4x4 Trails:
Wheeler Crest 4WD Trail
(Inyo National Forest, Eastern Sierra Nevada, California)

This page reflects the portions of the route that I have traveled at the time of the page's last revision date (bottom of the page at the left) and primarily covers the trails beginning at Swall Meadows to the top of Wheeler Ridge via Wheeler Ridge Mine Road. As of this writing I have not yet covered the Wheeler Ridge Mine Road to its end, but have stopped short about 3.1 miles from its terminus.

As with any backcountry byway, road conditions can change considerably in short periods of time as a reflection of weather conditions and travel by others.

This page is laid out in three sections – Getting to the trail's start at Swall Meadows; the trail into Rock Creek Canyon and to the beginning of the Wheeler Ridge Mine Road; then the portion of the Wheeler Ridge Mine Road that I have traveled to date. As I cover more of the roads in and around the trail, this page will be amended.

Part 1: Getting to Swall Meadows

The Wheeler Crest 4x4 trail is accessed via the small community of Swall Meadows, located off of Lower Rock Creek Road; this road was the old alignment of US395 until the late 1950s.

To reach Swall Meadows from Bishop: Starting at the junction of US395 and US6 (next to the fairgrounds), drive north on US395 to Pine Creek Road, located 9.8 miles from the starting point at the US395/US6 junction. A few miles out of Bishop, the highway turns to a northeast direction and the view ahead is dominated by Wheeler Ridge. Turning onto Pine Creek Road, immediately turn right onto Lower Rock Creek Road, which is called Old Sherwin Road on many maps. This is the old US395, and it's shady two-lane is a tranquil drive compared to the often frenzied traffic driving along current US395 nearby. You are passing through Round Valley, its lush meadowland drew Inyo County's first Caucasian citizens here as early as 1860 for its rich farming and ranching potential. The road will soon pass out of Inyo County and into Mono County, and in 5.0 miles will make a sudden turn at the mouth of the canyon of Rock Creek and the historic Paradise Lodge resort (cabins and restaurant). A community of expensive homes – known as Paradise Estates – has sprung up above the resort and about 250 people live here. The road will now begin climbing in a gently zigzagging pattern up the sagebrush covered slope, and at 8.7 miles after turning onto Lower Rock Creek Road will now come to its junction with Swall Meadows Road. Turn west on Swall Meadows Road, and after seven-tenths of a mile turn right on Sky Ranch Road. Follow Sky Ranch Road for a half mile to a dirt road that takes off to the right (north). This is the beginning of our 4x4 trail.

To Reach Swall Meadows From Mammoth Lakes or points north: Take US395 southward to the vicinity of the resort of Tom's Place and community of Sunny Slopes across the highway; both located about 14.8 miles south of the turnoff of CA203 to Mammoth Lakes. Tom's Place is located at the mouth of Rock Creek, where our 4x4 trail will soon enter but high above the paved road into the high country of Rock Creek Canyon. Continue south on US395 for another eight-tenths of a mile and turn onto Lower Rock Creek Road. Lower Rock Creek Road will share the narrow canyon bottom with Rock Creek, and many inviting places are found along the creek. You will notice that on the western side of the road that fire has recently visited this region. In July of 2002 a large fire burned a couple thousand acres; our 4x4 byway will visit the upper side of this same fire. Lower Rock Creek Road will cross and re-cross Rock Creek several times, then suddenly climb out of the canyon and onto the same tableland that Swall Meadows is found. In 4.3 miles after turning off of US395, you will come to Swall Meadows Road. Again, turn right onto Swall Meadows Road and follow it for seven-tenths of a mile to Sky Ranch Road. Follow Sky Ranch Road for a half mile to a dirt road that takes off to the right (north). This is the beginning of our 4x4 trail.

The images below are those taken en route to the start of the trail from Bishop. Click on any image thumbnail to open full size.

