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I'm going up the weekend of the 8th to do some DH and would prefer camping to hotelling...
Anyone know good campsites up there?
Thanks, IRMB
Anyone know good campsites up there?
Thanks, IRMB
Any Camping at Mammoth Mountain??
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There are several Forest Service campgrounds in the area. One at the entrance to town and a few up higher in the lakes basin.
Hey, dorkulak- you'd better check for snow first. They moved the upcoming NORBA race to Monterey because there's still snow up on Mammoth. Too much snow for DH. :ciappa:imridingmybike said:
Unless you're talking the 8th of September.
fp
At this point Mammoth Mtn is doing skiing until the 4th. That should give you an idea about the snow quantities. For skiing purposes they're currently reporting 3-5 ft.
Any open trails will be below the main lodge and over on the south side of the mountain.
Check out their trail site http://www.mammothmountain.com/events/?month=all#
As to camping - noprivate vehicles are allowed into the Postpile NM, unless you're camping or hauling stock(horses). Your best bet for camping will either be places like the Shady Rest or Sherwin Creek campgrounds. I'm not sure what the open status of the Lakes Basin campgrounds is. Give the Inyo NF visitor center in Mammoth a call on that one. There are also a couple of campgrounds between Mammoth & June Lakes - One of which is Deadman Creek. This area is free of snow - as I rode around there at the beginning of the month, and there are some marked bike routes in the area.
Any open trails will be below the main lodge and over on the south side of the mountain.
Check out their trail site http://www.mammothmountain.com/events/?month=all#
As to camping - noprivate vehicles are allowed into the Postpile NM, unless you're camping or hauling stock(horses). Your best bet for camping will either be places like the Shady Rest or Sherwin Creek campgrounds. I'm not sure what the open status of the Lakes Basin campgrounds is. Give the Inyo NF visitor center in Mammoth a call on that one. There are also a couple of campgrounds between Mammoth & June Lakes - One of which is Deadman Creek. This area is free of snow - as I rode around there at the beginning of the month, and there are some marked bike routes in the area.
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Mammoth almost always has skiing until July 4th, although sometimes it is just a few token runs.
The Shady rest campground is almost downtown, and more than a thousand feet lower than the main lodge. Good central location if you want to head into town for whatever, but not particularly scenic.
The campgrounds up the road towards the lakes are much more scenic, if they are open. A little higher and colder, of course.
Lots of camping down at Devil's Postpile, but private car traffic is limited on that road. During certain hours, the only way in or out is by shuttle bus, (with some exceptions, I believe, like if you are towing a stock trailer maybe).
Head out of town and there is a ton of camping on the June Lake loop, down at Convict Lake, Lower Rock Creek, etc.
Take a look at the USFS website and look for camping links on the eastern Sierra.
The Shady rest campground is almost downtown, and more than a thousand feet lower than the main lodge. Good central location if you want to head into town for whatever, but not particularly scenic.
The campgrounds up the road towards the lakes are much more scenic, if they are open. A little higher and colder, of course.
Lots of camping down at Devil's Postpile, but private car traffic is limited on that road. During certain hours, the only way in or out is by shuttle bus, (with some exceptions, I believe, like if you are towing a stock trailer maybe).
Head out of town and there is a ton of camping on the June Lake loop, down at Convict Lake, Lower Rock Creek, etc.
Take a look at the USFS website and look for camping links on the eastern Sierra.
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Hey RJG,
Sounds like you might have been up there more recently than I...Twin Lakes rings a bell, but that was a name I couldn't come up with. Aren't there a few campgrounds around those lakes?
Reason I ask is Shady rest certainly has its share of RVs as well. I was there a few summers ago with a rented RV on an extended trip, and have a pretty funny photo of bike clothes hanging off the Rv mirrors to air dry in the campground. We actually wanted to be up at Twin Lakes, but there was a road problem and we couldn't get there, even with a mini RV. But there were tent spots further back in the Shady rest campground, and it was pretty vegetated. It wasn't a bad campground. It was just a bummer because it was so generic, rocks and trees but no views.
