Distance: 24 miles out and back Elevation gain: 3110 ft
As with all the rides in Bestrides situated along Hwy 395, I encourage you to read the “Eastern Sierra” section of our By Regions page, to put this ride in context.
This ride goes from Lee Vining on Hwy 395 to Tioga Pass via Hwy 120—from east to west, in other words. You can of course ride to the pass from the west (from Yosemite), and it’s worth doing, but it’s a much longer and less dramatic ride. The west side has Tanaya Lake, and there’s nothing to match it for beauty on our route, but I still prefer this way.
Like a lot of the rides on Hwy 395, this is a steady, long, fairly straight climb up through a dramatic rocky canyon. The climbing is essentially without interruption. It’s never killer steep, but it’s seriously moderate in pitch, and as always in this region the altitude (the pass is at 9940 ft.) makes the climbing one or two quantum leaps harder than you expect. The road is a popular route through the Sierra, so you can expect some traffic unless you’re off-season, but the upside to that is the road surface is nearly pristine—a rarity in this region of frost heaves and expansion cracks..
This is one of my favorite rides in the area, for two reasons: 1) The vista looking west from the top of the big climb (just before Ellery Lake) is jaw-dropping—you can see the 10 miles of road beneath you, snaking its way along the canyon wall (see the photo below, but it doesn’t do it justice); and 2) the road surface is good, so the return ride is a descent you can really rip—40 mph+ is a cinch. It’s not a slalom, it’s a plummet, but I still think it’s the second-best descent in the area, after Hwy 168 (in the Bristlecone Forest ride). Besides those two virtues, the ride is pretty much generic 395 stuff. The two lakes you ride by are pretty but not breath-taking. At the pass there is nothing but a small ranger kiosk taking money from the cars heading for Yosemite—I rode right through it and only knew to turn around when I noticed the road was trending steadily downhill.
As with all riding in the 395 corridor, weather matters. This road closes in winter (typically November till Memorial Day), and any late-fall or early-spring riding can run into road ice. I rode it in mid-November during a period of clear weather, and there were a few patches of ice on the road and the lakes were largely iced over. Dress for cold—when it’s a warm fall day in Lee Vining it can be in the 50’s at the top, and you’re going to be going fast on the descent.
Park in the dirt parking lot across from the legendary Whoa Nellie Deli. Before or after the ride, take the time to check out this local icon. The food at the deli is reputed to be gourmet in quality, but I’ve never found it so. Still, the place has a fun vibe.
Looking back down the road from Ellery Lake—click on it to appreciate
Ride up Hwy 120 to Tioga Pass. Turn around and ride home. That’s it. You’ll pass two lakes, Ellery and Tioga. When you get to Ellery, the hard climbing is over.
Shortening the ride: Ride to Ellery Lake and turn around.
Tioga Lake
Adding miles: Continue past Tioga Pass as far as you want. Remember you have to climb back up. It’s 57 miles from the pass to the outskirts of Yosemite Valley, but there are several meaningful spots to turn around along the way, as Ben below points out: Tuolumne Meadows, Tanaya Lake, Olmstead Point.
I don’t know of any other worthwhile riding within riding distance. Virginia Lakes Rd. (discussed in the Rides by Region discussion of the Hwy 395 area) is a short drive to the north. Our June Lakes Loop ride is a short drive to the south.
Distance: 12.6-mile out and back Elevation gain: 425 ft
As with all the rides in Bestrides situated along Hwy 395, I encourage you to read the “Eastern Sierra” section of our By Regions page, to put this ride in context.
This is not a great or thrilling ride, but it’s perfectly pleasant, a short, flat stroll through the Owens Valley fields with nice Sierra mountains as a backdrop to the west. I include it because our Eastern Sierra riding is short on recovery-day rides, and this is an ideal one. If you want to add on to it, there are two harder rides at its turn-around point (see Adding Rides below).
Turn off Hwy 395 onto Saw Mill Rd.—yes, to my surprise, if you’re coming from the south you can cross the divided highway. Park in the large dirt parking lot at the intersection of South Round Valley Rd. and Saw Mill. Ride SRVR to its intersection with Pine Creek Rd. Return. Other than the prison you pass, there’s not much to talk about.
Shortening the ride: Not imaginable.
Adding Miles: Your turn-around point is on Pine Creek Rd., which is one of the better climbs in our By Regions list of area rides if you go left. If you go right on PCR, in a stone’s throw you hit the southern terminus of Rock Creek Rd., also in By Regions. Either will satisfy any climbing jones you may be having. If you want more easy riding, cross Pine Creek Rd. and continue on North Round Valley Rd., which will about double your mileage—see Robert’s comment below for details.
Distance: 38.3-mile out and back Elevation gain: 6015 ft
As with all the rides in Bestrides situated along Hwy 395, I encourage you to read the “Eastern Sierra” section of our By Regions page, to put this ride in context.
