Bring your camera and plenty of film!
Bring binoculars to view the abundance of birds and wildlife!
Bring your camera and plenty of film! Most people run out of film half way through the tour. During the summer months please bring a BIG tie down hat and sun block. Mono Lake is over 6,000 feet in elevation. The sun is very intense and can cook you after only a few minutes exposure. Always bring a wind breaker if possible. Even though it may feel hot on shore, the lake is feed by water from snow run off and this can cool things down dramatically while boating. Bring a water bottle. Water is available at Tioga Lodge. You are welcome to bring your "well behaved" and leashed dog on this tour as most dogs enjoy the boat ride. Please do not leave pets in your car as they may overheat, depending upon the weather and wind conditions.
Bring binoculars to view the abundance of birds and wildlife. You will have an opportunity to see and learn about some of the millions of birds that visit the Mono basin area every year. Osprey, Gulls, Sandpipers, Wilson's Phalarope and Pelicans are but a few of the birds you may see.
Migrating waterfowl.
Mono lake alkali flys.
Osprey nest on tuffa.
A welcome pet on the tour.

A variety of wildlife native to the high desert live in the Mono Basin, including desert geckos, black tail mule deer, wild mustangs and Mono Lake invertebrates. You will be seeing many of the unique geographical formations of the Mono basin.

Mono Lake is set in the high desert east of the of the snow-capped peaks of the Sierra. This vast inland sea is more than 700,000 years old. The lake is dotted with delicate calcium-carbonate knobs and spires called tufa towers.

A calcium-carbonate tufa.

Brine shrimp.

 Brine shrimp and alkali flies thrive in water that is 2.5 times as salty and 80 times as alkaline as seawater, providing a feast for 70 species of migratory birds, including 1.5 million eared grebes, and huge flocks of Wilson's and red-necked phalaropes. A wide variety of ducks and shorebirds such as American avocets, killdeers and sandpipers also visit the lake. Mono Lake's eastern shore is a major nesting area for snowy plovers, and the lake's islands attract 50,000 California breeding gulls, their largest rookery in the state. The Mono Basin is a Western Hemisphere Shorebird Reserve Network site. This is a National Forest Scenic Area that was designated by Congress in September, 1984 in order to protect the natural and cultural resources of the Mono Basin.
Tom explains the historic Mono basin to the visiters.