Transportation

Although most visitors arrive in Bishop by automobile or motor home, many vacationers from distant locations inquire about air travel. Our area is very rural and remote, far from any cities (which is the main reason so many folks visit our area), and at this time no regularly scheduled airlines fly into the Bishop or Mammoth-Yosemite airports. This situation may be remedied by the expansion of the Eastern Sierra Regional airport in the future, but for now the closest major airport with regular airline service is Reno/Tahoe International Airport in Reno, Nevada . The airport is 200 miles north of Bishop, about a four hour drive. Car rental agencies can be found at the airport. Two other good choices would be McCarran International Airport in Las Vegas , 260 miles to the southeast or Los Angeles International Airport, about 275 miles to the south. Another alternative is to fly into the Inyokern Airport (760-377-4789) near Ridgecrest , California, 127 miles south of Bishop. They bill themselves as "a big airport with a small airport personality." It is possible to fly from Los Angeles (LAX), on United Express (Sky West Airlines) into the small town of Inyokern and rent a car from Avis or Enterprise car rental services and then make the two hour drive north on Highway 395 to Bishop.

The Inyo-Mono Transit Crest bus runs from Bishop to Carson City , Nevada and the Reno/Tahoe Airport three times a week for very reasonable rates. For more information call 760-872-1901 or toll free at 800-922-1930. Unfortunately, Greyhound Bus Lines has discontinued their bus service to our area.

We have had quite a few travelers inquire about the possibility of flying into Fresno and driving a rental car to Bishop. Fresno is only 85 air miles from Bishop but there are no roads that cross the 14,000 foot High Sierra between Fresno and Bishop (the longest wilderness area in the U.S.A. unbroken by road). The only routes that are in close proximity are Tioga Pass (winter closure) 60 miles to the north of Bishop and Walker Pass 127 miles to the south.

In the early spring, late fall and winter, it is a 6 1/2 hour drive from Fresno to Bishop, around the mountains and through the passes, via Mojave and Bakersfield in the south or Lake Tahoe and Sacramento in the north. During the summer months, when Tioga Pass is open, the quickest route from Fresno to Bishop is through Yosemite National Park , a distance of 236 miles (about 5 hours driving time).

Regardless of how you get here, it is worth the trip. The clean, clean, cool night air, the brilliant stars and beauty of the Eastern Sierra await you.