I also recommend you read this write-up in tandem with our Whitney Portal Road ride. They’re right next to each other geographically—in fact Horseshoe Meadows Rd. takes off from Whitney Portal Rd.,—and they’re similar in character, profile, rewards, and difficulty level. WPR is a bit longer, a bit shallower, with more overall elevation gain. I’m told that WPR is slammed with outdoorsy people in season, because as its name implies it’s the access point for hiking Mt. Whitney, so Horseshoe is the (much) less populated option, but I’m always there out of season and I suggest you do the same, so it shouldn’t matter.
Of all the rides that go west from Hwy 395 and climb into the Sierra (they’re listed in the “Eastern Sierra” section of our By Regions page), three are considered the blockbusters, the climbs you brag about doing: in order of difficulty, they’re Whitney Portal (easiest), Horseshoe, and Onion Valley Rd. (hardest). Onion Valley is longer and steeper than the other two, and in my opinion without merit—just endless unvaried climbing through a featureless wasteland. But Whitney Portal and Horseshoe have character. While other area rides head up draws or canyons—essentially breaks in the cliff wall—these two switchback straight up the wall for a while, thus making the ride much more dramatic, with matchless vistas of the valley below.
I haven’t ridden Whitney Portal yet—the one ride in Bestrides I haven’t done—because I only had time to do one of the two and I chose Horseshoe because it has more switchbacks and is longer, less steep, and has less exposure.
Perhaps surprisingly, this ride isn’t in my Best of the Best list, despite it being spectacular, because it has two drawbacks: It’s a ton of climbing (like, maybe 3 hours) at an almost unvaried pitch and mostly in a straight line, and the descent, which on paper should be heavenly, is cursed by the same three ailments that afflict almost all descents in this area: too-steep pitch, rough road surface, and expansion cracks. I did the entire descent on my brakes, getting my teeth rattled, and was glad when it was over. (Confession: several sources praise the smoothness of HMR’s road surface. I can only assume that their standards are much lower than mine. One said that Onion Valley’s expansion cracks were much worse, which I don’t doubt.). But the scenery is world-class and the vistas of the valley beneath you are sublime. If you love long climbs and grand vistas, this is the ride for you.
If you’re freaked out by exposure, you can still do this ride. Although for most of the ride the drop-off is enormous, the road is a wide two-lane and there is almost always a healthy buffer of dirt shoulder between you and the lip. I’m afraid of heights and I wasn’t bothered at all.
Let me sound my usual warnings about riding in this area: 1) It’s high, so the air is thin (this ride tops out at just under 10,000 ft.), so the climbing is much harder than the pitches would suggest; and 2) it’s high, so it’s cold, and you’re going to be descending at speed (maybe), so take lots more clothing with you than you need at the start of the ride.
The switchbacks
At the junction of Horseshoe and Whitney Portal Rd., you’re 1/4 miles from the famous Movie Road, a dirt road that takes you into the Alabama Hills area where hundreds of Hollywood movies and TV westerns were filmed. If you grew up with 50’s westerns, it’s a must-do car trip. Even if you didn’t, the rock formations are the best rock I’ve ever seen outside a National Park. Print guides to the area (which movie was shot where) can be had on line or at the Western Movie Museum in town. Don’t try to bike in—the road is either washboard or sand, and unridable.
Horseshoe Meadows Road takes off from Whitney Portal Road. As of 11/24, WPR is closed for repair and you need to detour around the construction via Tuttle Creek Rd., which will drop you onto HMR. Park on the dirt shoulder anywhere along HMR.
Looking down on one switchback from the one above, with Owens Lake to the south
The first 4 miles of HMR are dead straight dead flat. Ride them if you’re determined to do the entire road, or drive to when the first gradual pitch begins. Those first miles pass some nice rock formations, but if you drive Tuttle Creek Rd. or the movie road you’ll see better. You’ll see where the climbing starts—the first leg of the ride, up to the first switchback, is laid out before you.
On the switchbacks
That first leg is interminable and not particularly interesting, because the slope of the sidehill is so mild that you’re riding through nothing but dirt and brush—no good rocks yet. But the vistas to your left are grand almost from the get-go and keep getting better, so you’ll have something to think about. The pitch on this beginning leg is pretty much the pitch for the remainder of the ride.
Once past the first switchback, the sidehill gets much steeper so the landscape gets rockier and grander, and the scenery will hold your interest to the end of the ride. There are several places where you can look down and see below you some of the switchbacks you’ve already ridden, and far below them the first miles of Horseshoe Meadow Rd. on the valley floor. You may even see your parked car, 3500 ft. below you—marvelous.
Looking north, with Lone Pine on the R edge of the frame and the first miles of Horseshoe Meadows Rd. between town and the switchbacks
Once off the switchbacks, you have almost 6 more miles to go. The road continues climbing at the same pace along the face of a canyon, so the exposure and vistas continue. The scenery is terrific—grand rocks and twisted junipers—and may actually be better than the switchbacks. The end of the road is nothing more than an undeveloped campground and some trailheads, so there’s no grand sense of “I did it!” If there’s a meadow, I couldn’t find it, but everything was under snow when I was there. (One source described the meadows as “vast.”)
