High Sierra Jeep Adventures

We were at June Lake and looking for something to do. It was a little hard to get ahold of someone on the phone. Seemed like it was his cell phone or something. But if you don’t get them right away, don’t give up — it’s worth it.
We had 3 adults and 4 kids. So there were 2 jeeps, one guide. He drove the lead jeep and we took turns driving the other. It’s not crazy off road stuff but it’s pretty legit. Mostly trails but a couple fun hills and some rougher terrain. Incredible way to experience the valley and surrounding area. Seemed like a good value for what we paid too. Tip — Jeeps have only a bikini top on them. Makes the experience better, but it can get cold, windy and little dusty. So dress accordingly.

Ian brought 7 of us around for a tour. The tour was amazing. He took us to see a huge variety of different sites, vistas and areas. Amazing way to see the area. Hugely recommend. He offered to drop us off at a hike and pick us up later, which is another great option to get to remote hikes in the area. Thanks, Ian!

Booked this tour solely because of the stellar reviews (and my daughter’s love of dogs!) and we were truly blown away. Ian and Hi were the best guides you could hope for on a tour like this. Kindhearted and very knowledgeable. Ian tries very hard to meet your interests and give you a real appreciation of the area. Hi is as mellow and lovable as any dog could be, and Ian was the epitome of ‘coolness under fire’ as we had actually broken a driveshaft at one point, and Ian just converted from 4 wheel drive to 2 and we never missed a beat. An amazing guy (and dog!) we can’t wait to see again! Many thanks Ian, from our family to yours!

This is an absolute must do if you’re in the June Lake area. My husband and I are avid off road enthusiasts and he surprised me with a High Sierra Jeep tour as an awesome anniversary gift.
Ian and Hi (the K9 guide) were in incredibly knowledgeable about the area and tailored our time to see what we were interested in. Ian took us to see some of the most incredible fall color you could imagine and was a downright awesome guy (he even stopped to rescue a baby buddy from the middle of the highway on our tour to be sure it was safe! Talk about a stand up guy…)
We can’t wait to take our son next year and can’t say enough about what a cool business Ian and his crew have going here. Can you give it 6 stars?

My wife and I are very experienced Jeepers, but we’ve never been to June Lake before. Although we certainly could have blindly explored the Mono Lake area on our own, we knew we’d get more enjoyment out of the trip by kicking back, relaxing, and letting Ian and Hi lead us to all the best spots.
Our timing couldn’t have been better, since October is the peak of autumn colors. With that in mind, Ian led us to several backcountry areas where we were able to experience much better views and little-​seen areas than the tourists who stick to pavement completely miss out on. Knowing that we are history and geology buffs, Ian explained some of the area’s history, from ancient Indians all the way up to recent political battles as he led us along aquaducts, through Indian lands, up the mountains and down around Mono Lake. Ian picked great rest stops, and our picnic lunch was at a beautiful mountaintop overlooking a volcanic crater. We took in wonderful views the entire day and collected pumice and obsidian from the many volcanos as souveniers. It’s amazing that such a remote area could have such an impassioned history.
Whether or not you are currently an offroad enthusiast, you definitely will be one after going on your own High Sierra Jeep Adventure. The Jeeps are well-​built and –maintained, comfortable, and overly capable for the admittedly modest levels of terrain difficulty. These backcountry tours aren’t about extreme rockcrawling but rather experiencing the beauty of Mother Nature in a fun new way — anyone with a driver’s license will have no trouble taking these Jeeps out on these trails.
Hikers who can handle the rugged terrain and high altitude have plenty of opportunities to enjoy the surrounding area; High Sierra Jeep Adventures is for the rest of us, no matter our physical condition or time constraints. In one morning or afternoon trip (or a full-​day trip, which we highly recommend!) Ian will show you more than you could see in a week of hiking. High Sierra Jeep Adventures operates with oversight by Mono County and the United States Forest Service. They run the tours in an ecologically sustainable way, while Ian and his crew fight to keep public lands open to the public so we can all enjoy Mother Nature for generations to come. We’re definitely glad we chose to go on a full-​day tour, and we plan to return again to explore some of the other trails with High Sierra Jeep Adventures.

My wife, myself and our two boys ages 6 and 8 booked a half day tour with Ian middle of August 2014. We’ve been coming to June Lake for a few years, and I have to say this tour was the most fun we’ve had in June Lake to date. The Jeeps are custom built for off road use, drive great and are comfortable. Ian lead the way in one Jeep and we followed in the other. Our custom tour included vulcanoes, great views and crossing water. I highly recommend this tour!

My son and I spent a very enjoyable morning with Ian and Hi a couple of days ago and had a wonderful time. As other reviewers have noticed, Ian customizes each trip based on your desires, and he picked a very cool trip for us as well. We spent time checking out some volcanic craters, checking out the blast from the obsidian eruption, and tooling next to high meadows. There was also a nice mix of off road driving for city slickers such as myself.
Ian (the guide) and my son hit things off famously, and after a time, my son decided to ride in the other jeep with Ian and Hi. They apparently had a good discussion of geology and the different types of rocks they were seeing, my son just having learned about different types of rocks in 4^th grade science class.

