Druid Stones

The magical and mysterious Druid Stones

Description 

The intriguing Druid Stones sit above Bishop in the foothills of the Sierras just southwest of town. The approach is anywhere between 30 and 45 minutes up a fairly steep hillside, thus filtering out the crowds you'd see at the nearby Buttermilks or Happy Boulders, making it an ideal location on busy weekends and holidays.

Home to hundreds of boulder problems in the greater area, it's an area definitely worth checking out, with lots of potential higher on the hillside and to the south in a seemingly endless sea of granite boulders and outcroppings. Large boulders are found everywhere in the area and alongside the trail during the hike in. It'll be tempting to stop in many places and drop pad during the approach, but keep truckin' and you'll soon find a highly concentrated 'grove' of boulders with an abundance of classics surrounding the dominant and centralized Druid Stone. The rock is a coarse monzonite granite, the same as that found at the Buttermilks, so bring tape. Visitors will find that the view from the bouldering area is worth the hike alone, but since there are hundreds of massive granite boulders at your fingertips, you might as well have a go at some of them while you're there.

Getting There 

From US 395 (Main St. in Bishop) take W. Line St. west towards the Sierras. After a mile or so, take a left on Barlow Lane (south) and after about 1.5 miles bear right at the fork. The road curves west at this point. Make a left after you pass under the 3rd powerline onto a dirt road. Take your next right and maybe after mile or so park at the oval where the road ends. The trailhead is here. Take the obvious trail as it goes back into the wash then switchbacks left up around the hillside. Keep hiking, after 30-45 minutes, when the trail finally flattens out on the crest, look for the boulders on your left. There is a side trail into the boulders off the main trail marked by a small rock 'V' at the fork.

The Classics

Featured Route For Druid Stones

Thunder V3  CA : Sierra Eastside : ... : Thunder Wall

The line just to the right of 'Kredulf'. Start low on crimps and edges, make a move or two up to a small jug, and one more move will get you to the sloper on the lip. Top-out....[more]   Browse More Classics in CA

Photos of Druid Stones Slideshow

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Jeremy Freeman bustin' it on a steep, unnamed prob...	BETA PHOTO: Looking south at the Druid Stones, visible on the ...	The Druid Stone
Hiking out	Kipp Schorr at the Druid Stones	Don't forget to look around for new stuff while yo...
The Wave	Wandering up the giant west face of the Merlin Blo...	Evan with some air under his feet, West Face of th...
Moon over a trailside tree	The Druid Stones, on the horizon, seen from a ways...	From the trail, looking north up the Owens Valley,...
Miles of granite, south of the Druids	The Druid Stone and Golden Child, V9 on the left.	Hall of the Mountain Queens
Jason, Brian and someone I can't remember hiking b...