As I said above, the descent is a disappointment. The first miles are marred by ugly expansion cracks, the next miles are marred by unpleasantly chattery road surface, and it’s almost all too steep to be bombed unless you’re a champion descender. I only enjoyed the last few miles. It’s tragic, because the scenery on the descent is world-class but I missed it all because I was staring at the road surface trying to minimize my suffering.
On the switchbacks
Shortening the ride: For the best stuff, drive to the first switchback, park, and ride to the top of the switchbacks—about 5 mi. one way.
Above the switchbacks
Adding miles: For a few more relatively easy miles, ride our Tuttle Creek Rd. ride, which you probably had to drive to get to this ride if Whitney Portal Rd. is still closed. For a lot more work, ride our Whitney Portal Rd. ride—just ride to the north end of Horseshoe and turn west.
Distance: 23.6 out and back Elevation gain: 4610 ft
As with all the rides in Bestrides situated along Hwy 395, I encourage you to read the “Eastern Sierra” section of our By Regions page, to put this ride in context.
I also recommend you read this write-up in tandem with our Horseshoe Meadows Road ride. They’re right next to each other geographically—in fact Horseshoe Meadows Rd. takes off from Whitney Portal Rd.,—and they’re much alike in character, profile, rewards, and difficulty level. They’re both steep, long, challenging climbs that switchback up the face of the Sierra, then penetrate westward into the mountains. They both offer amazing views of the Owens Valley below.
I haven’t ridden Whitney Portal—the only ride in Bestrides I haven’t done—because I think Horseshoe Meadows is a better ride (longer, less steep, less traffic, more switchbacks) and I frankly don’t need to do two such rides. But WPR is iconic and popular, so I wanted to alert you to its existence. It’s also more exposed than HMR, so do Horseshoe if you’re bothered by acrophobia or vertigo.
This ride begins climbing at a moderate pace and gets progressively steeper, first 9%, then 10%, finally 11%. At that elevation, such pitches are very tough. Horseshoe Meadows Rd. is not quite that severe.
For a death-defying drive to nowhere, Whitney Portal Rd. has quite a bit of traffic, because it’s the road everyone must take to reach Mt.-Whitney-area hiking and backpacking trailheads. As always, off-season riding is recommended.
As of 11/24, Whitney Portal Rd. is closed by construction just a stone’s throw out of town. Signage will guide you through the detour, which takes you (conveniently) through our Tuttle Creek Rd. ride and a couple of miles of our Horseshoe Meadows Rd. ride, so you can look them over.
WPR takes you by the famous Movie Road, a dirt road that takes you into the Alabama Hills area where hundreds of Hollywood movies and TV westerns were filmed. If you grew up with 50’s westerns, it’s a must-do car trip. Even if you didn’t, the rock formations are the best rock I’ve ever seen outside a National Park. Guides to the area (which movie was shot where) can be had on line or at the Western Movie Museum in town. Don’t try to bike in—the road is either washboard or sand, and unridable.
Approaching the climb—note the switchbackLooking down on the Owens Valley and Lone Pine from partway up the switchback
Shortening the ride: Ride to the top of the switchback and return.
Adding miles: For a few more easy miles, ride our Tuttle Creek Rd. ride, whose starting point you rode right past at the start of this ride. For a lot more hard miles, ride our Horseshoe Meadows Rd. ride, whose starting point you rode right past near the start of this ride.
Distance: 32.4-mile lollipop Elevation gain: 1960 ft
As with all the rides in Bestrides situated along Hwy 395, I encourage you to read the “Eastern Sierra” section of our By Regions page, to put this ride in context.
This is the go-to easy, pretty ride on the eastern side of the Sierra—the one you take your partner or casual-cyclist buddy on. It’s also where you go in the Eastern Sierra for lush—If you find most of the riding in the area too open, rocky, and desert-y for you, this is your ride. It goes through very pretty aspen-filled woods, past three lakes and one unforgettable boulder, and through the town of June Lake, a bustling recreational village (think Mammoth Lakes but smaller and less pretentious). The route is pretty built-up, but in an unobtrusive, one-with-nature sort of way. It’s a “loop” in quotation marks because the road is called “June Lake Loop” in all the literature, but it isn’t one—it’s a horseshoe. More on that in the ride directions.
The elevation gain is mild, but if you like to do your climbing first, then your descending, start at the northern terminus and ride south. On the other hand, the ride as mapped begins with the best scenery and steadily gets worse, so if you think you aren’t going to do the entire mileage, start at the south end. The riding is A-level up to about Reverse Creek, then B up to the end of Silver Lake, then C to the terminus on 395.
Start at the intersection of June Lake Loop and Hwy 395. There’s a large store there with parking, and a large, expensive sign reading “Welcome to June Lake Loop” telling you they want your tourist dollars.
June Lake
Ride June Lake Loop to its end at Hwy 395. The only significant pitch is the initial drop down to June Lake. Linger over the views of June Lake, because it’s the prettiest lake of the three on the route—Silver Lake is just nice and Grant Lake is barren.