Having done both the tent and Rv thing, the main thing in my mind is if you are tenting, try to get one of those spots away from the RVs with a little more privacy, even at the expense of less flat ground. And f you are RV-ing, be considerate. Don't run the generator early or late, don't slam doors, and don't leave food out for bear bait. :eekster:
Sounds like you might have been up there more recently than I...Twin Lakes rings a bell, but that was a name I couldn't come up with. Aren't there a few campgrounds around those lakes?
Reason I ask is Shady rest certainly has its share of RVs as well. I was there a few summers ago with a rented RV on an extended trip, and have a pretty funny photo of bike clothes hanging off the Rv mirrors to air dry in the campground. We actually wanted to be up at Twin Lakes, but there was a road problem and we couldn't get there, even with a mini RV. But there were tent spots further back in the Shady rest campground, and it was pretty vegetated. It wasn't a bad campground. It was just a bummer because it was so generic, rocks and trees but no views.
Having done both the tent and Rv thing, the main thing in my mind is if you are tenting, try to get one of those spots away from the RVs with a little more privacy, even at the expense of less flat ground. And f you are RV-ing, be considerate. Don't run the generator early or late, don't slam doors, and don't leave food out for bear bait. :eekster:
Actually Mammoth has only gotten to July 4th 3x in the last 10 or so years including this year. Last year this year and in 97. I do not recall any other than 97 in all of the 90's. If you call the whole north east face of the upper mountain being open as a few token runs....Admittedly the snow tends to be soft mush most of the time at this time of year, especially below Mid Chalet - er McCoy Station.
Twin Lakes is part of the Lakes Basin as far as I'm concerned. Mammoth received a record 760" of snow this year - which is why I wouldn't vouch for the Lakes Basin campgrounds being open. Normally they're open late May/early-mid June. If you're into primative/dispersed camping there is a large off limits zone around the town. There is no dispersed camping in the lakes basin or in the Postpile. I'd much rather camp at the Sherwin Creek campground than the Shady Rest if my goal was to be near town (and assuming that the Lakes Basin area campgrounds are closed).
There is no camping on Lower Rock Creek. Tom's Place and Upper Rock Creek yes, but again no dispersed camping in these immediate areas. Also note that a fire burned in the area between Swall Meadow, lower Rock Creek and Upper Rock Creek/Tom's place a few years ago.
There is some camping in the McGee creek/Lake Crowley area.
The whole region has large sections of land that are owned by the DWP(LA dept of water & power) that are off limits to camping by DWP mandate. Enforcement of this is sporadic, and my understanding is that they just tell you to beat it.
Twin Lakes is part of the Lakes Basin as far as I'm concerned. Mammoth received a record 760" of snow this year - which is why I wouldn't vouch for the Lakes Basin campgrounds being open. Normally they're open late May/early-mid June. If you're into primative/dispersed camping there is a large off limits zone around the town. There is no dispersed camping in the lakes basin or in the Postpile. I'd much rather camp at the Sherwin Creek campground than the Shady Rest if my goal was to be near town (and assuming that the Lakes Basin area campgrounds are closed).
There is no camping on Lower Rock Creek. Tom's Place and Upper Rock Creek yes, but again no dispersed camping in these immediate areas. Also note that a fire burned in the area between Swall Meadow, lower Rock Creek and Upper Rock Creek/Tom's place a few years ago.
There is some camping in the McGee creek/Lake Crowley area.
The whole region has large sections of land that are owned by the DWP(LA dept of water & power) that are off limits to camping by DWP mandate. Enforcement of this is sporadic, and my understanding is that they just tell you to beat it.
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Harry,
Actually - if you're camping in Devil's Postpile...you can come and go as you please in a private car. Day use is restricted to shuttle buses, or getting in there before a certain hour (I think 7 or 8am) and then you can't drive freely again on the road (unless you're camped there) until a certain time.
Actually - if you're camping in Devil's Postpile...you can come and go as you please in a private car. Day use is restricted to shuttle buses, or getting in there before a certain hour (I think 7 or 8am) and then you can't drive freely again on the road (unless you're camped there) until a certain time.
