A major skiing centre, Mammoth Lakes lies just west of Hwy-395 in one of California’s most geologically active regions, the largest earthquake ever known in the state occurring here in 1872. The US Forest Service Visitor Centre (http://www.fs.fed.us/info/) has the facts on recreational pursuits in the area – in summer, mountain-biking is becoming as popular as hiking – and explains the causes of the locale’s earthly fidgets; the Mammoth Lakes Visitors’ Bureau (http://www.visitmammoth.com) is another handy source of tourist info.

Fourteen miles further on, at the end of Hwy-203, the Devil’s Postpile National Monument – an extraordinary collection of neatly arranged hexagonal basalt columns, formed as molten lava cooled and smoothed and polished by passing glaciers – can be reached by taking the shuttle bus from Mammoth Ski Centre car-park and completing an easy 1/2-mile trail.