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Mammoth offers plenty of activities to keep families busy |
On a recent trip to Mammoth Mountain in Mammoth Lakes, Calif., my family and I stayed at the Mammoth Mountain Inn. Although the inn is somewhat removed from the town of Mammoth Lakes, there is so much to keep families busy that they almost never have to venture from the resort.
In the summer, Mammoth Mountain turns into a haven for mountain bikers and, as the snow melts away, a maze of bike trails cut into the dirt of the ski runs are revealed and Mammoth’s gondola begins to carry bikers, rather than skiers to its peak. At the Adventure Center, which offers a bevy of activities in addition to mountain biking, clients can buy tickets for scenic gondola rides, ziplining, a climbing wall and bus journeys to Devil’s Postpile National Monument.
Since we were visiting with our two small children, we had planned a relatively tame weekend. Although we could have taken turns mountain biking and watching the kids, my husband and I decided just to take short hikes around Devil’s Postpile, where visitors can follow a short path to the monument, swim in the river and hike up to Rainbow Falls. We also thought we would ride the gondola to the top of Mammoth Mountain and check out the new Interpretive Center.
However, when we got to the Adventure Center, Ava, our 2-year-old, ran straight to the zipline, where there was a line of older kids – all at least over 4 – waiting their turns. She watched enviously as the kids zipped down from a 20-foot platform, and I knew she wanted to climb up there and go herself. As I was leading her away, a woman came over and told us that Ava wasn’t too little to ride the zipline, and before I knew it, she was in a harness and a helmet and running to the ladder. With the utmost determination and more patience than I have ever seen her display, Ava negotiated the step ladder all the way to the top of the platform, waited her turn and then zoom….off she went!
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Afterward, she headed straight for the climbing wall and 10 minutes later, she was hanging 25 feet in the air, at the very top, smiling for a picture.
www.mammothmountain.com
