Bike riding in the Eastern Sierra is fantastic. We do have hills, but there are a multitude of great moderate rides around guaranteed to leave you warm and woolly without doing any permanent damage to your body or soul. Of course, we also have some advanced rides. You decide.

Mammoth Mountain Bike Trail Map (285k)
Town Bike Trail Map (250k)

Bike Rentals

Road Biking

There are miles and miles of roads to ride on around the Mammoth area. You drove 350 miles of one to get up here. Traffic isn't usually heavy, but what traffic there is goes FAST. Try one of these other road rides.

Easiest Ride in Town
Drive up to Horseshoe Lake and park. Ride DOWN Lake Mary Road, on and on and on and on. You can go all the way to the Sheriff's substation along highway 395 without touching the pedals. About eight miles.

Another Easy Short Ride
Mammoth has a partially constructed hiking/bike trail around town. The best part starts at the community park next to the Stove restaurant (actually across the street, but park in the park parking lot). Pick up the paved trail next to the bridge over Mammoth Creek and ride downhill into Sierra Meadows. This isn't very long, only a mile or so, but is one of the prettiest rides around. There is a rest area with a picnic bench near the bottom. The views from here are spectacular. Moderate uphill back to the parking lot.

Scenic Loop
Ride up from town to the Scenic Loop, then another 8 miles to HWY 395. Rolling moderate terrain with a 500' gain and loss. Then you can ride back along HWY 395 to make a loop, or just ride the Scenic Loop back. Light traffic.

June Lake Loop
Moderate 25 mile round trip with a 900' elevation gain. Begin at Oh! Ridge and ride west all the way to HWY 395, then ride back HWY 395 or turn around reverse course. Nice ride.

Ride to Red's Meadow
This is a classic ride. Completing a round trip from town will make you a HARDMAN. About 25 miles round trip with elevation gain and loss you wouldn't believe. It is also a fantastic ride with fantastic views. During the summer, a shuttle operates between the Mountain and Reds Meadow, cutting down the number of cars on the road. To do it right, begin at Grumpy's in town. Don't drink any beer beforehand, however. Ride up to Mammoth Mountain, up to Minaret Summit, and down, down, down to Red's Meadow Resort. Eat lunch. Then ride back up, up, and up to Minaret Summit, then down back to Grumpy's. Now you can have a beer if you want to because you deserve it.

Benton Crossing Road
You can ride this road all the way to Nevada if you want to. This is a nice winter season ride. The road is usually clear, and the views are spectacular. And if you get tired or lazy you can stop at the hot tubs. Park at the green church at HWY 395 and Benton Crossing Road, then ride east as far as you want to. The first ten miles or so are almost flat, so this is a good speed training ride. There really isn't an opportunity to make a loop out of it, so you will have to ride back the same way, but the view will be different coming back. The really adventurous riding a mountain bike could take one of several dirt roads to the right and circle Crowley Lake back to Gorge Road, and back to HWY 395, or ride all the way to Bishop along a dirt road. This would be a long day.

Ride to Hot Creek
About 12 miles round trip from town. This is a really nice Mammoth ride. You get to see a variety of different flora and fauna, from forest to desert. Probably best done when it isn't too hot, and earlier in the day before the wind comes up. The ride to Hot Creek is almost all downhill or flat. Ride down HWY 203 to HWY 395, then go south on the highway to the Hot Creek turnoff and ride on out past the fish hatchery on the paved turning to dirt road. A nice alternative is to ride out old Mammoth Road to the dirt road through Sherwin Meadows, following it down to HWY 395, then south on the HWY for a short distance to the Hot Creek turnoff. The road through Sherwin Meadows begins just past the bridge over Mammoth Creek on Old Mammoth Road. Turn left and go past the Sierra Meadows Horse ranch and follow that road to the HWY.

