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Buttermilk Country
Buttermilk Country, just west of Bishop, California, got its name from a simple tradition. Back in the early 1900s, a rancher would stop in the area with his dairy cows and leave jugs of buttermilk for local workers and passersby. The habit stuck, and folks started referring to the spot as “the buttermilk.” Over time, that turned into Buttermilk Country—a name that’s stuck around far longer than the dairy deliveries.
Today, it’s better known for its massive granite boulders, scattered like ancient dice at the foot of the Sierra Nevada. While climbers come from all over the world to tackle the area's legendary problems, photographers find their own kind of challenge and reward here.
The landscape is a ready-made composition: desert scrub and glacial boulders in the foreground, dramatic Sierra peaks like Mount Tom in the back, and a sky that always seems to be showing off. At sunrise and sunset, the light turns golden, giving the rocks a warm glow while the mountains shift through purples and blues. It’s a favorite for wide-angle shots, golden hour portraits, and even astrophotography, thanks to the clear skies and low light pollution.
In every season, Buttermilk Country offers something different—whether it's a snow-dusted boulder, spring blooms, or the dry, sun-bleached textures of late summer. It's a place where the Old West feel still lingers in the air, and every photograph tells a bit of that long, weathered story.
If you're already out there, several nearby spots offer even more of the Eastern Sierra’s variety:
Bishop Creek Canyon is just up the road and filled with alpine lakes, fall colors, and trailheads into the Sierra backcountry. Laws Railroad Museum, a few miles north of town, preserves Owens Valley history with original buildings and vintage trains. Keough’s Hot Springs, south of Bishop, has been warming folks since 1919—a fine stop after a dusty day outside. Owens River Gorge, north of town, offers dramatic rock formations and deep-water fishing holes. The Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest, east in the White Mountains, holds the oldest living trees on Earth, while the Volcanic Tablelands showcase stark beauty, Native petroglyphs, and even more bouldering.
Together, these places show how much range this quiet corner of California holds—from lava flows and pioneer towns to glacier-carved peaks and thousand-year-old trees. Buttermilk Country may have started with a jug of dairy, but today it’s a place where people still come to stop, breathe deep, and take it all in.
