154 2 0 1 5 T R A V E L G U I D E T O C A L I F O R N I A
B Y J O H N F L I N N
T
he name is Spanish for "snowy mountains," but John
Muir's pet name for the Sierra Nevada was "The Range of
Light." It's not just the ethereal luminosity of the glacially
polished granite that drew Muir—and continues to draw people—
to the Sierra again and again. It's the pristine lakes and rivers, the
dramatic hiking and biking trails, the contrast between the green
meadows and stony battlements.
The Sierra Nevada may be one of the highest and most majestic
mountain ranges in North America, but it's also one of the most
accessible and user-friendly. Stretching 400 miles from north to
south, and about 70 from east to west, it's crossed by seven high-
ways—four of them open all year—and encompasses everything
from Lake Tahoe—where you might find yourself crowding
shoulder-to-shoulder around a boisterous craps table—to remote
canyons in Yosemite or Kings Canyon national parks where you
can spend a silent and solitary afternoon watching Muir's favorite
bird, the water ouzel, plunge into waterfalls and cascades.
In a state with no shortage of superlatives, the region has more
than its share: It can boast the world's oldest tree, the world's most
massive tree, the Old West's largest ghost town, the nation's highest
waterfall and—until Alaska came along and rewrote the record
books—the nation's highest peak.
GOLD
COUNTRY
VISITOR'S
ASSOCIATION.
OPPOSITE:
TOM
GRUNDY/SHUTTERSTOCK
HIGH
SIERRA
TOP CITIES
South Lake Tahoe, Truckee, Tahoe City, Bishop,
Mammoth Lakes, Oakhurst, Madera
INTERNATIONAL GATEWAY
Reno-Tahoe International Airport (RNO),
3 miles from Reno, Nevada city center
TOURISM WEBSITES
yosemitepark.com
visitinglaketahoe.com
tahoesouth.com
yosemitethisyear.com
visitmammoth.com
POPULATION
600,000
HIGH SIERRA
Come explore this epic land of mountains,
meadows, forests and streams
