When our Channel Islands backpacking trip got canceled due to strong winds, my good friend Maria and I set off on a Highway 395 road trip in California in search of a last minute adventure! I’ve driven this highway seven times this year alone (2024), but Maria had never been up here, so I had to make ALL the stops!
We spent six days exploring Fossil Falls, climbing in Alabama Hills, camping in Bishop, hiking in Mammoth Lakes and Yosemite National Park, soaking in hot springs, and detouring for two days to Death Valley National Park due to the same weather that canceled our original trip!
Because we chose to dispersed camp and we already have National Park passes, we really only paid for gas, food, and the Death Valley campsites. Our six-day adventure ended up costing only about $200 per person including food, which we’d need even if we had stayed home.
Here’s how we did it!
Day 1 of Our Highway 395 Road Trip:
LA to Alabama Hills
We began our Highway 395 road trip by leaving home early on a Tuesday morning so that we could get to Alabama Hills at a reasonable time and find a campsite. However, I wasn’t too worried because it’s not too difficult to find sites midweek. It only takes about four hours to get there from Los Angeles, so we had plenty of time to stop and check out Fossil Falls on the way!
Fossil Falls: WAY cooler than I'd expected!
Fossil Falls is a really interesting spot just off Highway 395. I’d driven past dozens of times over the years and even got out of the car to stretch my legs, but had never really explored the area. One of the best things about traveling with someone new on a spontaneous road trip is feeling compelled to stop and look at things I once drove right past!
Previously, I’d wondered how cool a dry waterfall could be, and the answer is apparently very cool! The geological formations were pretty incredible and super easy to access and explore on a half hour detour. It was the perfect break only an hour’s drive from Alabama Hills!
Afternoon in Alabama Hills
Finding a Campsite in Alabama Hills
Alabama Hills is a rock climber’s and van lifer’s paradise. With quite a few large, designated dispersed camping sites to choose from, I can usually find a secluded spot somewhere within the bouldery hills.
Keep in mind there may or may not be restroom facilities nearby depending where you camp, so please leave no trace, including toilet paper. Once a pristine environment, post-pandemic it has seen an exponential growth in popularity as well as an exponential growth in trash left behind.
**NOTE: As of 2025, there are limited dispersed camping sites in and around Alabama Hills due to ongoing habitat restoration, so it might be advantageous to find a site and claim it before grabbing dinner in town. A free permit is now required for camping, but does not guarantee a site. Find current requirements here.
Rock Climbing in Alabama Hills (Day 1): What We Climbed
After setting up camp and eating lunch, we decided to hit up some easy rock climbs! This was Maria’s second time rock climbing and she’s super scared of heights, so I picked a chill beginner spot with a short approach that I’d been to in the past.
The area we climbed in was called Paul’s Backyard and the climb was called De Ham Bone (5.7). Unfortunately it was super cold and windy so we did that one climb then headed back to camp to enjoy the sunset over the freshly-dusted Sierras with the intention of returning in the morning!
Tag Along on our Highway 395 Road Trip (Day 1)!
Day 2 of Our Highway 395 Road Trip:
Alabama Hills to Bishop
Waking up in Alabama Hills that first morning was breathtaking. After a gusty night, the morning air was crisp and still— perfect for a lazy morning at camp!
Rock Climbing in Alabama Hills (Day 2)
After breakfast, Maria and I went to tackle a couple climbs that we hadn’t gotten to try the previous evening. We stayed at the same wall (Paul’s Backyard), but tried Platy Galore (5.3), Paul’s Paradise (5.9), and Ted Shred (5.7+ trad). My favorite of the three was Ted Shred, but I might be biased. At the time, it was toughest trad climb I’d sent!
Alabama Hills to Bishop
Climbing in Alabama Hills took longer than expected (as it always does), so Maria and I had to drive the hour to Bishop and quickly find a site before the sun set!
There are a lot of developed campgrounds in the area, most of which are first-come first-served, and most of which are closed during the winter. I personally prefer to skip the amenities and find a dispersed site away from neighbors. However, that’s much easier to accomplish in the daylight, so we had to hurry!
Finding a Dispersed Campsite near Bishop
There are so many options for dispersed camping, but not much information available, so it’s up to you to find the perfect (legal) campsite! Luckily, there is dispersed camping allowed on public land off Buttermilk Road— a world-class bouldering destination, on Inyo National Forest land on both sides of Highway 395, as well as on the Volcanic Tableland.
