The June Lake Loop: Switzerland of California
Near Mammoth Lakes, California
Just north of Mammoth, a road peels off Highway Three Ninety Five and curls through one of the most scenic drives in the Sierra, the June Lake Loop. It follows a horseshoe-shaped route, threading past four alpine lakes strung along the base of soaring granite peaks. In order you pass June Lake, then tiny Gull Lake, then Silver Lake tucked beneath the sheer face of Carson Peak, and finally the largest, Grant Lake, which is actually a reservoir.
The setting is so dramatic that the loop earned the nickname the Switzerland of California. These lakes are the work of ice. During the last glacial age, a glacier flowing down Rush Creek split against a ridge, and as it retreated it left behind mounds of rock and gravel, called moraines, that dammed the basin and cradled the lakes we see today.
The area is a year-round playground, fishing and hiking in summer, and in winter the June Mountain ski area, which opened in nineteen sixty one and was later bought by the owners of Mammoth Mountain. Quieter and more intimate than its famous neighbor, the June Lake Loop rewards anyone willing to take the small detour off the main highway.
