Even though the ghost town of Bodie, California is less the 40 miles from the Mono Mills site, the environment is completely different. Instead of the sagebrush covered hills of Bodie, there are towering Jeffrey and Lodgepole pines. In 1881 the trees were just what rapidly growing Bodie needed for housing timber, beams for 30 gold mines, and fuel for machinery and heating. It only took seven months to build a railroad from Mono Mills to Bodie. A small town grew beside the sawmill with two boardinghouses, 30 houses. and one store to support the 200 millworkers, railroad maintenance workers, loggers, mule teamsters, cooks and laundry workers. Like most mining towns Bodie had boom and bust years, but the railroad kept operating until 1917 when it was sold for scrap.
Today there's nothing left of Mono Mills except for rotting timbers and rail ties. There's a very nice kiosk with interpretive signs and a deck that overlooks the mill site.
The kiosk is accessible.
The parking area is large enough for any vehicle. Mill 37.88809, -118.96024
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