I’d highly recommend referencing an online interactive map for specific boundaries, but that should get you started. Wherever you find a site, please respect no camping signs as well as current fire restrictions and pack out all waste.
I usually opt for a site in Inyo National Forest because TREES. Even though it’s always a mad dash down bumpy dirt roads lined with scratchy scrubby pines and sagebrush as the shotgun rider frantically scrolls a downloaded satellite map for potential campsites, the effort usually pays off! On this particular trip we SCORED the perfect campsite right as the sun was setting!
Evening at the Hot Springs near Bishop
After sunset, the air got chilly really quickly. Since our camp was already set up and fires weren’t allowed at the time, we decided to hit up one of the many local hot springs along Highway 395!
Unfortunately, our first pick was way too crowded (10+ cars parked at a hot spring that fits 6 people max). We quickly diverted to one 15 minutes away down a very bumpy road. Luckily, the effort paid off again and we only shared the hot spring with three others!
Because the hot springs are getting exponentially more popular, it’s very rare to find solitude. For this reason, I’ll leave you to scan the map for your own hot spring options. I’d recommend checking out a few in the area and finding your own favorite.
Tag Along on our Highway 395 Road Trip (Day 2)!
Day 3 of Our Highway 395 Road Trip:
Mammoth Lakes
Day three of our Highway 395 road trip was one of the most serendipitous days I’ve ever had, AND it happened to be Halloween! Additionally, it was Maria’s first time touching snow in years, and I finally got to return to explore a lake that I was too exhausted to check out at the tail end of my Mammoth Lakes backpacking trip with my mom back in September!
Hiking to TJ Lake in Mammoth Lakes
Hiking to TJ Lake in Mammoth Lakes is a relatively short but steep hike that begins at 9,000 feet in elevation and winds past three different lakes within about a mile. This ordinarily easy hike was made a tad more challenging by the fresh snow that fell the night before, but it made the trail SO PRETTY!
The day was super windy, but somehow TJ Lake was relatively protected by Mammoth Crest, so the sun warmed us up pretty quick despite freezing temperatures.
Lunch in Mammoth Lakes
After our hike, we decided to get some real food at Mammoth Brewing Company in the town of Mammoth Lakes. Maybe it was the camp food we’d been eating, but the goat cheese pizza and mac and cheese were surprisingly some of the best I’ve ever had!
After lunch, we wandered through the village where we were surprised with free caramel apples at Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory for dropping in on Halloween! We were so stoked, so we spontaneously came up with an idea of where we wanted to go enjoy them.
Evening Hot Springs with FREE Caramel Apples!
Before the trip, a friend recommended a few of her favorite hot springs in the area, but there was one option that wasn’t marked on any online map, so we decided to check it out before heading back to camp!
Maybe people had other Halloween plans or maybe we just got super lucky, but we had this hot spring all to ourselves for two hours to watch the sunset! We couldn’t have asked for a more perfect ending to the day— especially because it was completely unplanned!
Tag Along on our Highway 395 Road Trip (Day 3)!
Day 4 of Our Highway 395 Road Trip:
Yosemite National Park
On the second morning waking up at our campsite in Bishop, we shook a thick layer of ice off the tent. We had a big day ahead of us spanning not one but TWO national parks: Yosemite and Death Valley. To be fair, our only goal for Death Valley was to arrive at our campsite, but that meant we had to budget our time wisely on our hike in Yosemite!
We quickly packed up camp and hit the road en route to Tioga Pass— making only one essential pitstop along the way for gas and milkshakes at June Lake Junction!
Visiting Yosemite from the Eastern Sierras requires driving Tioga Pass which is pretty magnificent in itself, but can be a bit tricky in the fall because the road closes seasonally after the first big snow storm. Luckily, we managed to get in and out before a snow storm closed the road that evening.
This storm is the reason we spontaneously chose to escape to Death Valley rather continue through to Sequoia and Kings Canyon and risk being stuck in pouring rain and sleet for the last two days of our road trip. We made this decision the night before and it was definitely the right one.
Quick Hike in Yosemite National Park
Hiking to Murphy Creek Trail to Polly Dome Lakes
We chose this hike because it is relatively close to the Tioga Pass entrance and seemed like a quick and easy trail to a couple little lakes. However, the Murphy Creek Trail ended up being even more beautiful than I expected as it wove through the dense alpine forest over patches of half-melted snow and massive granite slabs. The best part was that we were the only two people on trail all morning!
