Black-and-white photograph of a small white church with a narrow steeple beneath towering, sunlit Sierra Nevada peaks, with dark desert foothills and sparse vegetation in the foreground.

Benton Crossing Church and the Eastern Sierra

October 15, 2026

The Benton Crossing Church, commonly known as the Little Green Church, stands at the junction of U.S. Highway 395 and Benton Crossing Road, south of Mammoth Lakes, California. Built in 1954, the small church served a local Presbyterian congregation until the mid-1980s. It was subsequently used by the Sierra Nevada Aquatic Research Laboratory for educational activities. Although no longer an active place of worship, the building remains a recognizable Eastern Sierra landmark, framed here by Mount Morrison and the rugged peaks of the Sierra Nevada.