Barcroft Station open house opens a new world in the White Mountains

It’s an open house. No, it’s a hike. No, it’s a nature walk.

Yes, it’s all these things, and they’re all in the White Mountains above Bishop, which don’t attract the same attention as their Sierra Nevada cousin across the Owens Valley.

On Aug. 7, you can do all three. First, take a journey to the Barcroft Station. This laboratory, a unit of the White Mountain Research Station, perches high above the timberline at 12,500 feet, at the end of 20 miles of dirt road sprinkled with boulders. The gate that usually bars access to Barcroft Station will swing open at 6:30 a.m. to allow hikers bound for 14,242-foot White Mountain Peak, California’s third tallest, an early start. It will close at 6 p.m. or earlier if the small parking lot fills up.

The open house will give you a chance to see what goes on at Barcroft Station and to learn from visiting scientists. They’ll be giving short lectures on natural world topics and issues (schedule to be announced in early August) between 10:30 a.m. and 4 p.m. Aug. 7. Self-paced tours begin at 9 a.m.

Another opportunity for a shorter hike will come Sept. 4 when the gate reopens for the day.

Info: Barcroft Station Open House, (760) 873-4344.