Mono County stretches along California’s Eastern Sierra, where a long north–south road corridor, high mountain valleys, broad basins, lakes, and desert-edge communities fit inside one unusually shaped county. US 395 is the easiest line to follow on the map. It connects the Mammoth Lakes area with Lee Vining, Bridgeport, Walker, and Coleville, while US 6 serves Benton and Chalfant farther southeast. The three maps on this page focus on county boundaries and roads, the location of the county’s ranked major city, and the waterways and terrain that define much of the region.
High-resolution JPG versions are also available in the download package below. That makes the page useful both for quick on-screen reference and for printing, classroom work, trip planning, or comparing Mono County with nearby parts of California and Nevada. The article stays within the material actually supplied in the package: a county map, a city map, and a terrain-and-water map. It does not invent a separate elevation map or add measurements that are not shown.
The county changes noticeably from north to south. Walker and Coleville sit in the northern valley near the West Walker River, Bridgeport occupies another broad valley farther south, and Mono Lake becomes the dominant landmark in the middle of the county. South of the lake, June Lake and Mammoth Lakes sit close to the Sierra Nevada, while Benton and Chalfant lie well to the east in a more open basin. Reading the maps together makes those contrasts much easier to understand than a simple list of place names.
Table of Contents
County boundaries, US 395, and the main road network
The general county map shows Mono County’s long, tapered boundary together with the roads and communities that help orient the reader. US 395 is the dominant route on the western side of the county. From the south it runs past the Mammoth Lakes area, then north toward Lee Vining, Mono City, Bridgeport, Walker, and Coleville. US 6 follows a different path through the southeast near Benton and Chalfant. State routes branching from those highways include SR 203 near Mammoth Lakes, SR 158 around June Lake, SR 167 near Mono Lake, SR 270 east of Bridgeport, SR 182 near Bridgeport, SR 108 in the north-central part of the county, and SR 120 near Benton.
The relationship between the roads and the county boundary is important. Along the west, the boundary follows the rugged Sierra side of the county, and US 395 stays just east of many of those mountain areas. Most of the familiar communities line up along or near that corridor. The eastern boundary reaches toward Nevada and is much straighter, with fewer labeled settlements. Benton and Chalfant form the clearest southeastern cluster along US 6. This contrast helps explain why a route that looks short across the county on a small map may still involve long travel around mountain terrain and basins.
From Walker and Bridgeport south to Lee Vining and Mammoth Lakes
Starting in the north, Coleville and Walker sit close together along US 395. South of them, Bridgeport becomes an important reference point because several roads meet in or near the valley. SR 182 heads east, and SR 270 runs toward the Bodie area. Twin Lakes is labeled west of the main highway. Farther south, Mono City and Lee Vining appear along the western side of Mono Lake, giving the large lake a clear relationship to the road corridor.
Continuing south, SR 158 loops toward June Lake, and SR 203 leads toward Mammoth Lakes. These roads serve a different landscape from the open eastern side of the county: they sit close to steep Sierra terrain and numerous lakes and streams. Benton, by comparison, lies well east of US 395 where SR 120 and US 6 meet. Chalfant is farther south on US 6. Looking at all of these places on one map makes it clear that Mono County is not organized around a single compact urban center; instead, communities are spread along separate valleys and highway corridors.
The city map highlights Mammoth Lakes
The city map takes a deliberately simpler approach. It identifies Mammoth Lakes as the one ranked major city in the supplied city index and shows its position within the full county outline. The purpose is not to compare many cities or calculate distances between them. Instead, it gives a clean visual answer to a basic question: where is the county’s principal incorporated city relative to the rest of Mono County? Mammoth Lakes is in the southwest portion of the county, close to the Sierra Nevada side and far from the long northeastern tip.
Using Mammoth Lakes as a reference also clarifies the scale of the county. Bridgeport, Walker, and Coleville are much farther north, while Benton and Chalfant sit to the east and southeast. The general county map is better for roads and community names, but this simplified city map is useful in presentations, school projects, or overview graphics where too many labels would be distracting. It keeps the county outline visible while emphasizing the location that many visitors know best.