Watch for a remarkable double boulder on your R. It’s so striking that both resorts on either side of it take their names from it: Boulder Lodge on one side and Big Rock Resort on the other.
June Lake, the community, is well worth a stroll.
Midway in the ride you cross Reverse Creek, so named because it’s flowing in the opposite direction from most of the watershed in the area. Not a big deal.
By Silver Lake you’re beginning to leave the woods behind, and the terrain becomes flatter, drier, and more barren. The last few miles are dead straight, through nearly flat, typical Eastern Sierra rabbit brush country. You can skip those miles if you want, but the distance is short.
The famous boulder(s)
To ride this route as an actual loop, at 395 you would turn R and ride 395 back to your car. If you do this, you will have an long, unpleasant, tedious slog of a climb up the highway shoulder with little to look at among busy traffic. I strongly discourage it. Instead, turn around and ride back the way you came.
When you get close to June Lake, you can see new country by taking Northshore Drive to your L and going around the back side of the lake. The road is a bit rougher than the main road and the landscape more harsh (there are signs reading “bike route” and “rough road”), but it’s also much less built-up and less trafficked. I’ve mapped it that way.
The north-end terrain—Grant Lake
Shortening the ride: Turn around when you want to.
Adding miles: There is no other good riding in the immediate area. You’re a few highway miles from Mammoth Lakes and our Devil’s Postpile ride.
Distance: 16.2 miles out and back Elevation gain: 1970 ft
Warning: At the moment (9/23) this road is only open on weekends, and may soon be closed entirely for construction. When the road isn’t under construction, cars are often banned and car visitors are required to take a shuttle bus. Check road conditions and restrictions before heading out.
As with all the rides in Bestrides situated along Hwy 395, I encourage you to read the “Eastern Sierra” section of our By Regions page, to put this ride in context.
This is the only ride in Bestrides I don’t really like. But I want to talk about it, because it’s iconic, you’ll want to know what it’s like, and it might get much better soon (as of 9/23).
This ride descends from the Minarets Vista summit to Devil’s Postpile National Monument, then climbs back out. In RidewithGPS it looks pretty good—not much work (you can do 16 miles standing on your head, right?), some great views of the Minarets to the west, some fast, serpentine descending, some pleasant rollers through pretty woods, and a great destination at the turn-around. Devil’s Postpile is a wonder of nature that’s not to be missed. There is even a grand waterfall just past the Postpile, Rainbow Falls.
So what’s not to like? It’s much less pleasant than the ride profile makes it appear, for five reasons: 1. Traffic—like most National Somethings, the place can be mobbed, and all visitors must travel the same very narrow, very rough road. Many of them at 10 miles an hour. The road is so narrow that descending vehicles must pull off the road to let ascending vehicles pass, which means that your descent will frequently be interrupted by you having to stop behind the RV that has stopped to let the oncoming RV pass. 2. Road surface—the surfaces varies from OK to terrible, and it’s at its worst on the steepest part (the first 2.5 miles). I found it impossible to do the descent at any but the slowest speed. 3. Pitch—1970 ft. total gain doesn’t seem bad at all, but the bulk of the climbing is in the last 2.5 miles, and it’s truly tough. Made much harder by 4. elevation—the ride tops out at 9170 feet elevation, which means you’ll be gasping for breath in the thin air unless you’re acclimated to high elevation. 4. The hike—you can’t ride to the Postpile; the closest you can get is 0.4 miles from it, which means you’re in for at least an 0.8-mile walk on dirt to see anything, which is a little more than I want to walk in the middle of a hard ride and which means you have to bring walking shoes. 5. The construction—they’re reworking the entire ride, beginning 9/23, so the riding itself will be more awkward than usual and the road to the waterfall is closed entirely, so to see it you’ll have to walk a whopping 5 miles.
So why talk about it? Because if you’re fit for elevation, if you like hard climbs, if you have disc brakes and so can handle steep descents, and (most important) if you wait until the construction reworks and improves the road and opens up the road to Rainbow Falls, it might be a ride you’ll love.
As with all high-altitude Eastern Sierra rides, snow conditions are unpredictable here and can persist longer than you think. Apparently last year the road was still closed by snow on July 4.
An introduction to the geology of the Postpile and current road conditions can be found here.
Our ride begins at the parking area at the turn-off to Minaret Vista, a lookout at the summit of Minaret Road, which is the one and only road from the town of Mammoth Lakes to the Mammoth Mountain ski area. Drive past the ski area, turn off at the sign to the Vista, drive to the Vista to see the Minarets if you want (you’ll see them on the ride anyway), then return to Minaret Road and park in the copious parking dirt area around the intersection.
The Minarets, from the very start of the ride
If you’re worried that 16 miles won’t float your boat, you can ride from Mammoth Lakes, which will add 12 miles and 1300 ft. to the ride. It’s a not-unpleasant ride with possibly heavy traffic (the ski area is as attractive to mountain-bikers in summer and fall as it is to skiers in the winter) on a very manicured, wide road.
Pass the kiosk on Minaret Road and begin the descent. Views of the Minarets are immediately in front of you—look them over now, because you won’t see them again.
