This is a 20-mile loop on flat dirt roads. The ride parallels a section of
the old Carson and Colorado narrow-gauge railroad,
the railroad which ran from Carson City, Nevada to Keeler.
Narrow Gaugge Railroad Map
a map (258k) of this ride.
Access
From City Park at the north end of Lone Pine, travel north on Highway 395
for half a mile. Turn right (east) onto Lone Pine Narrow Gauge Road. Take
a sharp left, then a right and park off the road. Lone Pine Station, a private
residence, is on the left.
The Ride
Take the paved road east, over Owens River bridge, cross the flat and ride
past a radar installation. At a Y-junction take the paved road to the left.
Go right at a second junction and follow this to a third T-junction at a
gravel road. This is the site of the Mt. Whitney Station ( the Lone Pine
Stop) on the railroad.
Turn left onto a county road and ride north. After riding a little more than
5 miles you will arrive at the site of the ruins of Owenyo Station. Owenyo
Station was the junction of the Southern Pacific Railroad standard gauge and
the Carson and Colorado Narrow gauge lines. Here materials and ore were transferred
between the railroads.
Ride a little under 5 miles further past some low sand dunes and old mines,
and you will come to the old Manzanar Station.
Take a left turn toward the Sierra Nevada and ride for approximately a quarter
of a mile. Take another left turn, south and follow a line of power lines
and the Owens River for 8 miles past marshy areas where tule deer may be spotted.
Continue riding on this road which crosses the old Southern Pacific Railroad
near Owenyo Station. Turn right onto a paved road near the radar installation
and ride back to your starting point.
View Map
a map (258k) of this ride.
