The Mammoth Mountain bike park is closed for the season, but there are plenty of places to ride in the Mammoth Lakes area. Don't put that mountain bike in storage just yet, below are a few suggestions for fun trails that are open until the snow starts flying.
1 - Panorama Dome Trail to Mammoth Rock Trail
My favorite ride in town is actually a combination of two trails. The Panorama Dome Mountain Bike Trail and the Mammoth Rock trail can be connected via Old Mammoth Road. (tip: don't ride the rock trail starting at Sherwin Creek Road unless you want a serious workout, ride it "backwards" for more downhill fun) You can either park at the Twin Lakes parking lot or you can ride up the Lakes Basin path to the start of the trail directly across the street from Twin Lakes. Panorama Dome trail stats with a moderate climb and then it is a super fun single track through dense forest that exits onto Old Mammoth Road. Cruise down the road for maybe 1/4 mile and you'll see Mammoth Rock Trail on your right. Continue down Mammoth Rock Trail for epic views and a few challenging rocky sections. There area few options to extend your ride on Mammoth Rock trail, but you will eventually end up on Sherwin Creek Road. This ride can be done as a loop if you aren't afraid of a little pedaling.
2. Mountain View Trail
Another great ride is the Mountain View trail that starts just before the entrance to Devil's Postpile and Rainbow Falls. There is a dirt parking lot on the right side just before you go through the entrance to Devil's Postpile (past Mammoth Mountain Main Lodge) near the start of the Minaret Vista trail. It is a little tricky to find the start of the trail, but just head down the dirt road a bit (slightly to the left, downhill) and you'll see the sign for the trail. This is mostly a downhill singletrack ride, but there are also a couple significant climbs. You'll cruise through some varied terrain, pass through the Inyo Craters parking lot, and end up crossing Minaret road where you can link to Mammoth Mountain's Downtown trail.
3. Mammoth Lakes Town Bike Path
Although this is technically not a mountain bike trail, it is totally worth the ride. You can start just about anywhere in town and it takes you from Eagle Lodge through the Valentine Reserve through Old Mammoth and down past Sherwin Creek near the Volcom Brothers Skate Park to Shady Rest Park. There a plenty of descriptions of the trail online, so I won't bother giving you all the details, but it is a fun, relatively easy 7.8 mile loop with some great scenery along the way. For a more detailed description click here