The climb out
You are instantly into the steepest leg of the ride, 2.5 miles of narrow, twisty, rough, unrelenting down. Watch for cars coming at you and stopping in front of you.
At 2.5 miles the road takes a hard 90-degree L, the pavement improves, and the pitch moderates. About 6 miles in, the ride turns mellow, and you do fun rollers to the end. First you encounter the overflow parking lot for the Postpile; continue on to the second and final (at the moment) parking lot and trailhead for the walk to the Postpile. There are bathrooms, a little shop, docents to answer questions, and probably scads of people.
If you have the energy and the shoes, hike to Devil’s Postpile. If you really want to walk, hike to Rainbow Falls. They’re both grand. Here’s a photo of each.
Looking down into the Middle Fork San Joaquin River canyon from the top of the ride
Now ride out. First rollers, then moderate climbing, then the final 2.5-mile gasper. In those last miles you’ll notice nice views up and down the canyon you’re climbing out of, which you weren’t able to notice on the descent and which you’ll appreciate now because they’re good excuses to stop and catch your breath.
Shortening the route: Drive to the 90-degree L turn and ride to the Postpile from there.
Adding Miles: There is no other good road riding near this ride. If you brought your mountain bike, swap bikes and enjoy the outstanding downhill riding on Mammoth Mountain’s trails. Back in Mammoth Mountain, the ride to Mary’s Lake is pleasant, in a heavily developed way.
As with all the rides in Bestrides situated along Hwy 395, I encourage you to read the “Eastern Sierra” section of our By Regions page, to put this ride in context.
This is a huge ride, bigger than anything I could do in one go. It’s easy to break into two rides, either one of which is a major effort by itself. If you do it all, I’m willing to bet it will be the hardest 46-mile ride you ever do in your life. It has a ton of climbing, made much harder by the elevation, which tops out at 10,000 ft. I think it’s the best ride in the Eastern Sierra, for a number of reasons:
1) It has the most interesting road contour. The other big climbs around Hwy 395 are typically straight roads with monotonously unvaried pitch—this one climbs and drops and serpentines back and forth.
2) It has the most varied landscape—not necessarily prettier than, say South Lake Road, but at least 4 distinct ecosystems, including the world-famous bristlecone pine forest;
3) It has the best vistas. Like the other big climbing rides in the area, it has jaw-dropping vistas of the Owens Valley below, but the other rides climb the east side of the Sierra, so they look east and have as a backdrop the White Mountains to the east, which are unprepossessing heaps of brown, while this one climbs into the White Mountains and looks west, so it has as a backdrop the incomparable Eastern Sierra ridges to the west;
4) The thrill factor is very high. The last 3 miles of the ride out plus the first 3 of the return are some of the most electrifying (or terrifying) riding I’ve ever done—fast, serpentining curves with enormous vistas and a drop-off on your right.
5) It has a spectacular descent with good road surface (on the Hwy 168 leg)—a rarity in these parts.
Its only flaws are 1) the road surface on the White Mountain Rd. leg is often so marred with expansion cracks that descending is unpleasantly jarring, and 2) the pitch on the White Mountain Road leg is often so steep that you’re forced to do a lot of braking.
Time your ride right and you can end it riding into the sunset behind the Sierra
Before doing this ride, make sure that the roads are all passable and the Visitor Center at Shulman Grove is open. (Typically the Visitor Center closes some time in October. The road is “open”—i.e. ungated—all year, because there are things at the top of the road people have to get to, but it’s “unmaintained,” that is, heavily snowed in.) Also, ask yourself about your threshold for acrophobia and fear of falling, because you’re going to be doing some steep descending on narrow, twisting roads with world-class drop-offs and no guardrails.
Doesn’t look like much at the start, but the sign says it all
To see the good bristlecone pines (and you want to), bring walking shoes, because there are no visually striking pines right by the Visitor Center—see below for an explanation.
This is the only ride of any interest in the 395 corridor that is on the east side of the highway. Start at the intersection of Hwy 395 and Hwy 168E (Hwy 168W goes west from downtown). There’s a parking lot there, by the little kiosk with information about the bristlecone pines and other features of interest in the area. I encourage you to read the literature to get your bearings. You’ll be guided by signage to the bristlecone pine forest all along your route.
Looking down on White Mountain Road and ridges to the south
The ride divides into two parts, Hwy 168E and White Mountain Road, and the two couldn’t be more different. Both rides are of substantial difficulty (10 miles of 7-9% pitch, with the second leg obviously at higher elevation).
Highway 168 (13 miles, 3400 ft. gain) is a major artery running east from 395, so you’d expect it to be a large, busy, straight, characterless shoulder ride. I don’t know how busy it is in high season—I was there in October and November and saw almost no cars. But for a couple of miles it is flat, wide, and straight—then it turns into something really sweet. It begins to climb up through rolling, brush-covered hills, completely unlike the steady vertical rocky terrain on the west side of the valley. The road rolls and curves back and forth without interruption. There’s nothing like it anywhere else in the 395 corridor. The further you go, the better it gets: 4 miles of relatively tame, then the canyon steepens and you start to get some rock formations, then 9 miles in it gets really good. At about 11 miles in you hit a dramatic little slot canyon and the road turns momentarily to one lane. Terrific.