Upper Lakes Basin
Yes, it looks like a very long uphill ride, but it really isn't so bad. The grade is moderate, so you kind of get into a nice rhythm. Take it steady and easy and this is a great ride. And it is all downhill coming back. About seven miles round trip. You can circle Horseshoe Lake at the top if you are on a mountain bike, also ride up to Woods Lodge, circle Lake Mary, and have lunch at either Tamarack Lodge, Lake Mary Store, or Pokenobe Lodge. This is a classic Mammoth ride. Best done when there aren't too many people in town so the traffic isn't heavy. An alternative is to drive up to Lake Mary, park, and ride around. Nice for those who really don't want to do the uphill. But take our advice and ride up. About 8 miles round trip if you circle the lakes.

Ride to Bishop
You can ride almost all the way to Bishop without riding on HWY 395. You might think this is all downhill, but there are several serious uphill sections. Short sections, but you WILL remember them. From Mammoth, ride down HWY 203 to HWY 395, go south a few miles to the Crowley Lake Drive turnoff. on the right. Ride through Crowley Lake, to Tom's place. South of the Crowley Lake township is one of the uphill stretches. Grunt. At Tom's place, get back on HWY 395 for a mile or so to the Lower Rock Creek turnoff. Follow that road all the way to Bishop, through Round Valley. About 35 miles one way.

Tioga Pass
One of the classic HARDMAN rides, at least going up. There is a lot of spectacular scenery, and one very big hill to ride up.

Mountain Biking

If you want to do it for free, there are miles and miles of dirt forest service-type roads zig zagging throughout this whole area, with great rides everywhere. Some are marked out on the Mammoth Bike Trail Map, and many more are just there to do. There are also a few single track trails open to bicycles. One at Horseshoe Lake circles the lake. Check out Mountain Biking in the High Sierra, Guide 2 for detailed information. It is a real good idea to take a map wherever you go. Many of the forest roads can be very confusing and it isn't impossible to get lost for awhile. And remember that the Federal and State wilderness areas are closed to cycling. That means almost everything above town in the Lakes basin and beyond. Don't cause trouble for cyclists here after you by staying off those trails. There are hundreds of miles of roads and trails to ride without doing the illegal ones.

Mammoth Bike Park
Mammoth Mountain makes summer use of the ski trails, and it is spectacular. The thrill of riding the same trails you ski during the winter, the maintained single track routes, the world famous Kamikaze downhill, the Gondola ride BACK TO THE TOP, and a convenient snackbar and bathroom facilities make it great fun. There is a shuttle to take you up the hill from town available at the Coffee Grind, and a bike trail down from the park all the way back to down.

Lower Rock Creek Trail
Reputed to be the best single track ride around. The upper section is moderate, accessible to anyone who will ride carefully. The lower section requires advanced skills. If you ride the whole thing, you should arrange to be picked up at the bottom near Paradise Lodge. If you choose to ride back up you are looking at 2500 vertical. Take HWY 395 south to the Lower Rock Creek turnoff on the right. Park right there, the trail starts down at the creek. The first 3.5 miles are moderate, with about a 500' elevation loss. Cautious riders will want to stop after this section. Good luck to the rest of you.

Inyo Craters Loop
This is a good dirt road forest-type ride. Moderate 10.5 mile ride on dirt road with a 500' elevation gain. The route is marked with trail signs, but you might want to take a map, because there are many intersecting roads in the area. Take the Scenic Loop road a couple of miles out of town to the Inyo Craters turnoff. You can either park there, or drive a short distance along the dirt road to a parking lot. Follow the direction signs. The Inyo Crater is a big tourist attraction, and is a nice thing to see.

Big and Little Smokey Loops
From HWY 203 near MacDonalds, follow the sign to Shady Rest Park. Park there and look for the trail signs. Wide open flats and rolling sage covered hills, and forest. There are actually a lot of roads in this area, some moderate, some easy, and some not easy at all. This is a nice part of Mammoth, accessible earlier in the spring because of it's lower elevation. If you stray off the marked roads, you may want to take a map.