The Long Way
Mono County
A guide speaks to a group of people by a lake with tufa towers.
Plate I. Guided group, Mono Lake South Tufa Trailhead. From monolake.org
A guide speaks to a group of visitors standing near a lake with rock formations.
Plate II. Guided tour, Mono Lake South Tufa. From monolake.org
A guide holding a picture in front of a group of tourists near a lake with rock formations.
Plate III. Guided tour, Mono Lake South Tufa Trailhead. From monolake.org
A photographer taking pictures of a scenic lake landscape at sunset.
Plate IV. Photographer along the Mono Lake shoreline. From parks.ca.gov
Tufa towers stand in a dry grassy landscape under a clear blue sky with mountains in the background.
Plate V. Tufa towers along Mono Lake South Tufa Trail. From parks.ca.gov
A landscape showing tufa towers in a grassy field with mountains in the background under a clear blue sky.
Plate VI. Tufa towers, Mono Lake South Tufa Trailhead. From parks.ca.gov
A sunset over a lake with tufa rock formations in the water.
Plate VII. Tufa towers, Mono Lake South Tufa Trailhead. From parks.ca.gov
Tufa towers rise from shallow water under a colorful sunset sky.
Plate VIII. Tufa towers at Mono Lake South Tufa. From parks.ca.gov

Mono Lake South Tufa Trailhead

Lee Vining, Mono County, California. State Natural Reserve.

Details

Map. Lee Vining, Mono County, California. Larger map
Where
1 Visitor Center Drive, Lee Vining, CA 93541. Directions
When
Free Daily South Tufa Tours.
Season
In winter, State Route 120 is closed from 5 miles east of the junction of US 395; which allows for access to South Tufa if weather permits. The South Tufa road is not plowed.
Getting there
The park is located on Highway 395, 13 miles east of Yosemite National Park, near the town of Lee Vining, California.
Fees
Vehicle Day Use: $3.00.
Hours
Day Use: Sunrise to Sunset.
Access
South Tufa OPEN.
Walk-in or reserve
Advance reservations are recommended.
Phone
(760) 647-6331
Managed by
California State Parks.

Ancient lake in the eastern Sierra Nevada, with spectacular views of the tufa towers formed over many years when the calcium-bearing freshwater springs and carbonate-rich lake water combined and precicipitated out as limestone.

Notable Events

  1. 1941Water diversions lowered the lake and exposed towers that form only underwater. castateparks.wordpress.com
  2. 1981The Legislature established the reserve to protect the rare tufa formations. castateparks.wordpress.com
  3. 1994The State Water Resources Board modified Los Angeles's diversion licenses, and the lake began to rise again. usgs.gov

People

  • Scott Stine, Scientist and retired college professor who studied Mono Lake's tufa formations (more than 30 years).

Sources

  1. parks.ca.gov/?page_id=514
  2. parks.ca.gov/pages/514/files/MonoLakeFinalWebLayout2018.pdf
  3. monolake.org/visit/travelconditions
  4. monolake.org/visit/activities/freetours
  5. monolake.org/today/tour
  6. instagram.com/monolaketufasnr
  7. parks.ca.gov/monolake
  8. usgs.gov/volcanoes/long-valley-caldera/science/long-valley-caldera-field-guide-mono-lake
  9. monolake.org/learn/aboutmonolake/naturalhistory/geology
  10. castateparks.wordpress.com/2018/08/31/a-plea-to-preserve-the-tufa