However, we anticipated a 5.3-mile hike (as per AllTrails) and ended up covering close to 7 miles when all was said and done. Nevertheless, we really enjoyed the hike but really had to book it out of there to make it to Death Valley at a reasonable time.
Finding a Campsite in Death Valley National Park
After four hours traversing the Mojave Desert, we made it to Texas Springs Campground in Death Valley National Park. We chose this campground because it’s first-come first-served, has potable water, is close to all the main things to do, and is a bit more separated from all the chaos on the main road.
This was actually both of our first times to Death Valley, so we took a shot in the literal dark and luckily found a site. In stark contrast to our previously serene dispersed campsites, we were now paying to be surrounded by people in essentially a parking lot (like most Death Valley National Park campgrounds), but we were happy to be close to the epicenter of the park!
We were also stoked to have a campfire for the first time all week, even though temperatures were much warmer here than in Inyo National Forest! Whereas daytime temperatures in Bishop had been in the 50s and nighttime dipped below 20ºF, in Death Valley, daytime temperatures soared to 80ºF and nighttime temperatures hovered in the 60s.
Tag Along on our Highway 395 Road Trip (Day 4)!
Day 5 of Our Highway 395 Road Trip:
Death Valley National Park
The very first thing Maria and I did in Death Valley was watch the sunrise from the top of a hill next to the campground and it did not disappoint! Ideally we’d have more time to explore the massive national park, but two days is what we had, so two days would have to do! Luckily, there are quite a few things to do really close together, so we were able to get a lot done on a short November day.
Lots of Things to Do between Furnace Creek and Badwater
We aren’t typically the type to go ‘sightseeing’ (stopping for photos then moving along to the next landmark), but we were very limited on time— only 11 hours of daylight. We tried to fully take in each area as quickly and efficiently as we could.
In order, here is what we did:
- Hiked/scrambled part of Gower Gulch
- Drove Artist’s Drive
- Crunched around Devil’s Golf Course
- Quickly hiked to Natural Bridge
- Took a snack break and sunbathed at Badwater Basin
- Searched every souvenir shop for a keychain to replace the one my mother had lost
- Ate cheese and chocolate and watched the sun set from the Mesquite Flat Sand Dunes
- Finally found a tin cup for Maria after five days of searching at Stovepipe Wells
- Finished our week-long game of We’re Not Really Strangers around the campfire
Although the Mesquite Flat Sand Dunes are a bit further north of Furnace Creek, they were still close enough to make it there right at the sun was setting after a long day of sightseeing. The gouda and brownies were well-deserved!
Tag Along on our Highway 395 Road Trip (Day 5 + 6)!
Day 6 of Our Highway 395 Road Trip:
Our Final Morning in Death Valley
The final day of our Highway 395 road trip was only a half day, but we decided to slow it down and complete the beautiful hike through Mosaic Canyon before driving the 4+ hours back to Los Angeles.
Before hitting the trail, we made a quick stop at Harmony Borax Works which was on the list of top things to see, but honestly seemed like an excessive number of signs glorifying a short time in history when people pillaged the land for natural resources then left all their crap behind. After that quick and uneventful detour, we continued on to Mosaic Canyon!
Hiking Mosaic Canyon in Death Valley National Park
Mosaic Canyon Trail begins as a smooth slot canyon, then opens up into a wide wash before shrinking back down to a false ‘end’ of the trail after 1.3 miles. After a series of quick and easy scrambles, the true end to the trail is a massive dry falls around the 2-mile mark.
It was a peaceful end to the road trip, and was a nice reprieve from the gusty winds that had come up overnight!
There are so many ways to enjoy the Eastern Sierras and Mojave Desert. I’ve been on seven trips up there this year alone, all for different reasons. I’ve rock climbed in April, downhill mountain biked in July, backpacked in September, visited some of the oldest trees on earth in October, skied in December, and more. You can spend a month here and still not even begin to break the surface.
The diversity of terrain and wildlife is honestly breathtaking and every season prevents different opportunities and challenges. For example, the only season where you could even CONSIDER hiking in both Yosemite and Death Valley is late fall! Death Valley is too hot in summer, and Tioga Pass is closed all winter until May. Getting the opportunity to experience the seasonal changes has been a blessing!
After six days on this particular Highway 395 road trip, Maria now LOVES this section of California as much as I do! Despite six days without a shower or real bed, we are both itching to return as soon as we can for the next adventure!
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