The board at the Sierra View vista point
Beyond the canyon you get a couple of miles of very pretty climbing. Then Just before the White Mountain Road turn-off you pop out onto a kind of mesa and the road goes flat. At mile 13, turn L onto White Mountain Road—there’s a prominent Bristlecone Pine Forest sign there.
The one thing you don’t get on Hwy 168 is expansive vistas. Instead you get glimpses of the Owens Valley between rolling hills on either side of the road. It’s different from the other rides in the area, and very nice in its own way.
Bristlecone pine
There is much confusion among sources about how much of White Mountain Road is paved. The answer is: for 10 miles, to the Shulman Grove Visitor Center. The road continues past the Center for miles and miles, but a few feet past the Center it turns to dirt.
White Mountain Road is completely different from what you’ve just ridden. It’s a straighter climb, first through pinyon/juniper woodlands (there’s an informative board in a turn-off on your L a stone’s throw from the intersection explaining what that means), then above the timberline on a harrowingly exposed sidehill with matchless views of the Owens Valley to the west. The ride is slightly shorter and slightly steeper than Hwy 168 (10 miles one way, 3250 ft of gain), but it tops out at just over 10,000 ft. so the air is thinner and adds considerably to the effort.
Near the top of White Mountain Road
The climbing begins moderately, then steepens, until the last few miles before the Vista Point (at about 7 miles in) are tough. The vista point, called Sierra View Vista Point (clever name), has one of those boards identifying the individual peaks on the horizon (Mt. Whitney can’t be seen from this ride). Beyond the vista point the climbing is continuous but noticeably less fierce.
Near the top of White Mountain Road
These last 3 miles, from here to the end of the road, are truly extraordinary. The road clings to the open sidehill, serpentining back and forth, with a huge drop-off on your L side and no thought of a guard rail. This is a good time to ask yourself, Do I really want to come down this thing? If not, turn around. I wouldn’t do it without disc brakes, at a minimum. Remember, on the ride up you’re on the inside lane, on the descent you’re on the outside—much scarier.
Ride to the Shulman Visitor Center. It’s a classic Visitor Center, full of all the information you could possibly want about bristlecone pines, the oldest living things on earth. It’s spanking clean, because the old Visitor Center burned to the ground not long ago and was rebuilt. There are three loop hiking trails, and you will need to walk at least 1/4 mile on one of them to see any good pines—ironically the bristlecone pines around the Visitor Center are too healthy to take on the famous gnarly look we all think of when we think “Bristlecone pine,” because they’re in too protected a spot. Bristlecone pines need abuse to get gnarly. So come prepared to do a bit of walking.
Descending the top of White Mountain Road
The Forest’s mascot is Meth- uselah, the oldest known bristlecone pine, checking in at 4700 years old and constantly referred to by the Center staff as the “oldest living thing on earth.” If you google “oldest living thing” you’ll see there’s some controversy about that, but anyway, if you want to see it you’ll have to walk 4.5 miles from the Visitor Center (with significant elevation gain, at 10,000 ft elevation). I contented myself with looking at photographs.
Hwy 168: about 9 miles in, it starts getting pretty
The return ride is 46 miles of almost uninterrupted descending, some lousy, some great. Most of the White Mountain Rd. descent has the two curses of Hwy 395 riding: expansion cracks and a pitch so steep it forces you (at least, me) to brake, a lot. The expansion cracks are worse the higher you go (because it’s colder up there), so the first few miles coming down from the Visitor Center are especially rough, even on my 40mm tires. I actually hated it, though the views are unparalleled. Then the expansion cracks get smaller and it gets better.
Hwy 168, a bit further up
The Hwy 168 descent is another matter. I guess the elevation is low enough to keep the expansion cracks to ignorable little pings—for whatever reason, the road surface is consistently fine. The pitch is milder and the road contour is mostly sweeping curves, so you brake much less. This is a high-speed descent you can really rip. Combine this with the rock formations around you, the occasional high-speed whoop-de-dos, and the glimpses of the Owens Valley ahead of and impossibly far beneath you, and it’s 10 miles of unique, bucket-list ride. When you finally bail out onto the valley flats, if you’ve timed it right and it’s later in the afternoon, the sun will be getting low behind the Sierra and the views around you will make your heart swell.
The canyon on 168
Shortening the ride: Do one road or the other. If you want serpentining contour and grand descending through rolling hills, do Hwy 168; if you want bristlecone pines and enormous vistas and can put up with expansion cracks, do White Mountain Road.
Distance: 13.6-mile out-and-back Elevation gain: 1930 ft
As with all the rides in Bestrides situated along Hwy 395, I encourage you to read the “Eastern Sierra” section of our By Regions page, to put this ride in context.
