Lee Vining, CA

Lee Vining is a small Mono County community on U.S. 395, on the southwest shore of Mono Lake at the eastern foot of the Sierra Nevada. Leroy Vining founded the mining camp in 1852, and the later town was almost called Lakeview until a post office search found another California town with that name. The result is a place whose name reflects a person, whose setting is defined by a salt lake and high mountains, and whose main road runs along the Eastern Sierra.

ATTRJoe Shlabotnik / CC BY 2.0

The town is the eastern gateway for Tioga Pass and Yosemite National Park, with the Mono Lake shore, Bodie State Historic Park, the June Lake Loop, and Mammoth Lakes nearby. Tourism has a major role in the local economy, with lodging, dining, the Mono Basin Visitors Center, and elementary and secondary schools in town. State Route 120 through Yosemite can close in heavy winter snow, so Lee Vining’s seasonal rhythm follows the mountain passes as closely as it follows the lake and highway.