Skip to main content

California State Route 158; the June Lake Loop

After returning to US 395 via CA 270 from Bodie I headed south towards Mammoth.  Along the way I detoured off of US 395 onto CA 158 which is known as the June Lake Loop.  CA 158 is a 16 mile loop route in rural Mono County to/from US 395.  Only the 3.5 southern most miles of CA 158 are kept open during the winter while the rest of the route closes for the winter.  I started CA 158 from the north terminus and headed south. 


Apparently the slab of asphalt behind the guide sign was once an alignment of US 395.


The views of the Eastern Sierras approaching Grant Lake are stunning, especially after a heavy winter like early 2017.



After crossing a small ridge CA 158 begins to run along the shore of Grant Lake.



CA 158 follows the shore of Grant Lake before descending through a small canyon to Silver Lake.





Approaching Gull Lake there is much more buildings and population alongside CA 158.


CA 158 enters the incorporated community of June Lake.



CA 158 runs along the south shore of June Lake (the lake, not the community).


CA 158 drops in elevation before reaching it's southern terminus at US 395.




I stopped at June Lake Junction for lunch since the deli has pretty good sandwiches.  I noticed a really exacting license plate in front of the deli that had a clear connection to CA 158.


 There was also a incredibly rate Cadillac Durango H2 present at June Lake Junction.


The drizzle I ran into over Tioga Pass earlier in the day finally caught up to me as I was taking photos of the Sierras from June Lake Junction.


CA 158 was originally unsigned Legislative Route Number 111 before the 1964 California Highway Renumbering.  CA 158 is essentially unchanged from the original alignment which was adopted in 1933 which can be seen on the 1935 California Division of Highway Mono County Road Map.

1935 Mono County Highway Map


The change from unsigned LRN 111 to CA 158 can be seen on the 1963 and 1964 State Highway Maps:

1963 State Highway Map

1964 State Highway Map:

From the north terminus there are four lakes on CA 158; Grant, Silver, Gull, and June.  Apparently all the lakes are sub-alpine and are fed from creeks emptying out of the eastern Sierras.  The section of roadway south from the north terminus of CA 158 was constructed during 1915 to Silver Lake for a hydroelectric project on Rush Creek.  The roadway from the southern terminus was built from June Lake Junction, past June Lake, to Silver Lake by 1924.  By 1927 there was enough people living at June Lake to warrant postal service.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Interstate 40's Tumultuous Ride Through the Pigeon River Gorge

In the nearly 60 years Interstate 40 has been open to traffic through the Pigeon River Gorge in the mountains of Western North Carolina, it has been troubled by frequent rockslides and damaging flooding, which has seen the over 30-mile stretch through North Carolina and Tennessee closed for months at a time. Most recently, excessive rainfall from Hurricane Helene in September 2024 saw sections of Interstate 40 wash away into a raging Pigeon River. While the physical troubles of Interstate 40 are well known, how I-40 came to be through the area is a tale of its own. Interstate 40 West through Haywood County near mile marker 10. I-40's route through the Pigeon River Gorge dates to local political squabbles in the 1940s and a state highway law written in 1921. A small note appeared in the July 28, 1945, Asheville Times. It read that the North Carolina State Highway Commission had authorized a feasibility study of a "...water-level road down [the] Pigeon River to the Tennessee l

Ghost Town Tuesday; Mannfield, FL and the stairway to Hell

Back in 2015 I went searching the Lecanto Sand Hills for the original Citrus County Seat known as Mannfield.  Unlike Centrailia in Hernando County and Fivay in Pasco County I did find something worth seeing. Mannfield is located in the Lecanto Sand Hill section of Withlacoochee State Forest somewhat east of the intersection of Citrus County Route 491 and Mansfield Road. Mannfield was named after Austin Mann and founded in Hernando County in 1884 before Citrus County Split away.  In 1887 Citrus County was split from northern Hernando County while Pasco County was spun off to the south.  Mannfield was selected as the new Citrus County seat due to it being near the county geographic center.  Reportedly Mannfield had as many as 250 people when it was the County Seat.  The town included various businesses one might include at the time, even a sawmill which was common for the area.  In 1891 Citrus County voted to move it's seat to Inverness which set the stage for the decline of M

The National Road - Pennsylvania - Great Crossings Bridge and Somerfield

West of Addison, US 40 crosses the Youghiogheny River at what once was the town of Somerfield.  When crossing the current modern two lane bridge, you many not realize that it is actually the third to cross the Yough at this site.  The first - a stone arch bridge - was known as the Great Crossings Bridge.  Built in 1818, this three arch bridge was part of the original National Road.  The name Great Crossings comes from the men who forded the Youghiogheny here - George Washington and George Braddock. (1)  If you cross the bridge at the right time, this historic bridge and what was once the town of Somerfield will appear out from underneath this massive man-made lake. Historical Postcard showing the 'Big Crossings' bridge and Somerfield.  Image submitted by Vince Ferrari. The Great Crossings Bridge was located in the town of Somerfield.  Somerfield, originally named Smythfield until 1827, would develop as a result of the National Road. (1)  Somerfield would go through va