EASTERN CALIFORNIA
Home to the tallest peak in the 48 states (Mt. Whitney) and the lowest point in North America (Death Valley), Eastern California is a very special place!
Crossover difficulty
Easy
Moderate
Moderate
Moderate
Moderate
Moderate
Hard
Moderate
Hard
EASY
Alabama Hills
Whitmore Hotspring Area
Whitmore Hotspring Area
Inyo County
-Difficulty: Easy/Moderate
-Rec. Clearance: Car friendly
-Dispersed Camping: this place is no secret. There are a copious amount of campsites here. This place is "large convoy" friendly.
-Nearby: The Mount Whitney portal is just 7 miles away. There's also a secret mine 10 miles north (it's a secret, so not saying anymore!).
Whitmore Hotspring Area
Whitmore Hotspring Area
Whitmore Hotspring Area
Mono County
-Difficulty: Easy
-Rec. Clearance: 7"
-Dispersed Camping: this is a vast area of BLM land just East of the Mammoth Airport.
-Nearby: Mammoth Ski Resort is just 15 miles West/NorthWest. There are multiple hotsprings to discover.
Mono Lake
Grant Lake
Grant Lake
Mono County
-Difficulty: Easy
-Rec. Clearance: Car friendly
-Dispersed Camping: vast areas of BLM land surround Mono Lake. Actually, you can even camp on the islands in the middle of mono lake. There's an abandoned ghost facility there!
-Nearby: make sure to check out the Mono Lake visitor center. The Bodie Ghost town is just 30 miles north on-road and 20 miles north off-road.
Grant Lake
Grant Lake
Grant Lake
Mono County
-Difficulty: Easy
-Rec. Clearance: Car friendly
-Dispersed Camping: There's many places to camp on the east side of the lake. Some of the campsites require more offroad capability (like the one picture above).
-Nearby: Bodie Ghost town, Mammoth Lakes, San Joaquin Ridge Road
MODERATE
San Joaquin Ridge Road
San Joaquin Ridge Road
San Joaquin Ridge Road
Mammoth, Mono County
-Difficulty:
AWD: Moderate
4WD: Easy/Moderate
-Rec. Clearance: 8.5 inches
-Dispersed Camping: None close by. Travel to the Mammoth scenic loop, Whitmore hotsprings, or Grant lake.
-Nearby: Mammoth Lakes, Mono Lake, June Lake, Grant Lake
Titus Canyon
San Joaquin Ridge Road
San Joaquin Ridge Road
Death Valley NP, Inyo County
-Difficulty:
AWD: Moderate
4WD: Easy
-Rec. Clearance: 8.5 inches
-Challenges: This is a one way trail that is easy when it's dry, can can become dangerous when wet. This trail is an easy fire road with amazing views.
-Dispersed Camping: 2 miles Northeast of the trail head there's BLM land in Rhyolite.
Race Track Playa
Goler Wash / Canyon
Goler Wash / Canyon
Death Valley NP, Inyo County
-AWD Difficulty: Easy/Moderate
-4WD Difficulty: Easy/Moderate
-Rec. Clearance: 8"
-Challenges: These brutal 26 miles of washboard roads are notorious for melting shocks and ripping bushings. This trail is by no means technical, it's just abusive.
Nearby: Ubehebe crater neighbors the start of the trail to the Racetrack Playa. Hunter Mountain and the now infamous Lippincott road are adjacent to the playa.
Goler Wash / Canyon
Goler Wash / Canyon
Goler Wash / Canyon
Death Valley NP, Inyo County
-Difficulty:
AWD: moderate
4WD: Easy
-Rec. Clearance: 9"
-Challenges: This is mostly a beautiful dirt road, but there is one section that can be a little challenging. This trail use to have a ledge to drive up, but it has since been serviced by the national park service and they filled the obstacle in with gravel. It appears that this gravel can become rutted out, so beware.
-Nearby: traveling West to East, this trail leads to the Barker Ranch, which is where the infamous Charles Manson was caught hiding out. From here, you enter Mengel Pass, which is a severe trail for AWD.
