A couple months ago, my family and I had the opportunity to enjoy a weekend at a cabin owned by some friends of ours, located in the Mammoth Lakes area (east of Yosemite). None of us ski; we were there to see some snow and escape the hustle of Long Beach. The natural beauty of the mountains and tall trees was a scenic departure from the hard edges and defined spaces of the city. It was a relaxing weekend with good friends and good food, with ample time for enjoying the view from the cabin.
However, when we did leave the cabin to explore we were surprised to discover that the secluded mountain town of Mammoth Lakes was not as sleepy as we’d assumed it to be. We found people walking along roadside trails cleared of snow by thousands of previous footsteps. Buses were as filled with riders and skis as they might be filled with bicycles in Long Beach or surfboards in Huntington Beach. Filling much of the space between the pine trees were two- and three-story residences, giving parts of the ostensibly alpine area a density comparable to that of Alamitos Beach. At the base of many of the ski slopes were dense mixed-use areas, urban villages offering everything from ski supplies to restaurants.
While according to official census data the population of the Township of Mammoth Lakes is less than 8,000, over 80% of this population is concentrated in the central portion of town, near the ski slopes and resorts. Additionally, the census population is misleading because it counts only permanent residents; according to the city’s tourism department, during peak winter season the population of Mammoth Lakes exceeds 35,000. These seasonal residents occupy over 8,500 rental units, as well as a large number of hotel rooms. Most of those residential units and hotels are concentrated in a four-square-mile area at the base of the ski slopes; as a result, at the height of the ski season the population density in this part of the town begins to approach that of Long Beach. While there are few tall buildings in Mammoth Lakes, there is no shortage of attached townhouses, duplexes, and triplexes. The single-family homes found in the center of the town are usually on small lots, no more than half the size of those typically found in Long Beach. With most housing located within a mile of a ski lift, residents can leave their cars behind. For instance, our cabin was less than a five-minute walk to the Juniper Springs Lodge and a half dozen novice-level slopes. Along most streets were meandering sidewalks set back from the road so that snow plows could build up artificial snow banks during the winter as they clear the streets. The trail-like design of these sidewalks evoked the forest-like character of the surrounding neighborhoods, with the result that despite the surprisingly high density of the area, an overwhelming sense of nature still predominated.
For those not within walking distance of their destination, nine local bus lines catered to residents and visitors. This bus service is largely seasonal but it works to reduce the need for redundant parking space, one of the most significant land-use issues facing cities in the United States. According to Donald Shoup’s article “The High Cost of Free Parking,” at least three parking spaces exist for each of the 230 million cars in the United States: this translates roughly to turning the entire state of Connecticut into a parking lot.
Perhaps the most striking example of urbanism I saw in Mammoth Lakes was the Village Lodge, a collection of four- and five-story condominiums situated over restaurants and stores. Encouraging pedestrian activity along the main road through the area were a half dozen shops, cafes, and bars, many with outdoor dining facilities—including a familiar favorite, the Auld Dubliner. The Village Lodge was clearly designed to take advantage of its environs, with a grand staircase leading up to a series of public plazas surrounded by additional commercial activity. The Village Lodge is, in effect, a transit-oriented development, given that over half of the bus lines in Mammoth Lakes have stops immediately adjacent to the project, and a high-speed gondola leading to one of the main ski areas originates from its central plaza.
The Village Lodge was built only in the past few years. Like other recent examples of architecture in the region its aesthetics are a little contrived, relying heavily on nostalgic images of Alpine lodges. Nonetheless, the urbanist vision behind the Village Lodge seems both genuine and effective, at least during the prime winter season. When swollen with seasonal residents, the town of Mammoth Lakes is a lively environment where one can arrive by car but then leave it behind. In a sense, we failed to “escape the city” when visiting Mammoth Lakes, but the urbanism of this secluded mountain town on the eastern slopes of the Sierra Nevada range was a pleasant surprise.
