Swansea-Cerro Gordo Road
Owens Lake / Inyo Mountains (near Lone Pine & Keeler) · near Lone Pine / Keeler · Eastern Sierra
Off-Road
At a glance
- Skill level
- advanced
- Size
- ~20-mile loop over the southern Inyo Mountains via the Cerro Gordo ghost town
- Best season
- Spring and fall · Summer is hot at the base, cooler on the ridge · Winter snow possible up high
Permits and booking
- Permit
- Mix of BLM and Inyo National Forest land; the Cerro Gordo townsite is PRIVATE property under restoration — do not trespass; check current visitation/tour arrangements. High-clearance 4x4 required. Remote: carry water, recovery gear, and tell someone your plan. No services.
What is here
- Terrain
- mountain-4x4 · overland
Worth knowing
- Good for a first timer
- No
Off-Road detail
- Nickname
- The Ghost-Town Ridge Traverse
- Vehicles
- 4x4-jeep · overland
- Signature routes
- The Swansea grade · Cerro Gordo ghost town
- Intl tip
- The route is near Lone Pine and Keeler on Hwy 395 — the same Eastern Sierra hub as the Alabama Hills (this guide and the climbing guide), Mt. Whitney, and Death Valley to the east. Lone Pine has services and the Film History Museum. Confirm Cerro Gordo's current visitation status before planning to stop at the townsite.
The guide
The Swansea-Cerro Gordo Road is one of the Eastern Sierra's great historic 4x4 traverses — a demanding loop that climbs the ste…
In the Guidebook
Everything above is yours for free. The written guide to Swansea-Cerro Gordo Road — what it is actually like, and what we would tell a friend before they went — comes with the Guidebook.
Getting there
- Coordinates
- 36.538, -117.806