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I'm sorry, I've given myself 2 days to think about it - and I still can't figure out WTF dorkulak means...Finch Platte said:
Be that as it may... Mammoth has some bike trails open - but most are not. They said they are scraping the trails and to call in periodically to see what up.
So... as a back up plan - how's the xc riding up in that neck o the woods? Are there lower elevation trails?
Any suggestions?
Danke, IRMB
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No worky...Finch Platte said:
Oh, gee. Reaaaallly. No kiddin' huh?imridingmybike said:
:thumbsup:
fp
Depends on what you're into as far as XC riding. If it's single track or nothing, then you're kind of limited. In and around town itself there is the Mammoth Rock trail (which I'm guessing is now open(free of snow), and the scattered singletrack behind the Shady Rest. If fire/dirt roads are okay (most not much used by cars) then your options expand considerably. There's a bunch in the Mammoth Knolls/Shady Rest area (they're right next to each other and kind of flow together), in the Inyo Craters area, and between 395 and the Owens River. You can ride from each of these areas to any of the others on dirt. Your ride can be as short or as long as you like. If you want a climb, start on Sherwin Creek road and ride up to the Laurel Lakes(on Laurel Lakes rd) if you can(snow probably will stop you before you get all the way to the lakes. If you get to the lakes, it's about 3500' gain as I recall.imridingmybike said:I'm sorry, I've given myself 2 days to think about it - and I still can't figure out WTF dorkulak means...
Be that as it may... Mammoth has some bike trails open - but most are not. They said they are scraping the trails and to call in periodically to see what up.
So... as a back up plan - how's the xc riding up in that neck o the woods? Are there lower elevation trails?
Any suggestions?
Danke, IRMB
Farther out, you have Lower Rock Creek trail, and if you want to go to Bishop, and really do a climb. The Laws/Siver (I've heard it called both) Road takes you from the valley floor 4000' up to the Bristlecone Pine NP at 10,500' at the junction - by going left you can ride to the 11,000' level at road's end.
To the north, you can ride from Mono Lake to Bodie along the old stage route(not 395 and the regular entrance to Bodie(206?)). Heck you can ride from Mammoth to Mono Lake on dirt, but I don't know if you can get all the way around Mono Lake on the east side on dirt. You can ride most of the way on the west side on dirt though.
Of the trails that I know that are open on the mountain, I would call them XC trails, not downhill trails (yes they are downhill from the lodge, but not steep or technical).
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As far as doing some DH, you will be fine. Most of the Bullet course is open now. Beer festival weekend will have most of the mountain open. Plenty of open trails right now. Big Ring to Paper Route to Timber Ridge to Juniper were excellent yesterday.
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Just came back from a weekend there
I stayed at the New Shady Rest Campground, right before the village.
It's about one mile ride to the shuttle start point, but is within walking distance of shops and restaurants. Right behind it there is also the Old Shady Rest.
Inyo Campground (about 2 miles above the shuttle station)is also pretty handy on the Twin Lakes. This one has also shower facilities (pretty clean, $3 per shower).
There are few trails open, all on the lower side: Paper route (not all of it), Big Ring, Juniper, Bullet, Shotgun and Uptown/Downtown.
I rode up on the higher section of Paper rout but I ended up doing a lot of snow walking.
It's always fun to ride on a snow berm, you never know how you are going to end up .
Attached a few pics, sorry for the qulity but these are from my cell...
I stayed at the New Shady Rest Campground, right before the village.
It's about one mile ride to the shuttle start point, but is within walking distance of shops and restaurants. Right behind it there is also the Old Shady Rest.
Inyo Campground (about 2 miles above the shuttle station)is also pretty handy on the Twin Lakes. This one has also shower facilities (pretty clean, $3 per shower).
There are few trails open, all on the lower side: Paper route (not all of it), Big Ring, Juniper, Bullet, Shotgun and Uptown/Downtown.
I rode up on the higher section of Paper rout but I ended up doing a lot of snow walking.
It's always fun to ride on a snow berm, you never know how you are going to end up
.Attached a few pics, sorry for the qulity but these are from my cell...
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Ah Finch,Finch Platte said:
I don't get your point either. Guess I'm a little slow in more than one way. Was there something helpful you wanted to say?
HC
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