Part 2: Swall Meadows to the Wheeler Ridge Mine Road

The route up Witcher Creek is open sagebrush country, with occasional Jeffery pine trees and dense willows along the creek. The route is a well traveled 2-track with no particular obstacles or bedrock protrusions. A road branches off at the 1.2 mile mark, but continue ahead. Just past this point, you will enter the forest of dead trees killed during the July 2002 fire. The area of burned trees is punctuated by dense stands of healthy trees spared in this fire and the route alternates between the surrealistic and idyllic as it traverses between the burned and unburned forest. About the 1.7 mile mark is a nice view to the north, which covers the forested tableland of Casa Diablo and beyond to the White Mountains. In the foreground is a mix of burned and unburned trees.

At a point 2.0 miles from the start of the trail, a short spur turns off to the right (north) and goes to Witcher Meadow, which can make a nice base camp. Our byway continues ahead, however.

At the spur to Witcher Meadow, Witcher Creek turns south to its source spring located up the hillside to the south of the road. About the 2.6 mile mark, the trail will top the saddle between Witcher Creek and Birch Creek, then contour over to meet Birch Creek at the 3.0 mile mark. Birch Creek runs along the bottom of Sand Canyon. Approaching Birch Creek, be watchful, for about three-tenths of a mile before crossing Birch Creek (or at the 2.7 mile mark), there is a large boulder well hidden in the dense willows and sagebrush that might catch your body side and do some bodywork of its own.

The route will continue upward along Birch Creek, the creek eventually disappearing. Before it does, however, dense brush and aspen trees impinge upon the route. The route then steepens and Sand Canyon takes a sharp upward path. As it climbs, it also swings from a westward to a southern direction. At 4.4 miles, the head of the canyon is reached and the route enters Rock Creek Canyon upon a shelf. The elevation here is about 8,858 feet, or about 650 feet above the floor of Rock Creek Canyon a short distance to the west.

The vegetation turns abruptly to dense thickets of mountain mahogany and sagebrush. Dwarf aspen tree also hem in the trail at various points. Views ahead take in the 13,000 foot plus Sierra Nevada peaks of Mt. Morgan, Mt. Julius Caesar, Mt. Abbot and Mt. Mills. Views to the north and northeast take in the southern Crowley Lake area, the upper Owens River Gorge, Casa Diablo and the White Mountains in the distance.

The route slowly climbs with the bench. Vegetation along the way continues to be dominated by mountain mahogany, but eventually scattered lodgepole pines will begin to take over. The pathway is littered with small and large stones, keeping speeds low.

At a point 7.25 miles after turning off onto our byway at Swall Meadows the road junction with the Wheeler Ridge Mine Road in a small meadow at an elevation of about 9,810 feet. There is a sign indicating the route up to the summit of Wheeler Ridge. Our pathway will turn up this road.

The route ahead beyond the Wheeler Ridge Mine Road continues for another 2.25 miles and re-enters Inyo County, dead-ending at the John Muir Wilderness boundary at an elevation of about 10,180 feet. There are several small unnamed lakes within a short walk of the end of the road. I've not yet traveled this route. The topographic map also shows another set of roads that head east to some meadows near the wilderness boundary. Another road is shown running down to Rock Creek Lake, but to my knowledge this road is closed.

The photos below follow our path from Swall Meadows to the Wheeler Ridge Mine Road junction. Click on any thumbnail to open a full size photo.

Part 2: Wheeler Ridge Mine Road

The Wheeler Ridge Mine Road takes off at the sign in the middle of the small meadow 7.25 miles from Swall Meadows. It crosses the meadow on a southeastern trend to the base of the abrupt uplift leading to the summit of Wheeler Ridge, crossing a small draw; which may or may not hold any running water. Crossing the draw, the road skirts the bottom of the mountainside for a couple hundred feet and affords some nice views to the Sierra summits, then turns abruptly northeast and begins to climb up a narrow canyon filled by a heavy forest of lodgepole pine. A switchback partway up takes the path out of the canyon bottom and to the side, allowing some very nice views of the Sierra peaks.

