4 Best Sights in The Sierra Nevada, California

A California state park, the museum has displays on gold-rush history including a replica hard-rock mine shaft to walk through, a miniature stamp mill, and a 13-pound chunk of crystallized gold.

The highlights of this museum dedicated to Inyo County and the Eastern Sierra’s history include photos and artifacts from the Manzanar War Relocation Center, Paiute and Shoshone baskets, and exhibits on the Los Angeles Aqueduct and mountaineer Norman Clyde. Be sure to visit the botanical garden and the outdoor exhibits as well.

For a dose of colorful foothills history, make a quick stop at this engaging local museum centered on two 1870s houses. Self-guided tours are available from dawn to dusk; museum visits are by appointment.

Hopalong Cassidy, Barbara Stanwyck, Roy Rogers, John Wayne—even Robert Downey Jr.—are among the celebrities who have starred in the hundreds of Western films shot in the Alabama Hills and surrounding dusty terrain. This marquee-embellished, 10,000-square-foot museum relates the Hollywood-in-the-desert tale via exhibits and a rollicking 15-minute documentary.