Mammoth Lakes
Inyo National Forest · near Mammoth Lakes · Eastern Sierra
Gravel & Bikepacking
At a glance
- Difficulty
- intermediate
- Best season
- Summer–early fall (snow-free window)
What is here
- Terrain
- mountain
- Amenities
- Vast Inyo NF road/trail network · Lively Mammoth resort base · Volcanic & alpine scenery · Abundant high-country camping
- Best for
- Accessible high-altitude gravel & trail riding
- Features
- Huge high-country network · World-class trail scene · Lively resort-town base · Volcanic-alpine scenery
Worth knowing
- Hazards
- High altitude, thin air · Short snow-free season · Afternoon thunderstorms · Shared MTB/multi-use trails
- Good for a first timer
- Yes
Gravel & Bikepacking detail
- Ride types
- day-gravel · singletrack
- Surface
- buff
- Remoteness
- 2
- Riding
- A huge network of high-country forest roads and doubletrack in the pines and volcanic terrain around a lively resort town — buffed alpine gravel with a world-class trail scene
- Terrain note
- 7,000–9,000+ ft; buffed forest roads; thin air; deep winter snow
- Camping
- Yes
- Intl tip
- Lively high-Sierra resort town (~8,000 ft) amid a vast Inyo NF network of buffed forest roads and doubletrack — one of California's best high-altitude riding hubs, with a world-class trail scene. Approachable smooth gravel through pine and volcanic terrain, with Sierra and Long Valley Caldera views. Real altitude (7,000–9,000+ ft): thin air, short season, afternoon storms. Full-service town base and abundant camping. Buffed, scenic, endlessly connectable.
- Trip lengths
- day
The guide
Mammoth Lakes, a lively resort town high in the Eastern Sierra at nearly 8,000 feet, sits amid a vast network of Inyo National …
In the Guidebook
Everything above is yours for free. The written guide to Mammoth Lakes — what it is actually like, and what we would tell a friend before they went — comes with the Guidebook.
Getting there
- Coordinates
- 37.65, -118.97