The best MTB trails in Volcanic Tablelands Wilderness Study Area

You can find a shaded picnic table and portable restroom at the trailhead to Lower Rock Creek Canyon. The canyon is a mountain biking destination and scenic hiking area. The views of the mountains and valley from Paradise are gorgeous.

Bike through the Tungsten Hills, the low, reddish hills west of the town of Bishop. This area was once home to a major tungsten mining site until the late 1940s and still has numerous old mines and an open pit. Keep an eye out for shiny rocks; they could be semi-precious minerals like red garnet, epidote, and quartz crystals while riding.

Take a look into the old Jackrabbit Mine, but it is not recommended to go exploring here. This mine is a historic tungsten mine located along Deep Canyon. Sitting within the Deep Creek-Tungsten Hills Mining District of Inyo National Forest, the area features Mesozoic granitic rocks. This mine also has amazing views around it.

Coyote Valley Road is a fairly wide, sand and gravel road that heads south from West Bishop toward Peterson Mill. The road starts in a sandy wash, which can be challenging without fat/large tires. Once you reach the switchbacks, the terrain improves, though the incline can still be tough in places. At 8,000 feet, you arrive at the top of Chipmunk Canyon, which might also require hiking due to sand, but you're close to the top. After the sandy wash, you will soon see the first chance to turn left onto the Coyote Flat connector which links up with the popular Waganobe Trail. If continue right past this junction, you descend to the creek, and climb up to the summit of Coyote Flat, where you finally begin to descend.

Formerly known as the Druid Stones Trail, the Waganobe Trail has been renamed by the local Paiute Tribe. This challenging downhill trail can be reached a few different ways, but for folks looking for a very full day you can climb the Coyote Valley Road (7S10) with a 4,500-foot elevation gain. Alternatively, you can shuttle cars and complete a shorter 2,600-foot climb up Habegger Road to about 11,000 feet that offers stunning views and fun descents on dirt roads leading to the singletrack portion. The start of the Waganobe Trail is about half a mile south of where Coyote Valley Road (7S10) crosses the West Fork of Coyote Creek. After taking the Coyote Flat Connector to the Waganobe Trail, and after a brief climb, you descend along a doubletrack, and complete another climb. The road then transitions into a steep, overgrown singletrack that opens into a meadow. Cross the meadow and find the trail in a stand of aspen trees until you reach a road, turning right to an open meadow. From here, a faint trail heads east through sagebrush. Watch your pedals in this section. Eventually, a left-hand turn across a creek appears. If missed (which is easy to do), the trail dead-ends shortly after anyway, s you can just backtrack to find the faint path up the hill on your right. This segment is technical if overgrown. As the brush clears, the trail becomes loose, but still super fun. The descent includes a few short, steep climbs, leading to a saddle where another trail splits left. Continuing straight, the landscape changes to open desert with large boulders and you'll eventually encounter plenty of hikers (so be respectful) as the trail becomes increasingly steep and technical over rocks. You continue the steep descent until you reach the trailhead.

Chalk Bluff, for which the road is named for, is remarkably a straight, ~5-mile-long, escarpment that forms the south edge of the Volcanic Tableland. Named Chalk Bluff for its light tan-to-white colored, chalk-like rocks, they stand in contrast to the darker, volcanic Bishop tuff boulders that stand atop the escarpment and are popular with rock climbers. The Owens River flows below the Chalk Bluff with the gravel road running between, all making for a truly unique riding experience.

As you ride along Chalk Bluff Road, you get great views of the Owens River and surrounding area. This is a great spot to pause your ride, snap a few photos, or dip your feet in the cold waters after a long ride.

Casa Diablo Mine Road is a dirt, generally well-maintained 4x4 road that cuts through The Volcanic Tablelands. Although it is an easy, non-technical road, you get truly stunning views of the snow-capped High-Sierra mountains as you ride. Dispersed camping is also allowed, making it a great spot to know about if the campsites are full, or if you are looking for a little more solitude in the desert.