Big Pine, California is located on the Highway 395. It is approximately 15 miles from Bishop, CA.
The hiking is in the Eastern Sierra Mountain Range. There is a popular for a reason hike known as the Big Pine North Fork. It will take you to seven lakes. Permits are needed for backpacking. They sell out quickly but lottery tickets are also available.
The road trip can be combined with a visit to either Mammoth Lakes or Death Valley National Park. Depending on time, you can make a whole route that starts in Las Vegas and goes through the Death Valley National Park. You can stop in Big Pine and then Mammoth. If it’s summertime, you can drive through Tioga Pass into Yosemite Valley. Spend as much as time as you need there. Then, drive to Monterey, CA.
If the highway one is repaired in time, you could drive down through Big Sur, California. If you pull this trip off, you would get much of what the Pacific Southwest has to offer! You’d get Vegas nightlife, desert floor, alpine mountain ranges, waterfalls, and gorgeous coastline.