stop off point en route to Mammoth?

[HighSierratrout]

Anybody have any recommendations for a good stop off point to fish and rest for the night from Riverside to Mammoth Lakes? I'll be driving with my 3 kids (7, 6, 3) and my wife Monday morning. We don't want to make the entire drive in one day and would like to camp and fish somewhere that has good fishing, a decent campsite, and not too far from the 395 so we can pack quickly the next morning and head to Mammoth Lakes. Any advice, tips would be great. thanks in advance.

[pcuser]

Rock Creek is close to 395, has beautiful campsites all along the road to Rock Creek Lake, and has good creek and lake fishing. The creek can be fished all over and the lake has excellent fishing as well. My personal favorite spot on the lake is around the outlet. I've caught some really nice fish there the last few years. Enjoy and introduce the kids to fishing. It will create memories that last a lifetime. I have treasured memories from 57 years ago when I started fishing Bishop Creek at Parchers Camp.

[Samurai]

Rock Creek would be good but is only 1/2 hour or so from Mammoth. In warm weather I don't know that there is a decent stop off earlier. You could go up Bishop Creek but again it will take you 1/2 hour to get from Bishop to up bishop creek and in an hour from bishop (actually less) you'll be in Mammoth.

[IncredibleHuck]

At the longest it should take you only 6 hours to get there. Just take the day to drive up there, maybe making stops along the way at the Mt. Whitney fish hatchery, Fossil Falls, Bishop, Manzanar..... I would seriously think about just making the drive there. Most of the good campsites will be back up in the canyons with the heat of summer now.

[MexicanPistachio]

No stops. Last year I left yucaipa at 8am and made it to mammoth at 2pm. Thats with towing a trailer, dog and pregnant wife. Just watch your speed in the small towns along395.

[oakboy]

High SierraTrout,

I am dealing with very much the same scenario. I have a 5, 3 and 9month and my wife who are all making the trip to Rock Creek next Sunday. We will leave around 4 in the morning. This allows the kids to sleep for at least a third of the way up there. We stop for breakfast run around a bit and then off to Rock Creek!

<><

KP

[teejay]

Options may be Whitney Portal, around 12 miles west of Lone Pine, or Gray’s Meadow, 6 miles west of Independence. As I recall, both campgrounds are at a high enough elevation to get you out of the valley heat, are shaded, and offer stream fishing for stocked trout. Whitney Portal also has a “kiddy pond” stocked with trout.
However, I’m with the other guys about just pushing on to Mammoth while making several short stops along the way.

[Marley]

Diaz Lake in Lone Pine? Still a couple of hours from Mammoth.

[HighSierratrout]

Thanks for the tips. We ended up leaving at 5am and making a stops at a few spots, let everybody stretch and run around, then Bishop at 11am and fishing Rock Creek Lake at 12, Mammoth at 4pm. Fished in hurricane force winds at Rock Creek Lake and later at Twin Lakes, eventually on the edge of Lake Mamie, all in insane winds. Kids had a blast and I caught 5 trout with my Tenkara pole.

[pcuser]

Good blending of all the different advice. And (Bonus) the kids had a blast!

[fastcarbon]

Good blending of all the different advice. And (Bonus) the kids had a blast!

You might try Big Pine Creek which is above Big Pine. I have caught a lot of Rainbows/plants here and there are a couple of campgrounds which are high enough to get you out of the extreme heat of the valley below. I used to take my kids there.:Big Grin: