Scenic 395 - The Official Guide 2021/2022

2021-2022 Scenic 395 3 BORON CALIFORNIA CITY MOJAVE KRAMER JUCTION RIDGECREST LONE PINE INDEPENDENCE RANDSBURG BIG PINE BISHOP TOM’S PLACE MAMMOTH LAKES JUNE LAKE LEE VINING BRIDGEPORT TOPAZ CARSON CITY RENO KERNVILLE LAKE ISABELLA TEHACHAPI Sierra Nevada mountain passes may be closed in winter Highways 80 – Donner Pass 50 – Echo Summit 88 – Carson Pass 89 – Luther Pass 4 – Ebbett’s Pass 108 – Sonora Pass 120 – Tioga Pass Caltrans highway information: 800-427-7623 Travelers on Scenic Highway 395 may notice there’s a “new look” when crossing the county line into Inyo. A large new sign proclaiming “Inyo County, The Heart of El Camino Sierra,” welcomes mo- torists as they pass from Mono or Kern County into the land of Inyo. El Camino Sierra was the name given to the first auto- mobile road that ran along the base of Eastern Sierra back in 1910. The name was part of a marketing campaign put on by the Inyo Good Road Club, as a way to draw attention to Eastern Califor- nia. They felt the use of the romanticized name would generate interest among not just the traveling public, but the decision makers in Sacramento as well as highway department officials. Their mission of gaining a share of the State of California’s first highway construction bond would be enhanced. Inyo Good Roads conducted a number of promotional events over the next several years, in their continuing effort to draw attention and hopefully funding for new roads in the Eastern Sierra. A record-setting, high-altitude flight over Mt. Whitney, and a highly-publi- cized auto tour incorporating a writer with a national travel magazine, became part of the head- line-grabbing attention-getters the club put on. In 1915, highway engineers from Sacramento final- ly arrived on the scene, and completed the first section of state roadway in the Eastern Sierra by the next summer. The State continued its new highway construction in Inyo and neighboring counties for the next 16 years, completing a hard surface roadway that ran from Mojave all the way to Bishop by 1931. At that time, the U.S. Department of Highways arrived, and soon integrated an assortment of state, local and newly built federal highways into U.S. Highway 395. This new highway would run from the Mexican border, through Eastern California, Oregon and Washington to Canada, and new marketing efforts now championed the road as “The Three Flags Highway.” The name El Camino Sierra became obsolete. The Three Flags name never fully caught on, and most people referred to this magical ribbon of blacktop as simply three-ninety-five. Now, almost 86 years later, this romantic sounding appellation has been resurrected, thanks to the efforts of Inyo County officials. The new signs at the county lines are just the beginning. Banners can be seen at most of the major towns along Highway 395 in Inyo County, proclaiming their location as being in “the Heart” of El Camino Sierra. Cars and businesses display El Camino Sierra stickers up and down Highway 395. A number of additional measures are under consideration by Inyo County to expand the use and recognition of El Camino Sierra. One proposal is the placing of highway markers in the shape of the original El Camino Sierra Highway signs, at historical points of interest throughout Inyo County. In January 2017, a resolution was passed in the Cal- ifornia State assembly, recognizing the historical significance of El Camino Sierra, and rededicat- ing the name. A new book has been written on the historic highway and a number of interpretive programs and slideshows offered on the subject as well. It seems the old adage “What’s old is new again,” rings clearly true … along El Camino Sierra. The Eastern Sierra Along ‘El Camino Sierra’ By David and Gayle Woodruff An excerpt from the book, “Tales Along El Camino Sierra.” For more information or to purchase the book, go to www. elcaminosierra395.com .