Mammoth Mountain

Mammoth Lakes lies west of State Route 395. In The Trail Beyond, made in July 1934, the Eastern Sierras in California doubled for the Canadian Rockies. Mammoth Rock stands in for the "White Mountain" John Wayne is looking for, according to his treasure map. 

"That's White Peak all right! And according to this map, the mine's right below it", John Wayne claims right in this spot, in The Trail Beyond, even though he's actually looking at Mammoth Rock. 

In one exciting chase scene, the hero of "The Trail Beyond" dives from this clive at  Lake George.  This fast moving B-movie utilized the Mammoth Lakes locations and is packed with chases and stunts. The Mammoth Lakes Basin numbers six lakes.

This is the distinctive rock on the shore of George Lake from which John Wayne's character bravely dives in The Trail Beyond. This photo was taken in 2024. This beautiful natural spot remains unchanged after 90 years.

In this scene from The Trail Beyond, John Wayne and his co-star Noah Beery Jr. take a look-see around the shores of a lake, in seach for a treasure. This is Twin Lakes in the Mammoth Lakes Basin. 

The mountain range as seen from the same spot on the shores of Twin Lakes where the Trail Beyond scene with John Wayne and Noah Beery was shot, as they arrive on the shores of this Mammoth lake. They actually point to a lake below which in the next cut will be revealed as Twin Lakes, but seen from high above. A clear-cut case of Hollywood trickery in the editing room.

In the riding scenes in which John Wayne flees from a posse in The Trail Beyond, the dramatic peak of Crystal Crag appears in the background.

The rugged mass of rock is a recognizable landmark on the Mammoth Crest. Crystal Crag stands at 10,364 feet. In the chase sequences of John Wayne's The Trail Beyond, it was filmed to best advantage from the shores of George Lake. 

In the action-packed The Trail Beyond, John Wayne rescues a Mountie from going over a waterfall in a canoe. This exciting sequence was accomplished at the famous Rainbow Falls in the  Mammoth Lakes Basin.

Rainbow Falls hasn't changed one bit in the 90 years that have passed since John Wayne shot The Trail Beyond in this very spot. The colorful waterfall on Red's Meadow looks like nature put it there for filmmaker's use. 

Ten years after the B-movie The Trail Beyond, John Wayne returned as a full-fledged A-lister for Flame of Barbary Coast. In the scene when his cattle drivers take a break and the love-sick cowboy looks on when , that's TJ Lake in the Mammoth Lakes Basin.

The spectacular TJ Lake, movie location of John Wayne's Flame of Barbary Coast in 1945, lies at 9,290 feet in the upper Mammoth Lakes Basin, with a big view of the Mammoth Crest. 

Shortly before getting into Mammoth Lakes, turn left from highway 395 on Convict Lake Road. Convict Lake was the scenic background of the first moments in the spectacular western production How the West Was Won.

Convict Lake in California was the setting for the star-studded western How the West Was Won: James Stewart traded furs for a canoe on its shore.