The famous ski-movie mogul, Warren Miller, who has skied everywhere with everyone who was anybody, always said his favorite place to ski was anywhere there was decent snow on a hill where you were with friends and having fun. So it may be said of our sport that any decent off-road area, near or far, where you are lucky enough to be riding with friends, is wonderful.
Nonetheless, some places seem more wonderful than others. To wit, we seem to be frequently magnetized to the ugly places of the earth. If we ride for more than an hour without passing an area of tire carcasses, rusting junk and an old refrigerator, well, something seems askew. Further, we tell ourselves the desert has beauty of its own and it does. Yet, some of us yearn for greener pastures.
Reality reveals that about as close as we residents of this semi-arid (i.e. desert) Southern California get to riding through green pastures is to ride through the mostly green pine forests from Lake Silverwood to east of Big Bear Lake. Common, out-of-the-area "green" rides usually include Kennedy Meadows near Inyokern and the Sequoias from Kernville to Yosemite. All are great.
Yet, there is a place a little farther away that is superior. It is called Mammoth and it's fantastic! Temperature-wise, the summers get into the high 70's, with lows in the 50's. It's a lot cooler than the Mojave Desert in the summer, and a lot closer than Oregon, Colorado, or Utah. Three of us just did a four-day ride over the Fourth of July weekend. The town was jammed, yet we saw zero riders on the trails, although we rode as much as 130 miles per day!
They say there are over 5,000 miles of trails within two hours of town. Most are green sticker. One easy OHV trail head starts 200 yards from downtown. The BLM, Forest Rangers and the City Council all encourage off-roading. Ski towns need non-snow season bucks. Imagine that! Someone wants us!
Most of the riding is east of Highway 395. The town is west. Not too much single track, but lots of old two track or seldom used Jeep roads winding through the forest, across meadows and streams, up ridge peaks to hilltops with 360-degree spectacular views of the Sierras, Crowley and Mono Lakes, the White Mountains, etc.
Riding off trails on dirt roads is not allowed. There are some big, wide, smooth dirt roads you can really haul on to access neat trails miles from Highway 395. You can go clear through the forest to desert areas to the east. Two ways to get acquainted are the District 37 ride and the Dick Allen Sierra Safari. Each has lots of riders, so expect lots of dust.
Riding from downtown, you can go north about ten minutes to an underpass to cross Highway 395. We like to truck the bikes north up Highway 395 fifteen minutes from town to Big Springs Campground, or to the OHV trail head near Deadman's Summit on the turnoff to Lookout Mountain. There is not a lot of technical riding, but what there is will delight the senses.
One great route is to get back to Sagehen Springs to Highway 120 to 1S15 to 2903 to 1S17 to 1S04 to the summit of Bald Mountain. Another is to get west of Highway 395 near June Lake and Grant Lakes to Upper Horse Meadow from 1N16A down to the Mobil gas station/restaurant for lunch near the junction of Highway 395 and Highway 120, then back across Highway 395 onto 1S08 to 1S37 past Mono Craters back into the forest up to Lookout Mountain. Early morning and beyond sunset are my favorite times in the forests.
I've done three organized two-day events, plus six additional days and still feel like I have just scratched the surface. Also, organized rides are great, but there is a lot less dust if it's just you and a few pals. A compass or GPS is a good idea, but not necessary. The best map is available from Fine Edge Productions of Bishop, California. It is a topographical map and is also available at the Visitors Center as you drive into town, as is an OHV map produced by the City of Mammoth.