18 Best Hotels in The Sierra Nevada, California

The cabins at this resort a 10-minute drive south from Mammoth Lakes range from rustic to modern and come with fully equipped kitchens, including coffeemakers and premium coffee. The least-fancy feel like upgraded fishing cabins, and the nicest have whirlpool tubs and other creature comforts. In addition to the 28 cabins, three houses are available for groups of 12–32 people. Whichever room you book, the valley here is so gorgeous that you may want to spend all your time outdoors. Winters are especially pretty.

On the edge of the John Muir Wilderness Area, where cross-country ski trails lace the woods, this 1924 lodge looks like something out of a snow globe. The lake it borders is serenely beautiful, and during warm months fishing, canoeing, hiking, and mountain biking can be had right outside. For more privacy, opt for one of the cabins, which range from rustic to downright cushy—many have kitchens and fireplaces or wood-burning stoves. The softly lit Lakefront Restaurant (reservations encouraged) serves outstanding seasonal cuisine.

A stay at one of the region's largest hotels puts you amid the wilderness with all the creature comforts—from the striking lobby lounge, with its high windows and sturdy beams, to the ample lodge rooms where baths have granite countertops and brushed-bronze fixtures. An additional 19 buildings hold 53 cottage rooms with outdoor seating areas and gas fireplaces, and there are 50 deluxe, custom-built, creekside cabins as well. The resort restaurants offer everything from continental cuisine to burgers, pizzas, and pastas.

On a hill just steps from the Village at Mammoth, the Westin provides full-service comfort and amenities close to restaurants, entertainment, and free public transportation. Artwork and other details reflect local character, from a Devils Postpile sculpture at reception and the lobby's slate floors to the reclaimed boulders in the Whitebark restaurant. Choose from studio or one- and two-bedroom units—most are pet-friendly and have fireplaces and either kitchenettes or full kitchens; some units have balconies. Additional perks include a heated pool, underground parking, fitness center, two whirlpools, a ski valet, a free shuttle, and charging stations for electric cars.

Across from the Village at Mammoth, this family-run hotel (with rooms and a couple of cabins) offers basic comforts and a few niceties such as attractive pine furniture. All rooms have fresh color schemes, contemporary bedding, ski racks, refrigerators, coffeemakers, and flat-screen TVs, and some rooms have fireplaces and kitchens. The pool is a nice touch in summer. Best of all, you can walk to shops and restaurants, including the on-site Petra's. In business for over 50 years, the owners also run the downstairs Clocktower Cellar pub. The Village Gondola is across the street, a major plus for skiers.

With a location near Highway 41 (the main route to Yosemite), Fresno State, and a big mall, this well-run hotel is popular with families, businesspeople, and parents with offspring at the university. The rooms, done in bright oranges and yellows, have perky-patterned rugs and curtains, flat-screen TVs, free Wi-Fi, and good-size bathrooms. An outdoor pool, a hot tub, and a modest fitness center are among the amenities.

Perched on 11 hillside acres, Oakhurst's best motel has carefully tended landscaping and rooms with stylish contemporary furnishings and hand-painted murals of Yosemite.

Every room at this two-story motel has a patio facing a sun-dappled grassy lawn, right on the banks of the Kaweah River; individually decorated cottages and cabins across the river have private outdoor spaces with barbecue grills. Accommodations are simple and well kept, and the lodge sits a mere ¼ mile from the park gate. Book well in advance.

Built to cater to the film industry, this lodging in the center of town consists of a 1923 hotel—where John Wayne, Gene Autry, and other Western-movie greats stayed—and a late-1950s motel, where rooms (many of them updated in 2023) are more spacious. Both buildings have access to a pool and are within walking distance of just about everything in town. 

This former antiques store and car garage landed in the right hands with the Rose family, who transformed it into a boutique hotel for those on a hostel budget. Designed with community in mind, there are plenty of common spaces, including a kitchen; picnic area; and lounge with games, books, and a fireplace for winter nights. Rooms are spotless and modern, including the bunk rooms for hikers seeking refuge from the Pacific Crest Trail. Among the lodging options are seven private rooms, five family rooms, four bunk rooms, and one apartment suite. In summer, an airstream is set up, offering pastries to go with your free coffee served daily from 6 to 10 am.

Amid the trees near Yosemite National Park's Hetch Hetchy entrance, this sprawling property is perfect for families. The cabin complex includes a recreation center, playground, amphitheater, large room with games for all ages, restaurant, gift shop, pool, and activities desk where you can sign up for more than 30 guided tours. The cabins are wood-paneled and cozy. The roadhouse-style restaurant serves everything from bean burgers to barbecued game and lobster risotto. The historic bar has a friendly feel, perhaps owing to the frequent live music. Multinight stays are required from April through October, as well as on holidays. You can also stay in two- to four-person tents in summer.

This two-story property has 7½ attractively landscaped acres and a big swimming pool. The sizeable rooms have king- and queen-size beds, robes, baths with granite countertops, mini-refrigerators, and free Wi-Fi; some have fireplaces.

Tops for slope-side comfort, these condominium-style units have full kitchens and ski-in, ski-out access to the mountain at Eagle Lodge. Extras include gas fireplaces and balconies; the heated outdoor pool—surrounded by a heated deck—is open year-round. If you like to be near nightlife, you'll do better at the Village, but if you don't mind having to drive to go out for the evening, this is a great spot. For the best rates, book ski-and-stay packages through 1800–Mammoth. 

Cottages, enormous rooms, and landscaping that includes several shaded sitting areas set this motel apart from its competitors in town. It's also off the highway by a few hundred feet, which means it's peaceful as well as pretty. The cottages lack the main building's lake views; some have kitchens and can sleep up to six.

Surrounded by 12 acres of green lawns and a split-rail fence, the Lazy J is a modest compound of one-story motel buildings and freestanding cottages near the banks of the Kaweah River. Some rooms have gas fireplaces; all have coffeemakers.

If you want to be within walking distance of the Mammoth Mountain Main Lodge, this is the place, and, in summer, the proximity to the gondola means you can hike and mountain bike to your heart's delight. Accommodations, which vary in size, include more than 14 room types, from standard hotel rooms to condo units. The inn, ski lodge, and other summit facilities are likely to be razed and rebuilt within five years, bringing more of a 21st-century ski resort feel to what's been a quaint 1950s-born resort. Meanwhile, the inn has done a respectable job with continual refurbishing.

This full-service resort has it all—Old Mammoth rustic elegance, a restaurant, bar, seasonal pool and whirlpool, and room and suite options in three buildings. All accommodations have flat-screen TVs, free Wi-Fi, mini-refrigerators, and microwaves; some also have gas fireplaces, leather lounge chairs, soaking tubs, waterfall showers, and kitchenettes. The 10 cabins sleep anywhere between two and six people In late 2022, new owners remodeled extensively, adding a rustic-modern flare to the rooms.

With their exposed timbers and peaked roofs, these four-story condo buildings at the epicenter of Mammoth's dining and nightlife scene pay homage to Alpine style. Units have gas fireplaces, kitchens or kitchenettes, high-speed Wi-Fi, DVD players, slate-tile bathroom floors, and comfortable furnishings. You won't have to drive anywhere: the buildings are connected by a ground-floor pedestrian mall to shops, restaurants, bars, and—best of all—a gondola (from November through mid-April) that whisks you right from the Village to the mountain.