Lower Rock Creek, Eastern Sierra

A Rollicking Good Time

MTB Lower Rock Creek Trail, Eastern Sierra

Up along US 395 in the foothills of the Eastern Sierra Nevada Mountains, a little north of Bishop is the southern terminus of the Lower Rock Creek Trail, a dandy of a downhill that rollicks from aspen groves up top to a technical chunky rock romp near the bottom. For some, the way to ride its 8 miles is to shuttle to the top, but if no shuttle is available, simply park at the trailhead in Paradise and ride the road to the top. It is a great way to warm up, add miles, get the blood flowing. Then, let it fly for the first two sections of the trail, but get ready for the third part, where you may leave some skin on the granite.

The most recent time I stopped off to ride it, it was late February and the trail was dry and not snow-covered. Starting out, in the first minute or two, I rolled over two small patches of snow/ice as I rolled into the winter’s aspen groves, catching glimpses of snow-covered peaks up high in the distance. The water was gushing, making for a delightful ride alongside the mountain creek. The “go” was super-fast flow on tacky-to-dry trail, or hero dirt, as they say. The corners curved and bends went down low.

At the little cascading waterfall, if you will, I stopped and stood, listening to the sound of mountain music. No one was around, the moment in time a peaceful pause among the trees and falling water. Nature abounded.

Then came the third part, where the trail descended deeper into the gorge, with walls rising up that reminded me of Devil’s Postpile’s geologic features. Down there, in that seemingly non-stop onslaught of technical challenges around every turn, I managed to endo for the first time in a long while. Skin abrasions and no broken bones were the result, thank goodness. I gathered myself in my mind, picked myself up off the dirt and got back on my bike, managing to roll some of the gnar. In a couple of spots, though, due to the endo, I got off and stepped over and around the rocks.

Down in the reeds, I cleaned some of the trail and the trail, in other pieces, humbled me. Eventually (it felt that way anyway), I popped out onto the easy-rolling decomposed granite trail surface that rolls like cares off your back when on mountain time. Long views of more distant snowy peaks and warm sunshine on my back put a sense of ease back into my being, the jolt of the endo a thing of the past.

Back at the car, I assessed my newly acquired wounds, dousing them with some water from my bottles stashed in the car. Thinking of the totality of the trail, along with the road ride to the top, I came to one conclusion: Lower Rock Creek Trail is what mountain biking is all about, if it is about natural beauty, pushing yourself, fun/fast/flow, actually mountain biking in the mountains, old-school challenge of “cleaning” a section of trail, and having some pucker-factor while doing so.

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Trail info:

https://www.visitmammoth.com/trip-ideas/mountain-biking-lower-rock-creek-trail

If you are planning a trip to Mammoth, the northern trailhead is not more than a twenty minute drive from town. The southern trailhead is closer to Bishop, also about a twenty minute drive from town.

A little focus on Bishop:

Great coffee and delicious food can be found at Looney Bean in Bishop.

https://www.looneybeanbishop.com/

Black Sheep Coffee Roasters also has local beers on tap.

https://www.blacksheepcoffeeroasters.com/

Hankering for a locally-brewed cold beer and grub? Check out Mountain Rambler Brewery in the center of Bishop. The deck outside affords beautiful views of the majestic Eastern Sierra Nevada Mountains.

https://www.mountainramblerbrewery.com/

There are many Mexican food options, local bars, and of course, there’s Schat’s, in case you forgot!