Sherwin Ridge, aka ‘The Sherwins’, is a long flat-topped peak directly south of the town of Mammoth Lakes. The peak is more of a long ridge that runs NW to SE, and with a quick car shuttle it’s a pretty quick hike up the backside.

The closest LZ is directly below the NE face, in a medium sized meadow that sits just under the impressive white rock formation called ‘Mammoth Rock’. It is kind of tricky to get your car close to this spot, as most of the streets are gated and the land surrounding the LZ is private. Landing on the golf course is a huge no-no, so don’t do it. While the LZ is legal to land and travel on, most everything around it is not. Respect the home owners and golf course, and act accordingly! If you have altitude, you can fly over the golf course and driving range, and land out by Sherwin Creek rd in the big open areas.

To reach the take-off area- Drive up Lake Mary rd past the first set of lakes, Twin Lakes. After Lower Twin Lake, and before Lake Mary, you will encounter a horse packing station. This is where the hiking trail starts from. From here head east on foot, following the old dirt road which within a minute or two heads NE. Catch the NW ridge of Sherwin Ridge close to the old mining ruins, and then head on up the trails that lead in the direction to the top. Just over halfway up your hike, you will encounter a long cliff band of vertical rock. Here you must traverse right (south) through a talus field that runs below the cliff band. A steep trail up through a chute gets you to the summit plateau. Head over to the NE face and traverse SE along the flat-topped peak to what the skiers call the ‘Main Avalanch Path’. There are many spots to launch from, but this one is best.

Launching from the top of the Sherwins-

You can see the LZ in this photo- It’s the giant snowy area on the lower right. Stay off the golf course!

The view from flying down Mammoth Mountain, and looking SE towards Sherwin Ridge. You hike up the sun/shade line on the Sherwin’s NW ridge, which is facing towards us. From this view, you park down on the right which is sunny in this pic, and fly down the shaded left side-

Landing at the meadow LZ, right below the Sherwins. The off-limits golf course can almost be seen between the two groupings of homes in the further back of the image-

Launch site: Sherwin Ridge

Aspect: NE

Vertical descent: 2,000 ft

Launch elevation: 10,000 ft

Best for: PG and speed wings

Approach: Ten minutes driving on paved road, then 1,100 vertical feet hiking.

Time to launch from the LZ: 1.5 hours

Glide ratio to primary LZ: Steep