Events

Mono Lake Committee staffer standing with their back to Mono Lake talking to a tour group, tufa and scattered clouds are in the background.

Mono Lake South Tufa Tour

Join a naturalist-guide for a walk among strange tufa towers, bubbling springs, birds, wildlife, brine shrimp, and the behind-the-scenes story of the most unusual lake in California. This guided, one-hour walk includes hands-on activities, and an overview of the human…

Mono Lake Committee staffer standing with their back to Mono Lake talking to a tour group, tufa and scattered clouds are in the background.

Mono Lake South Tufa Tour

Join a naturalist-guide for a walk among strange tufa towers, bubbling springs, birds, wildlife, brine shrimp, and the behind-the-scenes story of the most unusual lake in California. This guided, one-hour walk includes hands-on activities, and an overview of the human…

Mono Lake Committee staffer standing with their back to Mono Lake talking to a tour group, tufa and scattered clouds are in the background.

Mono Lake South Tufa Tour

Join a naturalist-guide for a walk among strange tufa towers, bubbling springs, birds, wildlife, brine shrimp, and the behind-the-scenes story of the most unusual lake in California. This guided, one-hour walk includes hands-on activities, and an overview of the human…

Mono Lake Committee staffer standing with their back to Mono Lake talking to a tour group, tufa and scattered clouds are in the background.

Mono Lake South Tufa Tour

Join a naturalist-guide for a walk among strange tufa towers, bubbling springs, birds, wildlife, brine shrimp, and the behind-the-scenes story of the most unusual lake in California. This guided, one-hour walk includes hands-on activities, and an overview of the human…

Mono Lake Committee staffer standing with their back to Mono Lake talking to a tour group, tufa and scattered clouds are in the background.

South Tufa tours offered daily

The Mono Lake Committee continues our decades-long tradition of offering South Tufa tours this summer! Join us on your next trip to Mono Lake where a guide will introduce to you to the natural and human history of the Mono Basin. You’ll explore the fascinating geology of the…

Hundreds of small shorbirds bathed in golden light, in flight, on the shore, and in the water at Mono Lake in front of tufa towers.

7: The birds of Mono Lake

The Mono Basin is an oasis for hundreds of species of birds, many of which rely exclusively on alkali flies and brine shrimp for sustenance. The lake is critical habitat for California Gulls, Eared Grebes, and phalaropes. Learn more about…

Hundreds or alkali flies take flight from pupa.

6: A buffet of flies and shrimp

Mono Lake is like an all-you-can-eat buffet of flies and shrimp for the millions of birds that come here. Alkali Flies As you walk along the shore, you may notice swarms of alkali flies buzzing about, but don’t worry, these…

Yellow fog rises from Mono Lake, obscuring the darkened tufa towers.

5: Mono Lake’s unique water

Have you ever gone for a swim in Mono Lake? The lake is 2.5 times saltier than the ocean so you can easily kick back and float in the water. But why is this a salt-water lake? Because Mono does not…

About 60 people holding handmade signs supporting Mono Lake and the Mono Lake Tufa State Reserve cheering and waving and showing a lot of spirit and joy while standing on the small platform at County Park overlooking Mono Lake.

4: The water story

Where you stand now is the management level for Mono Lake—6,392 feet in elevation above sea level. One day, Mono Lake’s water will again reach this level, but ensuring this was a long struggle. In 1976, a group of researchers, including…

Shoreline of Mono Lake looking west towards the Sierra Nevada with tufa towers reflecting on the glassy lake and the sky is pink, purple, and blue.

3: Tufa

Examine the tufa in front of you. What does it remind you of? What does it feel like? Tufa—from the Latin tōphus, meaning “porous rock”—forms underwater. Underneath the lake there are fractures which allow calcium-rich spring water to seep through the…