This is a fairly short, easy-for-the-area climb that starts 14 miles up W. Hwy 186W out of Bishop to the west (not Hwy 168E heading east, in our Bristlecone Pine Forest ride). People ride those first 14 miles all the time, and you’re welcome to, but I find the terrain dry and uninspiring (small rocks and brush), the road contour boring (straight, with unaltered pitch) and the road surface cursed with those horizontal expansion cracks filled with dribble tar every five yards, not a terrible surface but enough to turn descending into an endless refrain of kaTHUMP kaTHUMP.
Fourteen miles up the road there is a fork—Hwy 168 continuing to the R and South Lake Road going to the L. And if you take the L fork, magic happens. The road surface goes to glass and the contour takes on some character. The pitch moderates a bit, from phew to pleasant. And around 8000 ft elevation the aspens begin to appear. From then on, it’s as pretty a ride as I know, if the aspens are changing color (in 2023 they got serious on 9/28). Even if they aren’t, it’s a fine ride.
This is not a wilderness ride. Even though South Lake Rd. looks very small on some maps, it’s a manicured, wide two-lane with campgrounds, resorts, and guiding operations along the route, and you will see some traffic going to and from those places.
You’ll see from the figures above that this ride is, compared to the other climbing rides in our Eastern Sierra stable, shorter and flatter. For which I say, thank god. But if that disappoints you, there are steeper, longer rides all around you (see the By Region discussion of the area).
As with most Eastern Sierra rides, there isn’t much to say about this one. Drive up Hwy E. 168W to the South Lake turnoff on the L (unmissable). Park. Ride to South Lake. Ride back.
The first couple of miles aren’t impressive—more loose rock and brush. But the canyon steepens and the woods begin to appear. Soon you’re riding alongside a substantial creek (South Creek, I assume), which you can hear but you can’t see. Not to worry. What’s blocking your view are beautiful aspens, and soon you’ll get closer and get good creek views. It’s a nice, tumbling stream. Google maps says there’s a falls on the route, but you’ll have to seek it out—it’s not apparent from the road.
Aspens
The pitch varies pleasantly from moderate to easy, until the last 1.5 miles, when things get more serious. The last half-mile or so is truly hard.
You top out at South Lake, a dammed lake with a resort, a boat launch, a dock, and the other signs of development. It’s not primitive, but it’s pretty. The road continues briefly, but I didn’t do it.
The return ride is a masterpiece of straight descending, with just enough curvature to keep you alert and that same glassy surface. Sustained 40 mph is easy. I took an hour and twenty minutes to ride to the lake and 19 minutes to return, and I didn’t push it.
Shortening the ride: Skip the last 1/2-mile pitch. If you’re really serious about making it easy, drive the first couple of miles, until the landscape gets good.
Adding miles: Ride the 14 miles from Bishop to South Lake Road, and/or the remaining miles on 168 above the fork. Hwy 168 deadends at Sabrina Lake, a particularly beautiful alpine lake that’s substantially prettier than South Lake, so even if you don’t ride up there you might drive there after your ride just to see it.
Distance: 8 miles out and back Elevation gain: 825 ft
As with all the rides in Bestrides situated along Hwy 395, I encourage you to read the “Eastern Sierra” section of our By Regions page, to put this ride in context.
Have you ever ridden a bike through a National Park or National Monument and thought, “Wow, the scenery’s great, but the road is wide as a freeway and straight as a stick, and there are people everywhere. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if just once I could ride through scenery as grand as this, but on a small road with a charming contour and have the whole place to myself?” Fantasy, of course—except the fantasy is real, and the place is called Tuttle Creek Road, just outside of Lone Pine, CA.
TCR runs through the heart of the Alabama Hills, a small region west and northwest of Lone Pine long valued by Hollywood western filmmakers for its camera-worthy rocks (watch Clint Eastwood’s movie Joe Kidd to see them at their best). The road with the most cinematic history is the Movie Road, which goes north from Whitney Portal Rd. just west of town, but it’s dirt and the rocks on Tuttle are just as good.
It’s all of 4 miles long—probably the shortest ride in Bestrides—and it took me all of 50 minutes out and back, but it’s well worth the 2 hours I drove to ride it. Actually, the first 1.2 miles of the route is dead boring, so we’re really talking about just 2.8 miles of gold. If you doubt it’s worth it, look at the photos (click on them to appreciate).
You will do some work—note the not-insignificant elevation gain—but it’s that sort of work where you can see exactly how short the 10% pitches are so you can romp up them with a light heart.
If you want to ride more than 8 miles, you’re in luck—the turn-around point is a stone’s throw from Horseshoe Meadow Road and the starting point in on Whitney Portal Road, both of which are in Bestrides and either of which will give you all the work you crave.
Normally TCR sees no through traffic. But at the moment (11/24) the bottom of Whitney Portal Rd. is closed to all traffic and TCR is serving as the detour around the closure. Thus the road is temporarily crawling with through traffic (that is to say, you’ll probably see two cars). I still found it an unforgettable experience. Imagine how great it will be when WPR is open again.
