Mt. Whitney Portal Store & Hostel Forums General Mt. Whitney Portal Store Message Board Closest airport

Where is the closest airport the the Whitney Portal?

For major airline service, your choices are either Ontario California (200 miles to Lone Pine) or Las Vegas (230 miles to Lone Pine).

Los Angeles International (LAX) is about 216 miles from Lone Pine

Best airport? Depends on the time of day you are arriving. After spending 2 hours on the I-15 last weekend trying to get from Foothill Blvd. to 395, <30 miles, I would say Las Vegas would be better if you are arriving in the late afternoon rush hour. If you are arriving between 10 AM and 1 PM ONT is probably your best bet.

Avoid LAX. Traffic is horrible all day long on the 405.

Bill

Don't forget Reno. About 250 miles, straight down 395, and a nice scenic drive, no traffic except the first 2 miles south from the Reno airport and again a couple of miles either side of the center of Carson City.

Lost Wages and Reno often have cheap airfare deals because of the casino crowds.

Plus, if you're driving down from Reno, Mammoth Lakes is a good place to stop and stay for a day or so to acclimate...it's about 8,500' and lots of good day hikes nearby to get you up to between 10,000' and 11,000'.

Besides...Mammoth Lakes is the jumping-off point for <a href="http://www.mtritter.org">my favorite mountain</a>, so it's a spot I've seen more than once...

Hey Alan, you are right about Reno. And wbtravis is right about leaving the L.A. Basin. Vegas no doubt gets much better air service, but it will be a warm or hot drive. 395 south from Reno is my favorite drive. Pinyons, Walker River Canyon, Mono Lake, all are scenic features.

Saw Matrix 2 today, and say, I think I spotted Mt. Ritter! They may have worked on the mountain scene digitally, but the Eastern Sierra is a favorite for big filmmakers.

Does anyone attend the Lone Pine Film festival?

Inyokern or Bakersfield??? I can only imagine what the airfare would be to these charming locations. I think you are going to have to pay for these locations with someone else American Express Card.

Reno is good too. Especially the drive down 395 which is much better the the southern approach. Personally, I like Reno gambling wise much more than Vegas, the deals have a personally unlike the stone monoliths in Vegas.

Bill

Traffic from LAX up the 405 through the 14 to Lancaster (which is about 70 miles) can be a real hassle. This is especially true after about 4:00 pm. If you fly into LAX in the morning you would be going against traffic and it is usually moving fast. In the afternoon we always try to leave before 3 pm. At that time it can start to slow up but isn't bad. By 5-6 it is a big parking lot. Over half of the way (to Lancaster) now has a car pool lane.

The nearest AIRPORT is in Lone Pine itself. It's small, but it's an airport. I remember seeing a sign along Rt. 395 for it. It is 1 mile southeast of town.

For more information, see www.airnav.com and click on Airports. Enter Lone Pine, CA.