Where to Boondock Near Mammoth

Ever since seeing photos of Mono Lake about 10 years ago, I’ve wanted to visit. It’s otherworldly geological structures really captured me, and I wanted to see them for myself. In searching ioverlander for a good boondocking site as our outpost near Mono Lake, I stumbled upon Shepherd Hot Spring, which was a lucky bonus.

This spot was incredible! We went in mid March, and I think we lucked out with the weather considering the area gets a lot of snowfall even into spring. It was in the 60s-70s during the day and went down to the high 20s-30s at night, but it didn’t feel that cold, especially after stepping out of the hot springs which felt well over 105 degrees. It was bright and sunny with no clouds in sight for 3 days, which gave us incredible views of the full moon setting and rising. We stayed on a Friday through Monday, and there were several other van/tent campers in the vicinity. Shepherd Hot Springs had roughly 6-8 “sites.” Some of them had rock fire rings. The hot springs were very popular all morning/afternoon/night, but we did manage to have 2 morning sessions and 2 nighttime sessions by ourselves where we could enjoy some peace and quiet. If you don’t need to be right near the hot springs there are several other pullout areas in the vicinity that would offer more seclusion.

Hot Springs

There are several other hot springs in the area, Crab Cooker Hot Springs is about an 8 minute walk from Shepherd Hot Springs, It has it’s own parking lot too. Hilltop is another one, but you’d want to drive to that one, and it appeared more crowded. The roads to get to any of these hots springs are rough dirt roads, so be prepared to drive a bit slower down them. Temperatures vary at each hot spring. Shepherd was extremely hot for 3 days straight, then on the last morning it was only lukewarm.

Clothing is optional so you may run into people who prefer to bathe in the buff. For the most part people were courteous of others and got out of the hot springs when other people were waiting to get in. Shepherd Hot Springs could hold about 6 people if you were comfortable sitting close to each other, but we didn’t want to be in there with more than 2 other people in order to leave some distance between us. We picked up a fair amount of trash in the area, which is always a bummer to see people trashing such beautiful places. If you visit, please take your trash with you.

Lakes

Mono Lake is one of the most unusual lakes I’ve ever seen. What makes it unique are the tufas (limestone columns that jut out of the water formed by geothermal pockets in the lake bed.) It’s a saline lake and the only thing living it are brine shrimp, which also makes it a great spot for bird watching since they feed on the shrimp as they migrate through the area. You can see the massive lake while driving on Hwy 395, but to get the best view of the tufas follow signs for Navy Beach. There is a short interpretive trail along the water’s edge. There is an entrance fee of $3/person.

Crowley Lake is another lake with some unusual geological formations, but to see them you have to drive off the beaten path in a 4wd vehicle or you can hike in 2 miles and out 2 miles from the parking lot. If you drive, the road is pretty rough at a couple spots, but it’s doable with 4wd, search google for “Parking for Crowley Lake Stone Columns.” If you hike in, search google maps for “Trailhead for Crowley lake Stone Columns.” It is located east of Hwy 395.

There are several other stunning spots to visit in this region, you can ski Mammoth Mountian about 20 minutes from this area. You can hike up to Convict Lake, a picturesque alpine lake surrounded by mountains. Or visit another geothermal spot at the Hot Creek Interpretive Trail. This region is packed with amazing scenery and offers a variety of activities from skiing, kayaking, fishing, hiking, and geothermal activity. We highly recommend it, and can’t wait to return soon!

Check out this video of our 3 days spent boondocking in the area!