Scenic 395 - The Official Guide 2025

4 2025 Scenic 395 ‘El Camino Sierra’ An excerpt from the book, “Tales Along El Camino Sierra.” For more information or to purchase the book, go to www.elcaminosierra395.com . 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 motorists as they pass from Mono or Kern County into the land of Inyo. El Camino Sierra was the name given to the first automobile 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 California. 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 con- tinuing effort to draw attention and hopefully funding for new roads in the Eastern Sierra. A record-set- ting, high-altitude flight over Mt. Whitney, and a highly-publicized auto tour incorporating a writer with a national travel magazine, became part of the headline-grabbing attention-getters the club put on. In 1915, highway engineers from Sacramento finally 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 Bish- op 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 ob- solete. 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 consider- ation 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 California State assembly, recognizing the historical significance of El Camino Sierra, and rededicating the name. A new book has been written on the historic highway and a number of interpretive programs and slide- shows offered on the subject as well. It seems the old adage “What’s old is new again,” rings clearly true … along El Camino Sierra. By David and Gayle Woodruff Map presented by