Stargazing in Eastern Sierra: Ancient Bristlecones to Alabama Hills
Ancient Bristlecone Pine & Milky Way. Photo: Tony Rowell
The night sky has captured the human imagination from time immemorial. Here in the Eastern Sierra the clear air and lack of light pollution make way for unimpeded visibility of the stars.
On a night when the moon is new the ribbon of the Milky Way is as obvious here today as it was when Galileo first focused his rudimentary telescope at this phenomenon in 1610 and discovered that it was made up of stars.
Today a state-of-the-art radio telescope array, affectionately known as “Big Ears,” is situated just east of Big Pine, 15 miles south of Bishop. The Owens Valley Radio Observatory (OVRO), run by the California Institute of Technology, is one of the largest university-operated observatories in the world and hosts numerous projects in radio astronomy and cosmology.
What Makes It Great
A night out under the stars can be incredibly wonderful to behold. Whether you spend only a few hours after dark or all night under the canopy of stars watching the Milky Way arc across the sky it will be a memory you will treasure forever.
On a moonless night, the stars are brilliant from just about any vantage point within the town, but a drive to some of the outlying locations will get you away from the town’s glow and give you a wide and awe-inspiring view of the sky. Full moon nights are equally spectacular, especially in winter when white snow-capped mountains reflect the moon’s glow.
This is also an awesome place to witness astronomical events like meteor showers and comets.
Who Is Going to Love It
In so many parts of the world where the spectacle of the Milky Way can no longer be seen there are countless children and adults who have never set eyes on it. This is something that all people should witness and contemplate. It is our history and our future.
What makes this all the more special is that the many places in the Eastern Sierra for night sky watching are settings with spectacular natural beauty of their own. Outdoor enthusiasts, astronomers and photographers will be enthralled and engaged by a night out in the Eastern Sierra.
At OVRO tours are given year-round on the first Monday of every month, unless it is a holiday then the tour is on the second Monday. Getting a different ‘view’ of the skies at this facility will definitely broaden your horizons. Tours start at 1 p.m. and last about an hour. Reservations are not required and there is no cost.
Best Season
Cold, clear winter nights do present optimal conditions for night sky viewing. There are two factors that contribute to this. One is the nights are longer in the northern hemisphere. The other is that cold air holds less moisture, which means more transparency and greater clarity.
Night sky viewing is, however, a year-round activity in the Eastern Sierra and should be coordinated primarily with moon phases, the timing of astronomical events, and the weather.
Some destinations for super dark skies are not accessible during winter and the summer months offer warm, dry nights that make this a perfect time for teaching kids about the cosmos.
Best Places
Along US Highway 395, magic stretches in both directions. From Lone Pine, 60 miles south of Bishop, to Mono Lake, 66 miles north, the road unfolds with endless invitations to pause. Pull over for a short hike. Bivvy for a few quiet hours. Stay the night and let the stars take over. This is a corridor where the journey is just as luminous as the destination.
Alabama Hills and the Light of Mt. Whitney
Just a few miles west of Lone Pine, the Alabama Hills rise in sculpted forms of stone and story. Here, you can frame Mt. Whitney, the tallest peak in the contiguous United States, perfectly through the curve of the Mobius Arch. It’s a view that feels almost too artful to be natural.
On a moonless night, the sky turns theatrical. The Milky Way winds above the arch in a silver ribbon, brilliant and alive. In winter, when the full moon lifts, the Sierra Nevada skyline and Mt. Whitney glow stark white against an azure sky, dusted with faint, twinkling stars. It is a study in contrast. Light and shadow. Stone and sky.
Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest
High above Bishop, the Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest stands in quiet reverence. The Great Basin bristlecone pines are the oldest living non clonal organisms on Earth. Their twisted trunks hold centuries in their grain.
If trees could speak, they might tell us of a different sky. The oldest known tree, Prometheus, is more than 5,000 years old. It was just a sapling when Thuban was the pole star, guiding ancient builders as the Egyptian pyramids rose from desert sands. To stand among these trees is to feel time stretch wide and thin.
Buttermilk Country and Open Skies
Close to Bishop, with Mt. Tom and Wheeler Ridge standing watch, Buttermilk Country offers space in its purest form. A short drive west on W. Line Street to Buttermilk Road opens into a landscape of granite boulders and boundless sky. After about 10 miles, a high clearance vehicle may be needed, but the reward is solitude.
Find a clearing. Spread a blanket. Pitch a tent. In summer, the air softens as the sun dips, and the sky deepens into velvet. It is the perfect setting for a romantic evening or a late night picnic with children who fall asleep under a canopy of shimmering stars.
Out here, the night does not simply fall. It unfolds.
Near the junction of Highway 120 west, the Tioga pass road into Yosemite National Park, sits the most magnificent lake – Mono Lake. (Pronounced Moh-No.) This lake is a large, shallow, saline soda lake that lies in a closed basin. The ‘tufa towers’, calcium-carbonate spires and knobs are the unique feature of this lake, which is a protected California State Park. A nighttime visit here has an eerie, alien look from the terrestrial to the extraterrestrial.
Directions. Parking. Regulations.
Each of these areas, and the many more you may discover for yourself, will have different regulations depending on the authorities that have oversight of these places.
Begin your stargazing journey in Bishop with a visit, or phone call, to the Bishop Visitors Bureau at 218-A S. Main St., (760) 873-8405, and speak with the knowledgeable staff there. Tell them what the objective is for your nighttime adventure, for example, astrophotography, cosmos for kids, or romance under the stars. We have maps, info sheets, and connections that will get you out in our backyard day or night, summer or winter for the best possible Eastern Sierra experience.
Resources & Links
Meteor Showers and Shooting Stars: Formation and History
Written by:
Gigi de Jong
Gigi is “crazy mad in love with Bishop.” Since moving here in 2006 she has made it her mission to participate in as many of the outdoor activities as possible. She learned to snowboard, improved upon her very average climbing skills, took long hikes, has driven up and down innumerable mountain roads and 4x4 tracks, cycled and occasionally tumbled down mountain bike trails, taken to the roads on a bicycle or motorcycle – sometimes for fun and sometimes to commute, and successfully completed her first attempt at a triathlon. She spent 10 months touring the western US and Canada on a bicycle and after 4,000 plus miles returned to Bishop – for the beauty of the place and the spirit of the community. “My soul belongs here,” she says.
