“One of the oldest lakes in the Western Hemishphere”

— Mono County California

How I Found This Lake

Alright, alright, alright…………...let me use this post as a confessional. Sometimes, not too often though, I have FOMO. For those of you who may not know what FOMO is, it stands for the ‘fear of missing out”. Furthermore I get FOMO most often when I see pictures people post on social media that look as if they are of another world. However, all the pictures I envy are typically from wonderfully unique places just like Mono Lake.

Mono Lake has been on my travel radar for about 5 years now and I can honestly say it all stems from Instagram photos that give me a bad case of the FOMOs. I simply have this draw to see uncommon places. Rare places. Exclusive places. Places that look to me as if they could be of an alien planet.

Location/Directions

Highway 395, 20 miles east of Yosemite National Park, near the town of Lee Vining, California.

Mono Lake is classified as an Endorheic Basin………..ummmm, huh? What does that mean?!? While doing some research I learned that this simply means this lake is two-and-a-half times saltier than the ocean. Extremely salty like The Great Salt Lake or the Dead Sea and just like those salty bodies of water, your physical body has a hard time sinking here. You easily stay buoyant in this water.

The Mono Basin Scenic Area Visitor Center is a great place to start your visit to this area. The center is located just off Highway 395, north of Lee Vining. On this visit I found the center closed due to COVID restrictions, nevertheless, most of the history of the lake is described and explained on terrific signs that circle the outside of the visitor center.

From the visitor center and Hwy 395 you are able to see some small tower formations, yet to see the larger towers you must travel to the south side of the lake. These Tufa (pronounced toofah) Towers are the driving force for my trip way out here and the need I hold to take my very own pictures of these unusual limestone formations. The south tufas sit approximately 5 miles from the visitor center and can be easily missed. GPS helped to guide us to the “South Tufa Area”. Well maintained dirt roads will get you to this sweet spot.

I've read many articles and blogs explaining exactly how these large limestone towers are formed and I believe I have a fair understanding. Still, as a gentle reminder to you, I am NOT a geologist or historian. I am however going to give you a much simpler version of all the information I’ve read and I’ll try to do it in my own words. So forgive me in advance if I make this too simplistic or miss an important element, here it goes……

In the 1940s water that naturally flowed into Mono Lake was diverted to supply the Los Angeles area. By 1990 the lake was half its original size and in 1994 orders were announced to protect this lake. Though with the lake so awfully low you do get to see the camera-ready tufa towers. These towers can only be formed while under water. The Earth’s underwater hot springs bubble up and then mix with the lake water causing the formation of the limestone towers.

So that’s it, a short post with some kick ass pictures from my iPhone. I came to Mono Lake because I wanted to lay my very own eyes on this landscape. I wanted to take my own damn pictures of something unique. COVID has me itching to get out of the house, plus I have my immunizations, so off I went. I’m always ready for a good road trip.

Bonus, I no longer have FOMO for Mono Lake.