Copper Mountain

Copper Mountain rises to 9,452 feet on the north side of Lundy Canyon in the Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest, its ridge lifting above Mono Lake just north of Lee Vining. It's less a hiking trail than a backcountry route — a rough dirt road climbs the ridge past the remains of a 19th-century copper and gold mining operation, with Mono Lake and Lundy Lake stretching out below.

The Route

The road up Copper Mountain is documented as an 8.1-mile high-clearance 4x4 route, rated easy but rocky and narrow in sections, with a high point around 8,274 feet. It's reached via Virginia Lakes Road off Highway 395 near Conway Summit, and is best driven June through September, once snow clears the upper switchbacks. Stock SUVs with moderate clearance can manage it, though low-range gearing helps at altitude. The same ridge track works for mountain bikers and hikers comfortable with a long, exposed grade and real route-finding — this is not a signed, maintained trail. Views open over the Mono Basin and down into Lundy Canyon, with dispersed camping along the way.

An Old Copper Camp

The mountain's name comes from real mining history: 19th- and early 20th-century operations here included the Goleta Consolidated Mines, which ran a 40-stamp mill above workings that included a 65-foot shaft with a 56-foot winze, plus separate tunnels driven as far as 1,200 feet into the mountainside. Old workings and tailings still mark the upper slopes. Admire them from a distance — abandoned mine shafts and adits in the Sierra backcountry are unstable and unmarked.