4-2-22 -Good day everyone, the snowline has come up to the lower elevations of Mammoth Lakes now. April is here and spring has sprung with the 70s in Bishop for riding mid-day this weekend.

By next week mid-afternoon highs are expected into the low 80s for the Bishop area with low 60s from Toms Place up to Mammoth Lakes. That warmth will really help to get areas below 8000 feet all melted out.

Below is a list of areas to ride right now, been seeing a lot of bikes on racks coming into the area the last few weeks. Be smart and get some riding in here in the Eastern Sierra.

The next 3 months will be great without all the Summer crowds to avoid. Keep checking in now as I will be updating this page twice a week.

Mammoth Lakes Area: You can ride out Sherwin Road and the Mammoth Creek Road all the way out to 395. Roads are firm and not all dusty and dry. There are a few wet and muddy spots on Sherwin roads so be ready. This is a good time to ride these areas before it’s dust out from the summer crowd and warmth.

Shady Rest still has snow on many of the roads and parts of the Knolls Trail so it’s not ridable yet unless you’re on a fat bike.

There are also construction crews in the area of Shady Rest so if you ride the Saw Mill Cut-off road you might hit some construction crews and traffic.

I will take a look at Shady Rest and Saw Mill again on Monday and see what the melt-out looks like, with the warm days expected next week that might be all we need for the lower half of the Knolls to roll. If anyone has the beta please email me at steve@mammothsnowman.com.

Toms Place Area: Taking a look at what you can ride now, Lower Rock Creek Canyon is in great shape and is wide open for a ride, do watch for hikers and dogs on the trail.

Sand Canyon is still under snow in the upper sections and I have no beta right now on Wagon Wheel.

Over on the Sunny Slopes side, all the dirt roads are melted out and open for a ride. I hope to create some routes on one of the mountain bike apps in this area sometime this year. For now, it’s just a maze of roads that gets a bit confusing.

Hint… Fast and fearless on blind turns can get you in trouble quickly these days. Been seeing hikers and dogs a lot so beware.

Bishop Area – All roads and trails are open in the Bishop area.

White Mountain Road is open as are all the funky trails in that area. Also to note this area gets direct mid and late-day sunshine so ride here early or it will be hot.

For the best single-track action right now, of course, Chipmunk Canyon is King with several miles of climbing, downhill action, and cross country style riding. 

You will find Chipmunk Canyon at the end of Barlow Lane in West Bishop. All the trails in this area are unmarked, however, you can see them on the Strava app.

There are some other really fun rides near Bishop that I plan to list here in the future.

Bald Mountain Area: This area is a mix of dirt, snow, and snow patches.

Inyo Crater Area: Snow Coverage

Mammoth Mountain Bike Park – Look for the park to open the Friday before Memorial Day with at least the trails out of Canyon and Eagle ready to go. Everything else depends on the weather over the next 8 weeks. I would expect you won’t be riding off the Top until mid to late June at least.

Ride-On everyone, Snowman…