The boyfriend and I took a nice, romantic trip to Mammoth Lakes and wanted to try something fun and exciting. Since it was his birthday, I knew it had to be something right up his alley. I came across High Sierra Jeep Tours and called them to get more info. I spoke to Ian and told him that we were interested in a day tour. Here is where it took a turn for me. Instead of saying, «ok, great» he said «you know, why don’t we start off with a half day tour and see if you like it. Some people can only take half a day of riding, so we will give it a try and if after 4 hours you want to continue, we can». What to the what? Honesty! How refreshing!
We met Ian and Hi (coolest dog ever!) early Sunday morning, discussed our options for the tour (so many options!) and we were on the road by 9:15a, Ian in the jeep ahead of us. We visited the Old Log Cabin Mine which was amazing, took an awesome ride around Mono Lake and stopped for the incredible view and then headed back along the Pioute Reservation. All the while, Ian was giving us amazing information and history! And, driving the Jeep was one of the the highlights for my off-​roading enthusiast boyfriend’s birthday! By this time, our 4 hours were up! We wanted more, but because we had a long drive back to LA, we vowed to come back and do the day tour!
We kept saying to each other «this is one of the best things we have ever done!». The views were breathtaking, the history was interesting and Ian and Hi’s company made it all so fun! We were planning our return trip on the drive back to LA!
Seriously, you HAVE to do this Jeep Tour. You will NOT regret it!

The wife and I have been visiting June Lake for the last 7years and this is by far one of the best experiences we’ve have had while visiting. We always come to fish but wanted to mix it up with something new. This is EXACTLY what we were looking for.
Ian, Fletcher and Hi met us promptly at the resort with the two awesome jeeps ready to roll. There are a number of different tours to choose from and we opted for the old log cabin mine. After a run down of the instructions for switching into to 4 wheel drive with the jeep, we loaded our cooler, backpack and camera and headed out with the wife at the wheel.
Fletcher, a native of June lake lead the way out of town in one jeep and we followed in the other. He was very knowledgeable of the area and would share his knowledge over the CB from his jeep to ours. I learned so much about the area that I never would have had we not done this.
Probably the best thing about the excursion is that it’s free flowing. You want to stop and take pictures, just stop and do it. Want to stop and have a drink from the cooler… do it… it’s your excursion and Ian and Fletcher totally accommodate.
We went up the mountain, which was very cool and exhilarating. Neither of us are off road experts and the wife handled it like a pro. Stopped at the mine and got out to explore it for a while. Then he took us to the top of the mountain and gave us a gorgeous view overlooking mono lake. From there went back down and headed into Lee Vinning where we stopped for lunch at the Mono Cone. Great burgers! Then Fletcher took us along mono lake for some more off-​roading. We crossed creeks that came up to the jeep’s doors, got squirrelly in the sand and then drove along grant lake in the water!
I could go on and on about this being one the best kept secrets in June, but you’re going to have to check it out for yourself. All I can say is that you won’t be disappointed!!! It’s a must do!
Thanks Ian and Fletcher for a fantastic time and being so layed back.
We will see you again next year for a new adventure!
Trent and Adrianne

We have been visiting June Lake for over 15 years and cannot say how happy we are to have experienced the High Sierra Jeep Adventures! Ian and Hi (His dog) took us on such an adventure of a lifetime… We saw graffiti written from the Basque sheepherders over 100 years ago on the trees and their artwork, it was amazing to see their drawings and you could only imagine from so long ago the conditions they endured.
We drove through an area where many trees had fallen onto one another, it was eerie to see them all lined up, it occurred during a localized cyclone due to altitude and weather patterns. We saw things that we never could have imagined seeing in June Lake. Ian was the perfect tour guide. We were able to drive a jeep and he would radio us in with the commentary on what we had just driven through. It was such fun, I cannot wait to go back and take another Jeep tour! THANK YOU IAN and HI, we had a fabulous time.

Coming from someone who visits June Lake almost every year throughout my life, this is one of the most fun and educational ways to spend half of a day in the Eastern Sierras. Ian, our tour guide, and his awesome pup, Hi, take you one of 8 tours of your choice. (We took the volcano tour). 3 friends and I had no idea we were about to get a Wrangler of our own when we signed up for the tour, so we all had a chance to drive the rugged off-​road backcountry of June Lake and Mammoth Lakes. Ian knows a lot about the history, geology and the landscape of the surrounding area. He taught us about the volcanos and their role with the Native Americans and obsidian, early settlers and the mountain ranges. I definitely can’t wait to go back and take another adventure with Ian and Hi. The Jeep tour is a great way to do something exciting and out of the ordinary; you get to see the back country of June Lake and also feel like a total bad-​ass driving a rugged Jeep. So do it, you won’t regret it.
Cheers Ian and Hi! Thanks again.