Howdy, from the San Fernando Valley

[illazilla]

Old to MTBs but new to EMTBs. Been riding for many, many moons. Lived in Mammoth/Bishop for over 30 years of mountain biking. Recently relocated to the San Fernando Valley, got a job wrenching at a bike shop here. Just picked up a Rail 7 and am absolutely loving it.

 

[levity]

Welcome to the SoCal scene, @illazilla ! ?

Mrs levity and I are heading to your old stomping grounds, Mammoth Lakes, next week. We’ll be camping at Twin Lakes. We had fun riding at the Mountain Park last summer, even riding uphill on our Levos. We also rode the Inyo Craters loop and did some exploring. Any trails you recommend outside the bike park? The Mountain View Trail looks good.

 

[illazilla]

Mountain View is good, when you get to Minaret Summit you can follow the fire road there north to San Joaquin Ridge. It's not very technical, being a road, but the view from the end of the road is great. That trail is called Hardcore.

Mammoth Rock Trail starts not to far from Twin Lakes and goes East along the side of the set of mountains known as the Sherwins. You take Old Mammoth Road down from the lakes, follow it for a couple twists, the trail starts off to the right on a hard left hand turn that has a turnout. This trail will take you back to Old Mammoth Road, close to Vons. Any local bike shop should be able to give you better directions and hopefully a map. There are also a few old pirate (unsanctioned/illegal) trails with varying levels of maintenance between the lakes and Mammoth Rock.

If you can, check out June Lake. There are a few local trails over that way, and a lot fewer people. The only problem there is that you will need to hit up some locals for directions once you are there. If you get there in the morning stop by my favorite coffee shop, The Lift, it's on the left once you are in town. They should be able to point you in a good direction. If you are there in the afternoon find June Lake Brewing, you won't be disappointed. The owner is a very big part of the mountain biking community. There is also a hawaiian food truck in their parking lot, Ohana's, which is a true locals favorite.

 

[levity]

Thanks for the tips on Mammoth riding! Won't have time to visit the June Lake area this trip, will have to return.

If you're on FaceBook you might check out the SOCAL E-mtb Group.
(I quit FB back in 2016, but the group can provide local ride info for ya)

 

[levity]

Hey @illazilla !

Just returned from three fun-filled days at Mammoth. We didn't have time to check out the Mammoth Rock trail, but we enjoyed the Mountain View trail - fast going down! I'll post a couple of pics in the Pic of the Day thread.

We also took advantage of the the fact that the Devil's Postpile Shuttle wasn't running which opened up the Starkweather Lake trail and the paved road to bikes. The Starkweather trial and Lake were beautiful with no one around (see photo). However, it was a zoo at the Postpile so we didn't stop there. With schools closed and folks "working from home" , Mammoth was the most crowded I've seen it.