views and rock formation.
Fishing along Turtle Creek or Lone Pine Creek -they should be stocking the streams around father’s day, or at least that was word of mouth on our June 2021 trip.
Stop and walk along Main Street, the vintage signage is excellent, and the backdrop mountain range is unbelievable.
Manzanar-Historical experience for everyone.
Looking for a Campground:
Tuttle Creek Campground
Diaz Lake Campground
Lone Pine Campground
Whitney Portal CampgroundLone Pine Film Festival-October 7-10, 2021
Independence
From Lone Pine, you can almost feel the independence surrounding Independence. Stop by The Winnedumah Hotel it was built in the 1920s to house western film crews. Now a bed and breakfast with 25 guest rooms.
Check out the Eastern California Museum; it is on North Grant Street. It is the perfect stop to enjoy history. The surrounding landscape has old buildings and historical items.
Pull over on the way and find a few surprises. Chapter 32 Things to do with Kids.
Upper Grays Meadows Campground
The Pop-Up tucked into the campground: Grays Meadows
Upper Grays Meadows Campground with 35 sites, sits along Independence Creek and is a lovely camp stop for checking other nearby campgrounds and exploring the landscape. Check with the camp host about bear sightings. More on this camp spot.
The view from Upper Grays meadows Campground is spectacular.
ROAD TRIP RIDE
Road trip travel sometimes showcases what is the hot RV vehicles on the road.
395 Highway to and from Bishop 2nd week of June 2021
The Fifth-Wheel of all sizes was clearly the winner.
Our final stop along the 395 is Bishop, California
Bishop is our final destination but not the town; we are going up into the high country to bishop creek, if you are stopping in Bishop here are a few things to enjoy!
Great layover hotels.
The bakery and restaurants get crowded so go early.
Check to see if anything is happening at the fairgrounds. October, they have a great classic car show, and this trip showcased a junior rodeo going on for teens.
Drive to the Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest.
Hit the Links at Bishop Golf Course.
Camping Bishop:
Bitterbrush
Bishop Park Group Campground
Things to do with kids. Chapter 32
Laws Railroad Museum Bishop, California
Laws Railroad museum Bishop, California is a great history lesson for adults & kids.
History is everywhere at the Laws Railroad Museum.
Vintage Classic T
An amazing look at railroad history Bishop ,California.
Find Vintage Locomotive Railroad History, a must if staying in Bishop.
The Road To Bishop Creek
Chapter 46 Camping at Altitude: Did you notice your bag of chips just popped opened-Check out page 47 for answer.
There are no gas stations heading up to or at Bishop Creek so fill up your gas tank before the drive. The road is steep so know your vehicle. There may be bears, follow all local and campground rules. Weather changes quickly and altitude sickness is real so be careful on the first day. Bring that first night meal if you can.
Signage Bishop Creek, heading up to the high country.
South Lake Bishop Creek, beautiful anytime of day.
Rustic Magic: Bishop Creek Lodge
Our final stop Bishop Creek Lodge–Highway 168, turn left on West Line Street in Bishop and head up the long steep road to the canyon filled with granite peaks, lakes, and streams. There are campgrounds for a wide range of campers, from tents to RV’s. The Rainbow Pack Outfitters offers a wide range of fun for backpacking into the sierras. Fishing is big here, so make sure you have your fishing licenses.
Things to do at Bishop Creek:
Fishing
Gold Panning
Horse Back Riding
Backpacking
Hiking
Nothing
Bird-Watching
Visit as many lakes as you can for the scenic views.
South Lake has plenty of parking, vault toilets, water, and a boat launch. Note on this trip; the boat launch was closed due to low lake levels. There are several trails for a quick hike down to the lake.
Things to know: The drive up Highway 168 is steep, so know your camper and RV. There are plenty of roadsides pull-off points; stop and enjoy the many streams and waterfalls along the drive.
Bishop Creek Campgrounds:
Bitterbrush
Big Trees
Forks
Four Jeffrey’s
Sabrina Campground
North Lake Campground
Best Bet:
The Night Sky
Cabins:
Bishop Creek Lodge
Parchers Resort-Also check out, Rainbow Packing Station
What was our go to menu for a 3 day trip at altitude? First Night Chili!
The scenic drive Bishop Creek, California is one of the prettiest. October, the fall leaves turn colors giving a good reason to drive back up.
Always remember the camp code: LEAVE NO TRACE
The trip was a wonderful get-a-way. Bishop Creek Lodge is a quaint little spot with rustic cabins, perfect for those looking to wet a line, pull out a camera or do nothing at all. It is one of our favorite camp secrets, so this is all we have to say about that!