Mammoth Lakes / Sherwin Bowls
Mammoth Lakes · near Mammoth Lakes · Eastern Sierra
Backcountry Skiing
At a glance
- Vertical
- 2000
- Best season
- January–May · Mammoth's deep snowpack extends the season · Spring corn skiing into May or June
Permits and booking
- Permit
- Most Mammoth backcountry: Inyo National Forest, no permit required. Some zones adjacent to Mammoth Mountain resort may require navigating resort boundaries. Sherwin Creek Road: accessible by car, free parking. Mammoth Lakes Visitor Center for current conditions.
Worth knowing
- Gear you must bring
- Beacon · Probe · Shovel · Skins · Helmet · Navigation
- Gear worth bringing
- Airbag pack · Ice axe for Mammoth Crest objectives
Guides, rentals and operators
- Guides
- International Alpine Guides · Golden State Guiding · Blackbird Mountain Guides
Backcountry Skiing detail
- Nickname
- Eastern Sierra Backyard Touring
- Directions note
- Access from Sherwin Creek Rd or Old Mammoth Rd pullouts depending on line
- Ates
- challenging
- Tour types
- day-tour · sidecountry
- Summit
- 11053
- Approach
- Varies: Sherwin Bowls (3 miles RT from Sherwin Creek Rd) · Mammoth Crest (5–8 miles RT) · Duck Pass (8 miles RT)
- First timer with guide
- Yes
- Guide recommended
- Yes
- Avi zone
- Eastern Sierra Avalanche Center · esavalanchecenter.org
- Signature lines
- Sherwin Bowls · Mammoth Crest · Tele Bowl / Bardini Chutes
- Intl tip
- The Eastern Sierra in winter is one of California's most striking seasonal landscapes — the Owens Valley floor visible from every Mammoth backcountry ridgeline, the White Mountains rising to the east, the Sierra crest stretching north and south. Mammoth Lakes as a town has matured significantly — the Limelight Mammoth (opened 2025-26 season) is the area's first five-star property. The summer bike park (covered in the MTB guide) and the Owens Valley paragliding scene (covered in the paragliding guide) make Mammoth a complete multi-sport destination.
The guide
Mammoth Lakes is the hub of Eastern Sierra backcountry skiing in a way no other California mountain town matches. The combinati…
In the Guidebook
Everything above is yours for free. The written guide to Mammoth Lakes / Sherwin Bowls — what it is actually like, and what we would tell a friend before they went — comes with the Guidebook.
Getting there
- Coordinates
- 37.61, -118.97