Like Summer Camp, Only Better

Mammoth Lakes Family Friendly Summer Adventure

Mountains, lakes, ample playtime. Mammoth Lakes is like the ultimate summer camp, only way better: because it's for kids and kids at heart!

Take a guided kayak trip on Mono Lake, a high-desert oasis filled with fascinating towers of gnarled limestone tufas. Kids will be in awe of these Dr. Seuss-like formations and parents will relish the lake's peacefulness. Your kayak guide is like the coolest camp counselor you'll ever meet. Or settle into a canoe for a sunset paddle on Inyo National Forest’s Convict Lake—framed by 12,000-foot granite peaks.

Rather pedal than paddle? Ride on! Miles of paved bike trails surround Mammoth Lakes, with beginner-friendly trails leaving right from town. Pro Tip: Ride on over to The Village at Mammoth for outdoor live music, a distillery, restaurants, ice cream, and fun games. Novice and expert mountain bikers have a variety of choices at Mammoth Mountain’s legendary bike park (yep, the famous ski slopes are transformed every summer into impeccably groomed trails). Everyone gets to share the epic High Sierra scenery.

For those who'd rather have their summer camp feel more Westworld than Walley World, Bodie State Historic Park is an old Western ghost town that can be explored by horseback.

And of course there’s hiking—miles of it—made super accessible by the free shuttles in Mammoth Lakes, from a 2-mile circuit around Lake Mary to longer adventures up to hidden oases in the Ansel Adams Wilderness.

Who says kids get to have all the fun? The whole family's invited to the place that's like a giant summer camp for all: Mammoth Lakes.

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  1. Afternoon on the Island

    What is it about tiny islands in the middle of lakes? There’s something that just draws you in. It’s even more fun when getting there is half the adventure because you have to reach it by canoe, kayak, paddleboat, or a ranger-guided boat tour!

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  2. Hiker in the forest at Mount Sutro in San Francisco

    San Francisco's Middle Earth

    No need to travel to New Zealand to visit Middle Earth. San Francisco’s Mount Sutro Open Space is practically Hobbiton—a hidden “shire” in the middle of the city. Okay, maybe not quite as magical, but still an incredible place to take a hike in city limits.

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  3. A group of people clamored around the summit marker at Mission Peak in the Bay Area

    Your Mission Is Less Crowded

    Mission Peak is one of the Bay Area’s most popular mountains, with many hikers climbing every weekend. Skip the crowds with this 6-mile loop up the less-traveled southern route.

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  4. Hike top Angel Island Mount Livermore San Francisco Bay

    Good Heavens

    The 4-mile hike to the top of Angel Island offers Bay-mazing scenery. Some people claim you get a five-bridge view: Richmond-San Rafael, Bay, Golden Gate, San Mateo-Hayward, and Dumbarton bridges.

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  1. Locals' Feature: Jim Litchfield, Owner of Reno Fly Shop

    If there's a river, you're likely to find Jim Litchfield there. As the owner of Reno Fly Shop, Nevada's premier fly fishing outfitter and shop, Jim's passion for rivers knows no bounds: he's fished in places near and far, including Alaska, Bolivia and Christmas Island. But home is beautiful Reno, where he has been running Reno Fly Shop and leading tailored river float and fly fishing adventures (including beginner-friendly options) for over a decade.

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  2. Bear Hug

    This 5.5-mile loop through Coyote Lake-Harvey Bear Ranch County Park explores one of the newest segments of the acclaimed Bay Area Ridge Trail, one redolent with trees ranging from madrone and manzanita to buckeye and blue elderberry (with a bubbly post-hike bonus).

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  3. Easiest Best Hike in the World

    Choose the easiest and most view-rewarding hike in Yosemite. Okay, we’ll go first: the combination of hiking to Sentinel Dome and Taft Point. Both of these lookouts are within a couple miles of each other on Glacier Point Road

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  4. Bikers and walkers on the Bay Area Ridge Trail with the Golden Gate Bridge behind them

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    See San Francisco the way locals do by hiking the Presidio, a national park right in the city! Wooded trails, secluded beaches, and epic views of the Golden Gate Bridge feature on this 5.5-mile out-and-back on the Bay Area Ridge Trail. It’s a lovely slice of the City by the Bay.

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