Mt. Whitney Portal Store & Hostel Forums General Mt. Whitney Portal Store Message Board Flying in from the East

I've read on a trip report that if flying in from the east it is best to come via Reno. MapQuest seemed to indicate LAX would be a shorter drive to the Portal. Any thoughts on the best place to arrive?

I would think that Las Vegas is a reasonable alternative to both LAX and Reno if your only interest is to get straight to Lone Pine. I think you should also be able to get a better air line ticket price going into Vegas and LAX.

The drive from Reno down 395 is pleasurable and offers good opportunites for side trips and acclimitization hikes. A downside to LAX is traffic and congestion.

Having driven all three, I would recommend Reno to Lone Pine. As ML noted a much more pleasurable drive with many side trips possible, if your so inclined. Las Vegas is shorter by about 30 miles. The traffic out of LA can be a real drag.

One of the Los Angeles area Airports (called Ontario in "Ontario, California" airport code ONT) is probably closest to Lone Pine and is far enough from LA to miss most of the traffic.

Getting a good flight depends on your starting city.

I come out every year from Maryland, and if you're like me, and fly Southwest, either LAX or Las Vegas are probably the best options, because those are the only two cities with non-stop service from Baltimore. If you don't mind changing planes a couple of times, then Ontario and Reno are good alternatives.

If you don't mind flying United, then Inyokern (IYK) is much closer than all of the previously mentioned airports (only about an hour from Lone Pine). While the number of available flights and rental car companies is more limited than at other airports, the price of air fare isn't always that bad, and will depend on where you are coming from and what time of year. With this in mind, if you don't mind paying a little more for the closeness to Lone Pine, than I would certainly check out this one as well.

CaT

Once upon a time, coming back from a San Gorgonio trip to LAX on a bright warm weekday at mid-day (not even rush hour) there was major interstate highway urban stop-and-go traffic all the way from Redlands to the ocean. On the other hand, from Reno to Mammoth (and on to Bishop) on 395 you've got elevation, some high passes with cool air, views, deer crossing warnings, and Mono Lake -- without the Interstate Freeway traffic. Just toss a coin if these sound like equivalent choices.

LAX is a royal pain in the rear end and should be avoid unless it's your only option.

ONT is good but if you hit at evening rush the first forty miles will seem like eighty.

Reno is a nice drive and you get to see Death Valley if you go through Las Vegas.

Get the best airfare possible use one of the latter three airports.

Bill

As someone who lives within spitting distance of LAX, I'd have to agree with the comments about avoiding it. The traffic on the 405 might be light if you arrive at 2:00am. If you arrive in the afternoon, you'll be crawling all the way out to the Palmdale/Lancaster area.

Reno down to Lone Pine is a beautiful, and fun, drive.

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As a former person living around LA, and now living in Reno, the drive from Reno to Lone Pine is like a 5 hour drive through heaven. Vegas to Lone Pine is not so bad either. Avoid anything around LA like a Puritans smallpox blanket.

Reno to Lone Pine is one of the most spectacular drives in my opinion. My other best is the "Going To the Sun Road" in Glacier National Park (Montana).

People from LA usually drive up 395 and people from SF bay area (where I am from) go as far as Yosemite.

You've got to do 395 South from Reno to Lone Pine.

I have flown into Reno, Burbank and Ontario for this trip. It's quite a bit longer drive from Reno but the scenery and towns are more varied and interesting and a swing through the Mammoth Lakes area and Bishop are fun. The drive from Ontario is pretty dry, desolate and boring, though it's only 3 1/2 to 4 hours. The drive from Burbank is a bit better (but not much) and again 3 1/2 to 4 hours. I usually opt for Burbank because the aiport is small, the rental cars are right at the airport and it's easy to get on the freeway heading north. I haven't done the trip from Las Vegas, although I have driven back to Ontario through Death Valley, which is also
the way to Las Vegas, and that is an interesting drive. Just be sure to have a few quarts of water with you. I wouldn't do LAX unless there is a really good reason.
Rick

Thanks for all the feedback. Definitely kept us from a traffic headache as we had tunnel vision using only mapquest to scope out LAX. Reno sounds pretty nice.

If you time your arrival midweek in Reno you can usually get some really great deals on hotels. Also the low price all you can gorge buffets make for a nice carbo load prior to a long hike.

The Reno airport does not seem to have the fastest offload to baggage claim, and that, coupled with car rental lines, can slow you down a bit. When I can get competitive rates from Budget, they've been relatively low-hassle, with cars there at the airport. REI is nearby if you need to get a quart of white gas or the like. The Sierra Trading Post store is less fun than their catalogue, imho. The drive is excellent to Mammoth & Bishop, though probably an exaggeration to compare with going-to-the-sun road. Fewer trailers in the way though.

Let's be honest here, Reno is a very good option but the run down 395 is not the Trans-Canada Highway through Alberta and British Columbia, I-5 through Northern California, Oregon and Washington or the Blure Ridge Parkway. It's high desert to the east and mountains to the west. The drive between Gardnerville and Bridgeport and past Mammoth is very nice but that's only about half the trip.

I'm not trying to be critical, just honest about the scenic value.

Hmmmm.... Are you saying it isn't worth the extra couple of hours or what?

In my book, it's one of the most beautiful exhilarating drives in California.

To be able to drive almost the entire length of the Sierras on a nice day on one road is IMHO quite spectacular. Going south from Reno there are side trips or stops at Mono Lake, the Mammoth area, the Bristle Cone Pine Forest (oldest living things on earth) east of Big Pine (along with an easy one day warm up summit of White Mountain Peak) and a visit to the Onion Valley west of Independence. If you have the time, these all make the trip from Reno much more interesting than the drive from the south. On four visits to the area, I still enjoy the drive through the Owens Valley.

The scenery is about the same, in the dark....

I agree with the recommendations for the Reno - Whitney drive. On the issue of after dark, well, you probably ought to have your own food and plenty of gas, just in case everything's closed up and gone to bed when you're passing through.