About three-quarters of a mile along this trail, you will encounter a large boulder outcropping that will pose some work to get over for stock vehicles. Even with my locking rear differential, it required a bit of work clearing this obstacle with my 2002 Toyota Tacoma TRD 4WD truck. The problem was a pair of flat faced boulders of about hub height that were perfectly placed to catch the passenger side rear wheel and the driver side front wheel simultaneously. Making a run for it or trying to drive around it was out of the question – the trail is steep, boulders and trees to one side, debris and a drop-off with very soft gravels on the other posed too much potential for getting really stuck. Building ramps of small rocks and locking up the rear end helped, but I still had to do a lot of spinning and hopping to clear this spot. In this type of situation, an automatic transmission is a valuable aid, my truck has a 5-speed manual transmission. My buddy, Graham C., was driving his Toyota Tacoma TRD 4WD truck and also experienced the same difficulties as I did.

Above this obstacle, there are other boulder obstacles, but none of which posed any problem other than touching a skid plate down now and then.

At a point 1.3 miles up the trail, the route suddenly leaves the canyon bottom and turns southeast, contouring along the face of Wheeler Ridge. The gradient lessens somewhat, though boulders and large rock still cover the trail. At 1.8 miles a summit is reached and a small valley lies directly ahead, a small lake set into it. The elevation at the summit is about 10,920 feet.

At 2.1 miles after starting this trail, the small lake is reached, at an elevation of 10,810 feet. It is basically a shallow snowmelt pond and is barren of fish. There is no running water inlet, but it is obvious that occasionally water runs out of the lake and down a canyon immediately to the east. Graham's dog, Toby, spent about a half hour playfully splashing his way in and around the lake, at no point did it appear that the lake got deep enough that he had to resort to swimming. The soil in the valley is primarily made up of soft gravels and the road smooth.

At 2.3 miles, a trail heads to the south, but soon peters out. The trail ahead leaves the valley and rounds the bend to run along the face of Wheeler Ridge in a nearly due south trend. Views of the northern Owens Valley begin, but soon the road enters a thick forest and the views obscured somewhat. The road slowly descends while traveling southward and is in pretty good shape with no large rock outcroppings.

At a point 2.9 miles after starting the trail, a spur runs straight down the face of Wheeler Ridge about 825 feet to a small flat with a low wall of boulders. The elevation here is about 10,580 feet. There is enough level ground for several vehicles to camp out here and a wonderful view ranging from down around Big Pine north to nearly Crowley Lake is afforded, along with views up the South Fork of Bishop Creek country.

As of this writing, I have not ventured further south along the Wheeler Ridge Mine Road. The road continues 3.1 miles southward, in which it ends at the boundary of the John Muir Wilderness boundary, atop a saddle. Along the way are several tungsten prospects.

When I made my first trip and only trip to date along this road in September of 2006, Graham and I came across a group of ATV riders. One of them was riding a 2WD quad, the others 4WD quads. The driver of the 2WD quad told us that there was one steep hill he could not get up under his own power, having to be towed to the summit by one of the 4WD quads.

Looking at the topo map, the road contours along the face of Wheeler Ridge for a ways, then drops into a small bowl shaped valley. Beyond it climbs up a bit, contours through some rugged country, and then at 1.3 miles past the overlook spur suddenly turns east and drops about 160 vertical feet over a distance of about 461 feet – a 34% grade (I speculate that this is the slope mentioned by the driver of the 2WD quad mentioned earlier). Beyond that the road contours again, then accessing a gentle appearing canyon and rising to a summit east of Round Valley Peak and stops at an elevation of about 11,285 feet.

When I travel the remainder of the Wheeler Ridge Mine Road in the future, I'll amend this page with words and photos.

Returning back to Swall Meadows poses no problems other than occasional skid plat tapping on the larger boulder outcroppings. Gravity is a great aid on the way down through these spots that took some work to ascend. Regaining Lower Rock Creek Road, turn round and let your gaze sweep the summit of Wheeler Ridge. You can make out the road as it comes out of the small valley with the snowmelt pond and contour south along the face of the ridge. If you look sharply enough, you can even pinpoint the rocky outcropping that affords such a wonderful view.

Click on any of the thumbnails below to open the photos to their full size.

©2006, 2007 D.A. Wright
All Rights Reserved

Page Revised: 01/07/2007