Welcome To Eastern Sierra Mountain Biking; if you’re looking for a unique place to go for a Mountain Bike adventure, then you need to check out the Eastern Sierra Region.
From Traditional Mountain Bikes to the new Mountain E Bikes, there are countless opportunities to ride here.
You will find everything from single-track action to motocross trails to OHV trails to forest service roads that lead deep into the back country.
During the Summer months, you also have access to the massive trail network at the Mammoth Mountain Bike Park.
There is nothing like getting a lift to 11,000 feet and riding down 3000 vertical feet of dirt single rack trails. If you’re on say a Turbo Levo you can then bomb back to the Main Lodge and do it all over again without bonking out.
During most years, there are only a few days when you can’t find a place to ride in the Eastern High Sierra and the Northern Owens Valley. If you’re into Mountain Biking, we hope to inspire you to come up and ride in our unique location.
This website is here so you will know where to ride, what the current trail conditions are, and what to expect from the local weather on your next Mountain Bike Trip to the Eastern Sierra.
We cover most of what you can ride at the Mammoth Mountain Bike Park, in the Inyo National Forest, and in the Bishop and Big Pine areas. There are miles and miles of biking to be had up here.
While you will find a lot to ride on this website, there are countless roads and off-shot single tracks that are not mapped or marked that you will discover as you investigate this area on your Mountain Bike.
During most years, there are only a few days when you can’t find a place to ride in the Eastern High Sierra and the Northern Owens Valley. If you’re into Mountain Biking, we hope to inspire you to come up and ride in the Eastern Sierra some time soon.
*Please note this website is a work in progress. We are working on this site full-time now; look for all the main area pages to be done soon. Fresh videos and photos of what to ride will be rolling out around mid-June, with a new video expected weekly.
Current Trail Conditions as of June 1st, 2023 @ 2 PM – As of this update, the available mountain biking has opened up all the way up into the Shady Rest and the Mammoth Knolls areas. Everything from Shady Rest down to Bishop is ready to ride.
The current snow line is around the 7500-8000 feet level. Any place below the 8000-foot level that gets direct sun is melted out. At the 9000-foot level up to the 11,000-foot mark, about 10-30 feet of snow remain.
Trail and Dirt Road Conditions out there are dry unless you’re near any creek, stream, or river, as a massive runoff is taking place, with many areas flooded along waterways. A perfect example is the lower section of Lower Rock Creek Trail, which has about a 100-foot-long section that you must walk through water about 8-10 inches deep.
Numerous sections of erosion on local trails and dirt roads have occurred from the massive winter that came through the area in 2023. Every time we go out to ride, there is an effort to throw rocks, sticks, and debris off the trail. Do what you can if you’re out and about and see trail debris from the winter.
Right now, the best trail to ride in the Mammoth area would be The Knolls Loop on a traditional Mountain Bike or EBike. Or ride out Sawmill Road and do the Big or Little Smokey Bear Loops. This is a bit of sand, but it is not bad yet. Try an E Mountain Bike on this route, and you will find you can power right through the sandy sections.
When I checked a few days back, the Inyo Crater Loop and Single Track area still snowed in, but the snow was melting out fast.
Down at Toms Place, you can do the Sunny Slopes / Upper Gorge Ride, there is some sand, but it’s not bad yet. Mountain Bikes and Mountain E-Bikes are the call on this route.
Lower Rock Creek is in good shape, however, do use extreme caution going downhill on this trail, there are a large number of hikers using this route since all the upper-elevation hiking trails are under snow at this time.
Down out of Bishop, all of the OHV trails and side single-track routes are now open up in the Buttermilks. In West Bishop, the roads and motocross trail’s you find have some good riding. Just watch for some big-time eroded sections. Those erosion sections make for some fun technical riding, for sure.
The classic Black Rock Canyon Road climb is crazy right now. I saw some images of locals who had to carry their bikes through some long boulder sections to get to the Polleta single-track downhill. So it’s doable, but only for the insanely fit, and I would not want to have to carry a heavy e-bike over those rocks, so beware.
Silver Canyon is washed out in spots and closed to 4 x 4 traffic. The USFS told us you can still ride up the road on a mountain bike. Do beware that all those river crossings this route has are large at this time.
Mammoth Mountain Bike Park: Word from the Bike Park staff is there is no set date for opening the bike park due to the extreme winter of 2023. With the record snowpack, operations will be cut back this season. It will likely be mid-August before all the trails from MC Coy station down can open. I will keep you updated as I hear any news about the Bike Park.
Ride on Snowman Out… 🙂
