I came out here on a field trip with a class I'm taking this summer. It's 95 degrees, windy and…read morearid. Even as a visitor, I find these conditions to be uncomfortable, so I could not imagine being forced to live out here in subhuman conditions for an indefinite period of time. However, that is what over 120,000 Japanese Americans and Japanese Nationals living in the USA were forced to do during WWII - and 10,000 men, women, children and babies were forced to do just that at Manzanar. The Visitors Center is only open on Friday, Saturday, Sunday & Monday - so we were not able to see it, but we were able to eat our lunches in the Mess Hall. I also explored the barracks, and saw the rest of this historic site by bus and on foot. Don't miss seeing Merritt Park, the Children's Village area, and the Issei Obelisk. This site is a powerful reminder that History repeats itself, and visiting Manzanar is an extremely moving and meaningful experience for everyone. Peace.

I have driven past the turnoff for Manzanar over a dozen times. I have known about it since I was…read morein middle school but never went. My sister and I have been taking my nephew to significant sites of WW11 over the years starting with Pearl Harbor and Auschwitz. Being part Japanese, we felt this was an important stop. The grounds are very well maintained. The educational aspect of it is great. The rangers have taken great care to show an accurate representation of what "camp" life was like. The recreated rooms, shacks and monuments have been meticulously built. The rangers were great about sharing knowledge. The book store has some great books that are not available on Amazon. The parking is a breeze. The entrance is free. When entrance is free to somewhere like this I like to support by donating or buying items that help support the cause. I bought my nephew and I each a book and a couple other little things. I also really like that they participate in the Junior Ranger Program. It was a great way for not just my nephew but myself to learn too. It was a great family activity. I highly recommend visiting. It can be a little emotionally draining but it is an important part of American History that we cannot forget.

A Wonderful Step Back in Time at Laws Railroad Museum…read more We absolutely loved our visit to the Laws Railroad Museum & Historic Site in Bishop, California! From the moment we arrived, everyone was incredibly welcoming, friendly, and accommodating. There was so much to see and explore that we could have spent hours there. The museum is like stepping into an entire little town from another era. There's an old schoolhouse, a library, historic buildings, station agent family home, doctor's office, firehouse and fascinating pieces of everyday life -- including old Maytag appliances. Every building seemed to have something interesting to discover. One of the highlights was riding the Brill train, which was such a fun experience and especially exciting for our 9 year old son, who absolutely loves trains. Another memorable part of our visit was meeting Makenzie, who was working on and cleaning the historic No. 9 4-6-0 Baldwin steam locomotive. Makenzie took the time to talk with us and shared some fascinating information about the train and its history. That personal interaction really made our visit special. It's really wonderful to meet a community of train enthusiasts. You can tell how much care, dedication, and passion goes into preserving this incredible piece of California history. It's truly a hidden gem and a wonderful place for families, history lovers, and, of course, train spotters! We highly recommend Laws Railroad Museum and can't wait to visit again!

We visited on a Saturday with our nine year old son and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. The Brill car…read morebuilt in 1927 was a great ride and the docents explain history of the train and area. The little town has movie set quality buildings full of antiques of how people lived from the 1883 building of the trains station through the 1960's when the train stopped coming through. Not to mention antique cars and wagons. Be sure to check out their 4-6-0 Baldwin steam locomotive in restoration. We learned Morris Code and sent messages on the Telegraph. You'll be pleasantly surprised and although we spent two and a half hours there, we could have stayed longer.

