California Off-Road Trails

Shwerwin Creek Cutoff is a scenic, slower-paced dirt-road alternative to Highway 395 between Convict Lake and Mammoth Lakes. It follows a powerline corridor over a hard-packed, two-track surface of small marble and golfball-sized rocks. A low, grass-covered center ridge separates the two well-worn tire tracks and may present a challenge for low-clearance vehicles. The road offers unobstructed views of the jagged peaks of the Sherwin Range and John Muir Wilderness rising dramatically to the south. The western end passes closely to a highly polluted wastewater pond that should be avoided by all human and pet contact. Although there is no camping specifically along this road, west of the wastewater pond, nearly a dozen dispersed campsites can be found nestled at the base of the mountain range along FS 4S31A. These campsites can be reached by taking the southernmost road at the western intersection of Sherwin Creek Cutoff and Sherwin Creek Road.