DESTINATIONS CALIFORNIA | THE US
WHERE TO STAY
Death Valley: First opened in 1927, The Inn at Death Valley has delightful wood panelling and mosaic tiling, and an air of being an oasis of calm in the desert. The photogenic pool (pictured), Spanish mission-style looks, date palms and views of the Badwater Basin build the romantic vibe. A Standard Hillside King Bedroom costs from $319 in summer 2020.
oasisatdeathvalley.com
FROM LEFT: Emerald Bay, Tahoe Bay; Mount Whitney; Sierra Nevada
PICTURES: Visit California/Myles McGuinness, Max Whittaker, Carol Highsmith, Christian Heeb; Michel Verdure; Bryan Thornhill; Shutterstock
The giant sequoia trees of
Mariposa Grove are more quietly intimidating, their sturdy red trunks rising 60 metres above the forest floor
If this is exploration, the Tioga Pass feels like conquest. It can be closed any time from late October to early June, depending on when the snows hit, and snowploughs can spend weeks trying to clear it for the new summer season. It climbs high across the Sierra, past mountain lakes and stellar lookouts, before descending through the forests into Yosemite National Park. Most of the highlights here are concentrated
in Yosemite Valley – the towering vertical rockface of El Capitan, the triple cascade from a great height of Yosemite Falls, the shimmering reflection of Half Dome in Mirror Lake – but it’s also where the crowds are packed in. Farther south, the giant sequoia trees of Mariposa Grove are more quietly intimidating. Their sturdy red trunks rise 60 metres or more above the forest floor, their branches bigger than the trunks of most other trees. To say the monster trees in these parts
were a boon for the timber industry is a major
travelweekly.co.uk
understatement, and the Sugar Pine Railroad was once used for transporting the wood from the valley below. Now, it’s purely for tourists – steam trains run along the tracks, choo- chooing along at a genteel pace as the scent of pine wafts through the carriages. Turning back north over the Sierra, it’s time for a change in novelty transport from steam train to paddle wheeler. The Dixie II plies its trade on Lake Tahoe, the second-largest alpine lake in the world. It’s not a cruise you want to go overboard
on. The water, while seductively blue, is extremely deep – over 500 metres in parts – and dangerously cold. It pours in from a multitude of streams and rivers in the surrounding mountains – some of which host ski slopes, some pine forests, some just bare rock and remnant snow – and will never reach the sea. Put together, though, it’s extraordinarily beautiful. And that’s even more the case when the Dixie II enters the fjord-like Emerald Bay, star of a zillion photographs. As a last stop before heading for San Francisco, there’s something about the scene that encapsulates the entire experience of this road trip. It’s astonishingly beautiful, and doesn’t feel anything like the images of California we tend to have engrained. Going round the back way paints the state in a whole new light.
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Mammoth Lakes: Opposite the shops, restaurants and mountain gondola of the Mammoth Lakes Village, the Westin Monache Resort has impressively spacious rooms, plus a host of innovative extras. These include heated pools, free ski shuttle and storage and ‘date night’ deals where childcare is provided while parents dine. Studio Suites start at $186 in October 2020, including a $25 resort fee.
marriott.com
Yosemite: The Pines Resort is almost a village in itself. Accommodation is in chalets and wooden lodge-like suites around Bass Lake, where boating, kayaking and fishing are all options. Sunsets on the decking are tremendous, the pool is enormous and on-site Ducey’s restaurant is excellent. Chalets range from $129 in low season to $349 in summer, and Suites from $189 to $449.
basslake.com
Lake Tahoe: The Hotel Becket (pictured) is a short walk from the lake, and opposite Heavenly Village, the site of plenty of dining options and from where the main gondola heads up to the Heavenly ski resort. It’s a motel, but one that has had a rather cool minimalist makeover. Doubles range from $99 in low season to $359 at peak times.
hotelbecket.com
21 NOVEMBER 2019
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