Forty miles north along US-395 from Bishop then five miles west on Hwy-203, the resort town of MAMMOTH LAKES offers the state's premier ski slopes outside the Lake Tahoe basin, and in summer hosts on- and off-road bike races. The setting is stunning, but the town is pricey and prone to testosterone overload. To ski Mammoth Mountain ( www.mammothmountain.com ), which looms up behind the resort, pick up lift tickets ($56 per day) from the Main Lodge on Minaret Road, where you can also rent equipment ($26 for basic skis, boots and poles), and book three-hour lessons ($48). In summer, fifty miles of snow-free slopes transform themselves into the 3500-acre Mammoth Mountain Bike Park ($28 a day for trail access and ski lifts, $47 for 4hr bike rental plus two lift rides).
One appealing summer-only destination is the DEVIL'S POSTPILE NATIONAL MONUMENT , seven miles southwest of the bike park, reached by shuttle bus ($9.50). A collection of slender, blue-gray basaltic columns, some scaling sixty feet, the Postpile was formed as lava from a volcanic eruption cooled and fractured into multisided forms. From here, a two-mile hike along the San Joaquin River leads to Rainbow Falls which refract the midday sun perfectly.
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