A Mountain Bike Road Trip - MBR Mountain Biking in Lower Rock Creek
To get to this ride, we drove approximately 15 miles south from Mammoth Lakes on Hwy 395 to the Old Hwy 395 turnoff. Continuing south on Old 395 we caught glimpses of the trail in the canyon below. In eight miles we reached the end of the trail at the Paradise restaurant.
Without knowing very much about the trail, we decided to ride up the same road we drove here on. There is little traffic and the grade is fairly moderate, climbing 2,000 feet in eight miles. We reached the trailhead on the right side, just before a major "T" intersection.
Averaging over 8 mph on the climb, we made it to the trailhead in about an hour. The trail starts off as smooth singletrack on hard packed dirt. The gradual decent allowed for a high speed ride, but the occasional imbedded rock formations kept the ride honest, and fun.
We continued following the creek into the scenic canyon. As the ride progressed the trail conditions became more challenging. In fact, a good part of the middle section is on very rocky terrain. With high speeds out of the question, the goal here was to "clean" as many sections as possible.
The third and final leg of the ride is on extremely tight windy singletrack with occasional straight aways. Well tuned brakes and shifters are a big advantage for this section, as you are constantly speeding up and slowing down.
The ride ends as it reaches the Paradise RV Park. Ride through the park and find your car when you reach Old Hwy 395. The creek next to the parking spot is an excellent place to cool down from this incredible ride.