Sarah WallockPublished January 2022
Mountain life is often romanticized.
Just imagine: you’re in an adorable log cabin with a warm fire crackling in the background. A litter of small huskies runs around the living room and there’s mulled wine and tacos for dinner. Snow is fluttering down outside the window. Looks like a dream, doesn’t it?
What that image doesn’t show you is that you have to shovel excessive amounts of snow to maintain your apartment, use incredible care to ensure your car is safe to drive, experience unexpected power outages, and stay inside cooped up during whiteouts.
Before living in Mammoth Lakes, I had never lived in a mountain town. Well, I lived in Queenstown, New Zealand which has the lifestyle of a European mountain town but no snow on the ground. So, it was my training wheels for Mammoth!
Living in Mammoth Lakes definitely has a learning curve. There are parts of it that I adore, and other aspects that get on my nerves. But overall, each day I am impressed by the accessibility to nature and outdoor sports. For any outdoor sports enthusiast, this is one version of paradise.
Mammoth Lakes is literally just steps from world-class snowboarding and backpacking!
My first day riding Mammoth Mountain was profound. Snowboarding on sheets of ice and manmade snow in New Zealand was a great trial run for an operation of this size. But man, Mammoth is just massive. There are 25 lifts and 175 runs across 3 main lodges. I’ve barely scratched the surface of what the mountain has to offer. In addition, there’s a whole cross-country and backcountry system of trails I have yet to explore.
In the summer, the world famous Pacific Crest Trail is in operation, from Mexico to Canada, and hikers go straight through Mammoth Lakes. I’m inspired and perplexed by the thru-hiking community and I look forward to learning more about these expeditions this summer. Additionally, access to the Lakes Basin is just 10-minutes from my house. A pre or post-work paddleboard, trail run, or bike ride among stunning lakes is a unique and coveted experience.
Whenever I second-guess my path that lead me to Mammoth Lakes, it is this reason alone that I need no reassurance that I moved somewhere wonderful. Like in New Zealand, sometimes I would get really sad about the prospect of leaving the country. One of the major reasons I wanted to stay was due to the backcountry network of trails and huts.
There’s a wholesome sense of community
In a town of 8,000, very quickly you start to recognize familiar faces. I’m lucky to have found and sought out various communities here that I feel apart of.
There is no traffic
This is a huge deal to me!! Like such a big deal! I am fortunate that, living in Mammoth, I spend less than 1 hour per day getting around town. I aspire to live in a walkable city or town because personally, I think it impacts my mental health in a very positive way.
Yesterday, I walked home from Mammoth carrying my snowboard. I could have taken the free bus and sat with 20 people crammed in. But instead, I was able to notice the houses, the way the snowmelt changed, and breathe the mountain air. That moment of solitude was one of my favorite parts of the day.
Everything is within a 10-minute drive
AGAIN, super important to me! Traffic is bad… but I’m also not a fan of being in the car. I love being on my feet and spending time outdoors. If you have to drive an hour to get to nature, is it really worth it? At this stage, I’m prioritizing my proximity to nature above all else.
It’s quiet compared to city life
I think anyone who lives in a town more populated than 8,000 people would tell you that Mammoth is quiet. Or for city folk, too quiet. This tranquility is something I adore about Mammoth. I love living on a cul-de-sac with no traffic. I love seeing the trees outside my window instead of dirt, grime, traffic or too many neighbors.
This isn’t to say Mammoth is always quiet, which leads to my next point that:
Living in a tourist town does have its difficulties…
As someone who’s grown up in a tourist town, I am used to a lot of the impacts of tourism. In Santa Barbara, we always knew which weekends to hunker down and avoid downtown. Or which restaurants we could only go to on weekdays. Sometimes when people complain about tourism, I just assume they’ve never experienced it before. They even act like they’ve never traveled themselves! But, I understand the pain, it’s complicated.
In Mammoth, during really busy spells of tourism I retreat to my house. I don’t want to go on a hike or down a snowboard run if the crowds are like Disneyland. But because I live here, I can wait for an uncrowded day to go for the hike or ride. But at the end of the day, I am a person. And I too get upset with tourists.
*By tourists, I mean, the disrespectful visitors that cut lines, leave garbage, and don’t show respect for the environment or others. But the regular happy-go-lucky visitor is welcome.
Lack of resources
When you randomly need a raincoat or a part for your car or a certain ingredient for a recipe… good luck. It’s honestly laughable at times when you think you need something, because living in Mammoth helps you realize if you actually NEED it or just want it.
There aren’t a diversity of restaurants
Living without thai food has been very difficult. We have Mexican food, classic American burgers and fries, and pizza. That’s about it for diversity of options. But, if you’re feeling very fancy, you can head to the deli section of Vons and see what the daily specials are. I am not joking.
Travel is difficult
Need to get home on a whim? Want to visit friends? Planning to go anywhere that’s not on the 395? You’ll need at least a whole day for it. Options are: drive to LA (6.5 hours without traffic or bathroom stops), drive to Reno and fly somewhere (3 hour drive), or open your computer and take a virtual tour of wherever you are curious about.
Living in the mountains is remote. In part, that’s what makes it so special, secluded and peaceful. But if you need to get somewhere, it is not easy.
Overall, I’ve really enjoyed living in Mammoth Lakes. This is primarily due to the accessibility to nature, tight knit community, and ease of getting around. As of now, all of the pros of living here outweigh the cons. Although winter and shoveling season are just getting started…
Update: After living in Mammoth Lakes, California for a little over a year, we ended up relocating to Boulder, Colorado. Learn about why we left Mammoth.