HARD+
Coyote Flats / Funnel Lake
Coyote Flats / Funnel Lake
Coyote Flats / Funnel Lake
Inyo County
-AWD Difficulty: Very Hard/Impossible
-4WD Difficulty: Moderate/Hard
-Rec. Clearance: 11"
-Challenges: Steep climbs (overheating), and rock gardens.
-Dispersed camping: there are camp spots clumped together in various area's but the main flat is a meadow with little camping opportunities. You'll need to take a side road to find camp.
Nearby: nothing, you will be pretty remote.
Monache Meadows
Coyote Flats / Funnel Lake
Coyote Flats / Funnel Lake
Inyo County
-AWD Difficulty: Hard
-4WD Difficulty: Easy/Moderate
-Rec. Clearance: 10"
-Challenges: Ruts and Shelves while uphill.
-Dispersed camping: There's many dispersed camping spots, but this place has been getting more and more popular and crowded, space may be limited. You have to camp within 15 feet of the road and 100 feet away from bodies of water.
Secret Mine near Lone Pine
Coyote Flats / Funnel Lake
Secret Mine near Lone Pine
Inyo County
-AWD Difficulty: Hard
-4WD Difficulty: Easy/Moderate
-Rec. Clearance: 10"
-Sorry I can't give you the location to this mine. The goal of this trail database is to simply help you determine "if you can do it". A traffic jam here would be catastrophic.
Bodie Road
Kavanaugh Ridge
Secret Mine near Lone Pine
Mono County
-Difficulty: Hard
-Rec. Clearance: 10"
-The Bodie Ghost town is 61 miles away from Mammoth, CA. It was an old mining town that was established in 1861 and was populated until 1940. Bodie Rd. starts off really easy, but turns into an impassable rocky road.
Laurel Lake
Kavanaugh Ridge
Kavanaugh Ridge
Mono County
-AWD Difficulty: Hard
-4WD Difficulty: Moderate
-Rec. Clearance: 10"
-Challenges: Steep, Loose climb. 3000 ft. elevation gain in 5 miles. 1/2 mile of rough terrain rocky terrain. Sharp rocks. Switch back that requires a multi-point turn.
-This trail is considered a "moderate" 4x4 trail. This should only be attempted by an experienced AWD driver.
-Dispersed camping: Yes. It's likely to be prone to overcrowding.
Kavanaugh Ridge
Kavanaugh Ridge
Kavanaugh Ridge
Mono County
-AWD Difficulty: Hard
-4WD Difficulty: Easy
-Rec. Clearance: 10"
-Challenges: This trail is not very technical but it is very very steep! This trail will most likely stress out any vehicle without low range gearing. The climb starts at 9,400 ft. and ends at 11,000 ft.
-Dispersed camping: Yes, can be prone to overcrowding.
Leavitt Lake
Leavitt Lake
Leavitt Lake
Mono County
-AWD Difficulty: Moderate/Hard
-4WD Difficulty: Moderate
-Rec. Clearance: 10"
-Trail Length: 3 miles one way
-Challenges: The trail starts at 8500 ft and ends at 9600 ft. The elevation can affect some vehicles without a low gear transfer case. There is a rough section 1 mile into the trail. It's rocky.
-Dispersed camping: Yes, there is a lot of camping
Mengel Pass
Leavitt Lake
Leavitt Lake
Death Valley NP, Inyo County
-Difficulty:
AWD: Severe
4WD: Moderate/Difficult
-Rec. Clearance: 11+"
-Challenges: for 2 miles straight, you will be driving through very rocky terrain. In the middle of the rough section is a formidable obstacle (pictured). As you approach this obstacle you risk rolling your vehicle because of how off camber it is. The obstacle itself poses a risk to body damage.
-Nearby: traveling West to East, this trail leads to Warm Butte Valley, which is a large gravel road. Don't travel too fast on this trail, we had a Ram Power Wagon and Jeep Grand Cherokee WJ blow double tires. They appeared to be pinch flats. Keep the speed below 20 mph. This road will lead to the paved Bad Water Basin road.