Do you have a TUFA ONE special? Mono Lake, CA

There are some places on Earth that would make you think you were on another planet…or the moon. Mono Lake in California’s Eastern Sierra is one of those places.

I’ve visited Mono Lake (pronounced mow-no) many times since my first visit in 2014. I’ve been here during the daytime, at sunrise and at sunset. For this post, we’ll just go over the basic information on visiting Mono Lake, and in a future post, I’ll go over some photography tips for sunrise/sunset. Let’s get started!

Mono Lake – South Tufa Reserve Location

Mono Lake’s most popular area is the South Tufa Towers — this is where you can get the best photos of the tufa towers. For the most part, this is where I go if I want to see the lake, though there are a few other spots for viewing Mono Lake, they just don’t have as high of concentration of tufa towers.

This is a short detour off of I-395 onto Highway 120, and then it’s another short drive down a dirt road to the reserve. If you’re staying in Mammoth Lakes, this is about a 40 minute drive, one way.

The reserve does charge admission — it was $3 per person. This is part of the California State Park system, so if you have an America the Beautiful Pass for National Park units, it is not accepted.

If you’re looking for a gift shop (and who ISN’T!?), you’ll have to go up towards Lee Vining and visit the Mono Basin Scenic Area Visitor Center.

We pulled into the lot and walked up to the ranger station where you pay your fee and get your parking sticker. As we were walking up to the both, both of us were cracking jokes — “tufa” is pronounced “Too-Fah” — which lead to our joke that we wanted to tell the ranger when we would pay our fee:

“Do you have a TUFA-ONE special?”

Stupid? Yes. Has the ranger heard it before? Oh I’m sure. Would it be worth trying? Well…you know…#YOLO, right?!

And…our turn to pay the fee….we looked at each other and started laughing. My sister says to the ranger, “Do you have a TUFA-one special?”

The ranger laughed, but he did not give us a discount. Boo!! Like a whole $6 for the both of us would really bankrupt either of us.

Visiting the South Tufa Area at Mono Lake California

After paying our fee and harassing the poor ranger with our corny joke, we set off to see the tufas. I’m not going to bore you with the minute details on how these limestone formations are created — in a nutshell, they are a product of chemical reaction from the underwater freshwater springs combining with the salty lakewater.  Mono Lake is a landlocked, alkaline lake — because this lake has no outlet, the salt content of this lake is very high. When you swim in this lake (and you definitely can — I totally want to do this on our next visit), you stay afloat.

The short path leads you to the shoreline — you’ll see signs along the way that will explain the lake’s formation, ecosystem, and preservation efforts. You’ll also see tons of signs not to climb the tufa or take any tufa with you. This path is ADA-accessible and varies from paved to boardwalks and there are plenty of interpretive signs along the way so you can learn about what you are seeing.

You won’t see a lot of wildlife here — a few birds, alkali flies and brine shrimp.

Yeah, BRINE SHRIMP. You know, sea monkeys. Those “pets” from your childhood that you could order from an advertisement on the back page of a comic book. You were led to believe you were getting a colony of fun-loving, trainable aquatic creatures that jump through hoops, play musical instruments and smoke cigars all the livelong day….but what you really got was some microscopic dots that putter around in the water, with nary a circus act in sight. The sea monkeys live in the wild here at Mono Lake.

If you were an enterprising individual, you could bring a large bucket, fill it up with water and scoop up some brine shrimp. Then, take it home, print up a flyer featuring jolly fish-tailed monkeys wearing crowns and carrying wee tridents and sell it to the neighborhood youth.

If that’s not a good business model, I don’t know what is.

Once you’re at the shoreline, you’re free to roam around in the tufa towers. It’s an interesting area — we were here for about 2 hours taking pics and exploring. It’s really unlike anything I’ve ever seen and is a must-see when in the area. If you’re visiting Yosemite, this is about an hour away from the Yosemite National Park Tioga Pass entrance.

What is there to do at Mono Lake

Swimming: Yes! Swimming is allowed at Mono Lake but I’ve been here at least five times now and I’ve never seen anyone swimming in the lake (perhaps the alkali flies and brine shimp deter any water activities). The water is saltier than the ocean, and you’ll have a buoyant swim!

Boating: Boats/watercraft of any kind are allowed on Mono Lake — we saw a group of kayakers sail past us, paddling right next to some of the tufa towers. There are several outfitters within the area who will rent kayaks out for use on Mono Lake, as well as guided tours.

Hiking: There’s a trail leading to Panum Crater near the South Tufa Reserve area, but I’ve never had the chance to hike it. It’s on my list though!

Lodging and Camping near Mono Lake

There is no campground at Mono Lake, so if you want to camp, there are lots of campgrounds within the nearby National Forest lands – around June Lake, Mammoth Lakes, Lee Vining, etc.

As for hotels and rentals, you’ll find plenty of lodging in Mammoth Lakes, including a few chain hotels. June Lake has a handful of small motels and rentals. Lee Vining is another cute town with a few choices as well.

Personally, I always stay in Mammoth Lakes when I’m in the area, but unfortunately, my favorite hotel no longer exists as it once did. I loved staying at the Best Western Premier Inn, but now it’s the Emperia High Sierra and I haven’t stayed there since it changed ownership.

There now is a Best Western Sure Stay Plus in Mammoth Lakes, but I haven’t stayed there yet. If you’re familiar with Mammoth Lakes, this was the old Travelodge motel.

A few other places I’ve personally stayed in Mammoth are:

Austria Hof: I haven’t stayed in the hotel area, but I have rented one of townhomes and really enjoyed it!
Westin Monache Resort: This is a Marriott property. It’s very nice, but it’s also pricey and I didn’t think it was worth the cost – but if you want a Marriott here, this is your only choice.
Quality Inn: I can’t say I recommend this place – we had a room in a terrible location right by the stairs, and had noise problems nonstop through the night – I personally wouldn’t stay here again.

Mono Lake – South Tufa Reserve Final Thoughts:

Mono Lake is an absolute must-see when visiting California’s Eastern Sierra area!

Pros:

• Very other-worldly landscape provides amazing photo opportunities
• Easy stop off of US-395
• All the talk of ‘flies’ isn’t scary – they stay on the water’s surface and don’t bother you.

Cons:

• In summer, it can get very hot by the lake. There is no shade.
• Mornings are chilly, even in the summer. I’ve been here for sunrise pictures in July and we were wearing gloves and hats!