Mono Lake, the Walker River system, and southern lakes
The terrain-and-water map shifts attention away from highways and toward valleys, streams, and lakes. In the north, the West Walker River and East Walker River are clearly labeled, along with the Little Walker River and smaller tributaries. Bridgeport Lake occupies the broad Bridgeport area. Shaded terrain shows steep mountains along the western side and around many river valleys, while the water lines trace the lower paths between ridges. This makes the northern part of the county much easier to understand than it would be from road lines alone.
Mono Lake is the largest and most obvious water body in the central part of the map. Lee Vining and Mono City lie on its western side on the road map, while the water map emphasizes the basin and the streams descending from nearby mountains. South of Mono Lake, Grant Lake and June Lake appear near the Sierra edge. Convict Lake is farther south, closer to the Mammoth Lakes area. River Spring Lakes and Antelope Lake are shown farther east, illustrating that the county’s water features are not limited to one mountain corridor.
In the southern part of the county, Owens River and Rock Creek are prominent labels. Their paths sit within a landscape of mountain fronts, broad valleys, and many smaller tributaries. The northern Walker River system, the enclosed Mono Lake basin, and the southern Owens River area are different drainage settings, so the county cannot be understood as one continuous river valley. This map is meant for geographic reference and terrain context. It should not be treated as a flood map, navigation chart, parcel map, or legal source for water rights or property boundaries.
Choosing the best map for travel, study, or printing
For route planning, begin with the county map and locate US 395. It provides the clearest framework for understanding how Mammoth Lakes, Lee Vining, Bridgeport, Walker, and Coleville relate to one another. If the destination is Benton or Chalfant, US 6 becomes the more useful reference, with SR 120 connecting toward the western side near Benton. The map does not show live road closures, winter conditions, or drive times, so current transportation information should be checked separately before a trip.
For a classroom or report, the city map works well when the goal is simply to locate Mammoth Lakes inside the county. The terrain-and-water map is better for explaining why the landscape changes so much from place to place. Mono Lake, the Walker River branches, Bridgeport Lake, June Lake, Convict Lake, and Owens River can all be discussed without crowding the page with every road label. Because each map emphasizes a different kind of information, selecting the one that matches the question usually produces a clearer result than trying to use one map for every purpose.
Download high-resolution Mono County JPG maps
The ZIP below contains three high-resolution JPG files corresponding to the maps used in this article: the county boundary and road map, the ranked city map, and the terrain-and-water map. These originals are larger than the WebP previews used on the page, making them more suitable for printing, zooming, or preparing teaching and presentation materials.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which road is the best starting point for understanding Mono County?
US 395 is the most useful starting point for the western side of the county. It links the Mammoth Lakes area with Lee Vining, Bridgeport, Walker, and Coleville. For Benton and Chalfant in the southeast, US 6 is the clearer reference.
What are the main water features shown on the terrain map?
Mono Lake is the largest central landmark. The map also labels the West Walker River, East Walker River, Little Walker River, Bridgeport Lake, Grant Lake, June Lake, Convict Lake, Owens River, Rock Creek, River Spring Lakes, and Antelope Lake. The map is for geographic reference, not flood or legal-boundary analysis.
What is included in the downloadable ZIP?
The archive contains three high-resolution JPG files matching the maps on this page: the county boundary and road map, the Mammoth Lakes city-location map, and the terrain-and-water map.
Map File Information
Download the three high-resolution JPG maps for Mono County in one ZIP archive.
- File Type: 3 JPG files in one ZIP
Related Maps
Sources and references
- U.S. Census Bureau TIGER/Line Shapefiles – official geographic boundary and transportation reference data.
- USGS National Hydrography – official hydrography reference for rivers, streams, and water bodies.
- USGS 3D Elevation Program – elevation data useful for understanding the shaded terrain background.
- Mono County, California official website – county government and regional information.
- California State Parks – Mono Lake Tufa State Natural Reserve – official information about Mono Lake and its protected landscape.
Green Map creates custom-edited map images using open geographic data sources such as geoBoundaries, Natural Earth, OpenStreetMap, and government open data.
These maps are edited visual materials, not raw data files, and are provided for education, documents, presentations, and graphic reference.