Must added to the list for hiking / beach/ kayak spot…read more No need a big jeep or any special vehicle. You will be fine as it's easy to get down to these stone pillars with 2 mi hike. Very easy flat step - straight road. Actually there's one big deep hold up hill at the beginning and one slightly slippery downhill to the lake. General, worth the hike and time to visit the unique nature made sandstone pillars. A beautiful place with peaceful quiet lake. You can hang around right at the lake or do kayak Tips: - When you are inside - under these columns, never look up. There is always some sand falling from top. - No restroom / trash bin / info center. Make sure bring water and essential items. - Plan to arrive early so you can come back around before noon. And use a lot of sunscreen in summer. No shade at all. Like walk in the middle of dessert! - Parking spots are marked correctly in google map. No actually parking signs. You just find your own the spot closest to the first hill and leave the car there at your own risk for 1hr at least. - follow google map. There's some crosspath and no signage!

From the 395, there's a nice dirt road to Crowley Lake but you can only go so far with a regular…read morecar. A 4x4 off road vehicle is needed to access the stone columns for the last mile or two. There's a hill with really bad ruts. Another way to access the columns is to kayak to them. We saw a kayaker who parked his car at another beach off the lake and kayaked over. There is a steep sandy trail down to the beach where the columns are. The water was high when we were there so fortunately we couldn't access the larger columns that day. It's definitely worth the visit when the water level in the lake is low to see these unique stone columns.

Fantastic geology, a mine that's big enough you can drive your vehicle into and a great view of the…read moreOwens Valley. Note you will need four-wheel-drive and high clearance for a couple of sections that are maybe 20 or 30 yards total. Most of the drive is very doable. And you can always drive a regular vehicle to the base of the mine road and then walk about 200 yards to the opening. There's also a foot path that goes down the sidewall of the canyon to a smaller mine as well.

Pretty cool experience. Go early in the morning to breathe in less fumes from cars going in and out.read more

The Mt Whitney Fish Hatchery was a fun stop along the 395 near Lone Pine, mainly Independence…read more However, it is no longer much of a fish hatchery following a flood and fire affecting the factory itself. While fish still live there, it no longer houses the famous "California Golden Trout". The Fish Hatchery now holds an intriguing museum with tons of history, facts, and artifacts of the West's nature. The staff are very nice and thoughtful volunteers, whom are very helpful.

Beautiful stop. I've never been able to go inside, as it's always been closed when I've come by,…read morebut the grounds are well worth the stop on their own. Bring quarters to feed the fish :)

Buck Rock Lookout is a Really, Really, cool fire lookout. It was built in 1923 and has the first…read morelive in fire lookout. It's called a "4-A" style cab because it's 14 ft x 14 ft small live in fire lookout surrounded all around by windows. The stairways was built in 1942. It's open to the public from 9:30a-6p. The person in the cab is on duty and you can talk to him/her. From the Sequoia National Forest website: "Buck Rock Lookout sits perched atop a granite dome and offers a breathtaking view of the Great Western Divide and other spectacular high mountain peaks of the Sierra Nevada Mountains. Access to the top is via a series of stair flights (consisting of 172 steps) suspended from the side of the rock." Pit toilet is available off on the Left before the stairs and the person on duty has to do those stairs everytime he/she needs to go! The stairs are fun, 172 steps, hold on to the handrails on both sides! It can be closed due to fires, lightening, etc. Worth going if ever in the area. One of my pics above. website: www.buckrock.org http://www.fs.fed.us/r5/sequoia/lookouts/lookouts.html

If you know , you know. Cool place to check out , and the view is great. Stop by if your in the…read morearea.

Great views of both the Minaret Vista and Mammoth Mountain on the other side. No hike required;…read moreparking's right there at the lookout point. We went at sunset two days in a row as it was just down the street from our hotel. On both days the parking lot was filled to capacity and a lot of people were there. It's freezing due to the high elevation, so bring a jacket.

We came here early in the morning. Nobody was here yet so we were able to enjoy the sights in…read morepeace. There was snow on tree logs, benches, and the trash bins. It is a very nice spot to take in the views.

Great scenery. It gets Cold and Windy in Winter time. I've…read moreheard it's the same in summer time, too. Definitely recommend.

