It is traversed by U.S. Highway 395, which connects Bridgeport and the East Walker River on the north side of the pass to Mono Lake and Lee Vining to the south.

[3][4] Geographically, it was formed from an upland plateau by the sinking of the land in the Mono basin area.

[5] The Sawtooth Ridge of the eastern Sierra Nevada, topped by 12,279-foot (3,743 m) Matterhorn Peak, rise to the west of the pass; Green Creek and Virginia Lakes, in the Sierra Nevada to the west of the pass, are two local destinations for fishing, camping and aspen trees.

The Conway Summit Area of Critical Environmental Concern (ACEC), managed by the BLM, "offers some of the most accessible and spectacular fall color viewing areas anywhere in California.

"[citation needed] The backdrop is formed by 12,000 foot peaks of the Ansel Adams Wilderness and Yosemite National Park.