Start at the intersection of Tuttle Creek Rd. and Whitney Portal Rd. Ride to the intersection of TCR and Sunset Drive, when it’s obvious that all the fun is over. Turn around and ride back.
Click on all photos to enlarge
The elevation profile on RidewithGPS is misleading, because it makes it look like a medium-steep 2.5-mile slog. It’s nothing of the sort—it’s constantly up and down, and it’s got several marvelous whoop-de-doos that break up the climbing. The serpentine contour makes the return descent a delight and a challenge, and you can roll the whoop-de-doos at 25 mph. It’s like Disney designed it.
This is a ride where you should consider getting off the bike. The boulders provide world-famous rock scrambling, and the road follows Tuttle Creek, which is a real, babbling desert creek full of actual water that is often just feet from the road, so foot-dabbling is easy and rewarding.
Back at your car, take the rest of the day to check out the Movie Museum in town, which is full of lore about the western movies of your youth…well, my youth.
Shortening the ride: Hardly.
Adding miles: Our Horseshoe Meadows and Whitney Portal rides are adjacent. Of course the easiest way to add miles is to ride TCR 2 or 3 times, and it’s worth it.
Distance: 27-mile out and back Elevation gain: 930 ft
As with all the rides in Bestrides situated along Hwy 395, I encourage you to read the “Eastern Sierra” section of our By Regions page, to put this ride in context.
Every ride doesn’t have to be exhilarating. Sometimes it’s a beautiful thing to just go roll a lovely road and see some pretty sights.
Such is the Twin Lakes Road ride out of Bridgeport. It’s dead easy—maybe the easiest ride in Bestrides (check that elevation total). It has no thrilling descents or challenging climbs and no bucket-list features. Still, it’s perfect—a few miles of flats through fields of picturesque cows, some easy climbing to open up the legs, a stroll along the shore of two lovely lakes, and some genteel 25-30-mph descending on the return, all on a manicured two-lane road with flawless pavement and with striking eastern Sierra ridges as backdrop. It’s the perfect recovery-day ride or ride to do with your less gung-ho buddy or partner. It’s also one of only four rides I know along the Hwy 395 corridor that don’t have a ton of vertical (it, South Round Valley Road, Tuttle Creek Road, and the June Lakes loop).
There is another selling point for this ride. If you travel Hwy 395, eventually you’ll end up staying in Bridgeport, because it’s the only real town you pass through between Bishop and Carson City (or Tahoe, depending on which way you’re going). When you’re there, you’re going to want to ride. This ride is it.
This ride has absolutely no shade until you reach the lakes, and very little thereafter, so I wouldn’t do it on a sweltering day.
The lakes are a popular recreation area, and Twin Lakes Road has several campgrounds along it, so traffic could theoretically be a problem, though it’s a wide two-lane road with effortless passing everywhere. I rode it at the end of September on a Saturday afternoon and saw very few cars, but it was off-season.
Start in downtown Bridgeport, a small town of considerable charm and hipness with lots of character-rich, inexpensive lodging—a perfect one-night stopover. Check out the bakery if you’re there between Memorial Day and Labor Day, when it’s open. Ride Twin Lakes Road to its end, then return.
The road begins with 4 miles of dead flat, dead straight riding through fields sprinkled with cattle. In the background is a striking, jagged ridgeline between two closer rounded hills. You’ll have that ridgeline in front of you for the entire ride out. If flat isn’t your thing you have my permission to drive the 4 miles, to a 90-degree right turn and a good gravel parking area at the entrance to the Circle H Guest Ranch, AKA Hunewill Ranch (clearly signed both ways). After that corner, the road is almost continuously up, but either so gradually you don’t notice or at a mild pitch you can easily spin without effort. The road begins to meander and pitch a little, just enough to give it some character, and the Sierra ridgeline continues to loom larger.
In these first miles you’ll probably see colorful groups of cowgirls on horseback. Give them a wide berth—many horses are terrified of bikes, to the point of becoming uncontrollable.
In exactly 10 miles you round a corner and the lake appears. Drink in the view—it’s the prettiest view of the lakes you’ll get, though views of the lakes will be constant. Soon you pass a typical little California mountain resort—cabins, deli, etc.—and you’ll worry that the entire lakefront is built up, but it’s surprisingly undeveloped, with only a spot or two of habitation, until you reach the end of the pavement at Mono Village, a large RV resort at the far end of Upper Twin, in 3+ miles. All lovely, untroubled riding with the water almost continuously at your elbow. There are two lakes, Lower Twin and Upper Twin, with a kind of dam between them, but unless you have a sharp eye you won’t see it and it will seem like one very long lake.
Ride home. The mild uphills on the ride out turn out to be surprisingly brisk descents on the return, but in keeping with the spirit of the ride it’s all effortless grace and you’re back to your car before you know it, or at least back to those 4 miles of flat I told you you could skip.
Shortening the route: Start at Hunewill Ranch and/or turn around when you reach the lake.
Adding miles: There’s nothing good that I know of in the immediate area. See the general discussion of the Hwy 395 corridor (“Eastern Sierra”) in the Bestrides ByRegions page for more rides to the south.