The Alabama Hills area serves as a steady transition from Lone Pine civilization to Whitney…read morewilderness. + Quiet, peaceful scenic area. Pleasant nature ambience. - Minimal shade, water, and restrooms. Dry climate. - Barely anyone around to ask for help or directions. . Tip: I recommend stopping by Nightmare Rock and Mobius Loop trail to see the photogenic Mobius Arch circumscribing Mt Whitney next time you're cruising through Alabama Hills. . Fun fact: many old western movies were filmed among these hills, including Django Unchained.

Devil's Postpile is real underappreciated gem in the Mammoth Lakes area IMHO. It is a great entry…read morepoint to hike out to some gorgeous sites like Rainbow Falls and prisine lakes like Superior Lake. Unfortunately for those who are visiting, one must be aware of shuttle service that does not run all week. The schedule details are on the NPS site. I wanted to leave this review to recognize the heroic actions of a few of the crew from the NPS. Our backpacking party (including my two small children) were stranded on a Tuesday because of the suspended shuttle service back to the Main Lodge. Crow (one of the NPS staff manning the facilities at the ranger station) really saved our butts and invited us to stay at one of their private campgrounds (with nice facilities) for a night until they could be allowed to drive up in a convoy at 3pm the next day. Crow and his crew drove a party of six hikers up to the Main Lodge that afternoon. He really is my family's biggest hero this summer!

Construction on Thursdays = Major Delays. Not recommended for families with babies or toddlers…read more We arrived at the Village at 8:30 a.m. to catch the 8:45 shuttle to Devils Postpile, only to be told the first shuttle was delayed until 10:05. Since we were already committed, we drove to Main Lodge instead, where we found a huge line from everyone waiting on the delayed shuttles. At every step, we asked staff for updates, but no one warned us how bad the delays would be. We were told the shuttle ride would take about 20 minutes, but it ended up taking over an hour because of stop-and-go traffic from construction. The return trip was even worse. We boarded the shuttle at 1:30 p.m. and didn't get back to Main Lodge until after 3:00 p.m. The shuttle was hot, overcrowded, made multiple stops, and even returned to Devils Postpile before heading back. Staff seemed just as uninformed as visitors, and no one could provide accurate wait times or expectations. Our timeline: * Arrived at the Village: 8:30 a.m. * First shuttle departed: 10:05 a.m. * Reached Devils Postpile: Just after 11:00 a.m. * Boarded return shuttle: 1:30 p.m. * Returned to Main Lodge: Just after 3:00 p.m. The ticket agent refunded our shuttle tickets and admitted they didn't realize how severe the delays were because multiple agencies are involved. If you're traveling with young children, especially babies or toddlers, I'd avoid visiting on Thursdays during construction. It turned what should have been a simple outing into an exhausting, all-day ordeal.

Mammoth Mountain Scenic Gondola was one of the highlights of our Mammoth trip! We decided to get…read moreon the gondola towards the end of our adventure and turns out we made the right choice! The Gondola takes you up to McCoy where you can get off and enjoy an intermediate course or stay on and head up to the top of Mammoth Mountain! We started off thinking we were going to just enjoy the cafe up there and the views and then some of us would head back down the gondola. Turns out, my boys decided to take the chance and ride down the top of the mountain with me while my wife headed down on the gondola and met us at the bottom after getting some gifts from the gift shop. The way down is a little frightening if I am to be honest but I am a strong believer in the adage, where there is a will there is a way! My boys coming down with me was a wonderful life lesson and a truly exhilarating and exciting adventure! I highly recommend taking the gondola to the top! 5 stars for sure and 2 thumbs up!!

The views from the top are amazing (on a clear day). Whether skiing/snowboarding and heading to…read morethe top, or just here to enjoy the scenery and surroundings, it's more than worth a visit. Personally a clear day after a storm is the best! The gondola ride up is quick and enjoyable. On busy days, they will fill the cabin, so be ready for a tight squeeze. It's almost ski/boarding season!