4 Best Bars in The Sierra Nevada, California

The upscale lounge at the Sierra Nevada Resort is where locals gather for happy hour by the fire. 

Nearly 30 beers on tap and more than 50 by the bottle—plus 160 whiskeys and an extensive pub menu—ensure plenty of variety at this lively gathering spot across from the Village Gondola. Open for three decades, this underground bar is the best spot to go for an extended après-ski. Be sure to look up at the hundreds of bottle-cap tops pressed in the ceiling by beer-consuming customers.

Sip mai tais at the tiki bar at Lakanuki, which is in the Village near the gondola. If you're looking for DJs and dancing, this is the closest thing to a nightclub you'll find in Mammoth. 

A combination wine bar, tasting room, and small inn, this popular hangout on a bluff above the Fresno River serves about 100 wines by the glass or flight, plus microbrews and imported beers. Live music plays Thursday–Saturday nights in summer.