One Of California's Most Underrated Drives Goes Right Through A Mountainous National Forest

Parts of the California Sierra remain so rugged and remote that there are still opportunities to experience the landscape much as it was 100 years ago, and there's no better route back in time than the 87-mile Sierra Vista Scenic Byway through the Sierra National Forest. This is a great detour to make time for if you're undertaking an epic road trip through California's National Parks, as it lies between Sequoia Kings Canyon and Yosemite. And in this case, the journey will be as magnificent as either destination.

This route follows a "U" shaped series of roads, looping from North Fork along Minarets Road, to return on Beasore Road to the shores of Bass Lake. While the 2020 Creek Fire burned much of the Minarets Road section, this is where the best views are, looking across shimmering bodies of water Mammoth Pool and Redinger Lake toward the massive crags of the Sierra. Those views are as grand as ever, and it's fascinating to see how quickly nature rebounds from fire, with greenery springing up everywhere. Vista points like Mile High Overlook let you see both the ravages of fire and the resilience of nature, giving you a snapshot of this moment in California eco-history. You'll learn about pioneer history, too, and even get the chance to order up a slice of pie that tastes just like what the pioneers would have eaten 100 years ago.

This route touches the heart of California, as it takes you close to the state's geographical center point as you embark from North Fork into the wild. But even if your goal on this road trip is to get away from humanity and bask in nature, don't skip the Jesse Ross cabin, a gloriously well-preserved time capsule built by a miner in the 1860s. Ross hewed the logs for the structure by hand, and stacked the stones for the fireplace chimney. The cabin is so inviting you'll want to move right in and start panning for gold yourself. It was common practice historically for resourceful homesteaders to use newspapers as wallpaper, for the insulation factor, and you can still read headlines the home's residents affixed to some of the walls.

Mile High Overlook gives you views of Mammoth Mountain, the craggy Minarets, a scattering of the Sierra's signature granite domes, the artificial lake of Mammoth Pool, and the San Joaquin River valley. There's a picnic area, but refrain! You're en route to pie. 

A short stretch of the road is unpaved up ahead, but right at the end of that section you'll be rewarded with a stop at Globe Rock, a marvelous, spherical rock formation perched on a narrow natural stone pedestal (pictured). The pic may be lost to history, but legend holds that Teddy Roosevelt had a photo of himself taken here, so you should take a selfie, too.

Along the Beasore Road stretch of the Byway, you'll find Beasore and Jackass meadows (named not for jerky humans, but the male donkeys miners used to cart their gear). In spring and summer, these are a riot of wildflowers, but picturesque all year.

What's an all-American road trip without a stop for a slice of pie? When you're ready for some victuals, the rustic Jones Store is a must-do, and you've finally arrived. This entirely off-grid country store and eatery, operated by the Jones family since the 1880s, is as quaint as they come. You'll grab your soda pop out of a vintage fridge, and sit at a picnic table with a red and white checked cloth gazing up at the mountains while tucking into one of their famous burgers, and a slice of the day's pie buried under a mountain of whipped cream.

You might be on your way to Yosemite, to visit the iconic, soaring granite Half-Dome, one of the most dangerous national park hikes in the country, but you can make a detour off the Sierra Scenic Byway to hike up a similar if smaller formation, the Fresno Dome, to a sweeping viewpoint. At just 1.6 miles round trip, this is more of a leg-stretch than a full-on hike, but the effort-to-reward ratio is positively off the charts. You'll see forested slopes, with the jagged, snow-topped Sierra looming above, and if you luck onto a clear day, you can see all the way to the coastal range 100 miles away. These are Yosemite-level views without the Yosemite crowds.