Big Pine Creek offers some of the best trout fishing this side of the Mississippi—or at least in the Eastern Sierra. From downtown, drive west on Crocker Avenue, which becomes Glacier Lodge Road; as you ascend into Big Pine Canyon you'll find many spots where you can pull over and fish the creek. The 11-mile route to the Big Pine Trailhead climbs to an elevation of 7,800 feet, passing a number of campgrounds along the way.
From the trailhead at Glacier Lodge, the north and south fork trails provide access to a chain of spectacular backcountry lakes. The trail to Palisade Glacier, the southernmost glacier in the Western Hemisphere, is a challenging 9-mile, 5-hour hike; the glacier is also visible from US 395.
Klondike Lake, 3 miles north of Big Pine, is a prime locale for such summertime recreation as water skiing, jet skiing, windsurfing, kayaking and swimming.