Mountain biking in Mammoth Lakes is exciting and exhilarating. Exploring our Paper Route Trail might just be the highlight of your trip. This route took a bit of creativity to put together, but we do encourage having an app like Trail Forks with you on your phone so you don’t get lost on the many trails that Mammoth Mountain has to offer!
- Distance: 19-20 miles
- Time: 4 hours
- Elevation Gain: 1,700+ ft
- When we went: Oct 6 – After the lifts closed
- Route Finding Difficulty: Moderate
- Physical Exertion Difficulty: Moderate
- Map
Getting there: We started our route in town and left the road for the trail starting here, at Uptown Trail. There is a trail sign where you will turn off the main road onto the trail. For this route we definitely set out to explore, so we found ourselves doing a nice big loop of mixed single track and some pavement.
We headed up Uptown Trail for a bit over 3 miles before turning left onto Paper Route Trail. The paper route trail continues across Mammoth mountain for a few miles, providing beautiful views, until it finally dead-ends at the downhill trail called Juniper Trail. Note that there are many trails that you’ll be passing, so keep an app like Trail Forks handy so you don’t get lost!
When you reach Juniper Trail, make a left and head downhill. There are some tight turns and switchbacks, so don’t let the beautiful views distract you too much! In approximately one mile, you’ll intersect Lakes Trail. Turn right to ride across the ridge and head down towards the campgrounds and Lakes Basin paved bike path, or continue straight to end up back in town.
We turned right and continued out Lakes Trail until we hit the main road.
If you feel like going exploring, this is where it gets chill but beautiful. Ride through the campground along Twin Lakes, and then hit Lakes Basin Path to check out the scenery.
Explore the beauty, and when you’re ready to head back into town you can ride down the road until you can hop onto the bottom of Juniper Trail and link to Town Loop.
Always remember to bring lots of water and snacks when you go out. If you like this trail, check out the Beach Cruiser Route as well!
PROS:
- Beautiful Views.
- A mixture of dirt and pavement for a chill day.
CONS:
- A lot of trails, so route-finding can take a lot of time.
- The lakes area can get busy with cruisers and people walking.
THE SPLIT DECISION:
Jay’s Take: “Definitely stunning views. I loved it when we got to the Lake’s Trail the most. The views above the campground around the Lakes Basin area were jaw dropping. I would do this route again in a heartbeat.”
Tyese’s Take: “My favorite part of this route was Paper Route until we hit the road after Lake’s Trail. Riding the pavement through the campground and around the Lakes Basin area could have been a different outing in my opinion, as a lot of people were strolling through casually or on cruiser’s. But everything was so so pretty, and knowing me, I would have never done it casually ha! I loved every minute of it!”
