buttermilk country loop

This is a great area to visit in Bishop. Its offers amazing views over the valley and of the mountains surrounding and is one of my favorite spots to visit. Its nice for hiking, bouldering, exploring, and just relaxing. The first time I visited I found a waterfall to eat lunch at and now I hike around there frequently.

Beautiful trails and great bouldering opportunties; for kids and adults. Very quiet and vast; relaxing and invigorating...

Took the loop about 3/4 around. The last portion was just too rough. We have encountered many out back roads that have suffered form water erosion. The view from the high point is fantastic. The day we were there it was windy enough that we did not get out of the SUV. And I don't mean breeze. Without the wind and road it would have received four circles instead of three.

The Peabody Boulders in the Buttermilks west of Bishop are not your average, garden-variety stones. About 55 feet tall, the gigantic Grandpa and Grandma Peabody (once a single boulder) are two of the world's largest, and present challenging problems to even the most advanced climbers.Since the last boulder I scaled was "Big Rock" back in high school, we came to the Buttermilk Country just to look up at the remarkable rocks. Arriving early to catch the morning light, we hiked the short but steep, decomposed granite trail through the boulder field. At the top of the trail, we scrambled around on the frictiony surface of the quartz monzonite, and marveled at the views of the radiant Sierra Nevada range.The big, bad boulders of the Buttermilks receive 3 stars for their extreme girth and brilliant setting. Even though I didn't do any bouldering myself, the Peabody Boulders deserve another star for their world-class climbs. Next visit, I will bring chalk and a crash pad.

This loop travels towards the Sierras from the beautiful town of Bishop, California. It is especially nice in the fall when the leaves are showing their fall colors. The Sierras have quite a few spots that are known for their fall shows and this is one of the best!

First, the climbing rocks are world class. As an artist and wood turner, the Tule Elk shed antlers along with the occasional deer antler make for some great finds that become interest points on furniture.In the upper area, there is a hidden stream, as well as a hidden waterfall that is down in a hidden ravine. You can be standing 40 feet from the edge, and not know it is there. But when the summer temps are well over 100°, down in the ravine, near the pool, its a cool 70s. The water is a crisp 50s, and so refreshing. There is some gold dust in the stream, but you'll work hard for a mere gram. Better to spend your time hiking.

Buttermilk Country includes a dirt road into the heart of the Buttermilks a world renowned rock climbing area. We don't climb but love the hiking opportunities and spring "hunting for sheads", trying to find elk horn sheads in the numerous ravines coming down from Mt. Tom.

The helpful tourist-office lady suggested this road but we headed up at sunset and found ourselves driving on a rocky path back at night...OK, the boulder mountains and snow-covered peaks in the near distance at sunset were beautiful.

Scenic drive, ending into Lake Sabrina, North Lake and South Lake, beautiful lakes and creek, with a lot of fish, and areas where you can launch your boat. Worth driving and seeing!

This place is well known for bouldering, but rest assured: as someone who intends never to boulder in her life, I love the Buttermilks. You can make it through the Buttermilks, a short ride from Bishop, with a sedan, but SUV with 4WD is optimal. It's great for a switch from the mountains we hike -- less of a challenge, but equally beautiful in its own way.

When I was younger, this was one of my favorite places. Now, tourists have trashed the place. Trash, people everywhere. So sad.

This is a wonderful place. Also it's one of the country's leading bouldering sites. Great place for hiking or snowshoeing or Nordic skiing. The locals don't often hike here in the summer because it's hot and the rattlesnakes like this area. For photographers, it's fabulous. The best lighting would be in the early morning. Named Buttermilk because there used to be a dairy here and teamsters would stop for a drink of buttermilk. The dairy was owned by Mr. Inman. His son, Joseph Inman, went on to become state senator and also head up the Chinese Exclusion League.