Swansea-Cerro Gordo Road

Total Miles
31.7

Elevation

2,847.40 ft

Duration

6 Hours

Technical Rating

5

Moderate

Best Time

Summer

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Swansea-Cerro Gordo Road 8

Trail Overview

Road climbs rapidly through wilderness corridor to ridge atop Inyo Mountains. Great views, wildflowers and historical mining structures including a large tramway station. Route goes past Cerro Gordo Mines and Ghost Town. This private property was once open to guided tours, but an online posting says this is no longer the case.

Photos of Swansea-Cerro Gordo Road

Swansea-Cerro Gordo Road
Swansea-Cerro Gordo Road

Difficulty

Moderate: Steep, narrow and rocky in places. Prone to washouts and rock slides. Suitable for aggressive stock 4x4 SUVs with high clearance and skid plates. Not for novice drivers.

History

The Salt Tram was an engineering marvel when construction began in 1911. It operated until 1930 carrying salt from the floor of Saline Valley over the Inyo Mountains and back down to a processing plant just north of the town of Swansea (where the trail starts). The BLM has a project underway to stabilize the tram station. Fire is its greatest danger. Please respect the property and take only pictures. Source: Kiosk at the Tram Station.

Technical Rating

5

Status Reports

James Waechter
Jul 01, 2024
2020 Jeep Cherokee
Open
Dusty
Washboard
Normal
Went from Keeler to the top of the saddle above Cerro Gordo and back only. Road was in great shape, didn't need 4WD to get up even with overinflated tires from hot sand and high altitude, although low range may help on the 2nd half just to keep the transmission happy. Low is also a good idea for the descent, there is one turn 2/3 up that you don't want to face with fading brakes! Recommend pulling off at the flat area half way up to let your transmission cool and take in some of the views. The entire trip is beautiful
Victor Jara
Jun 07, 2024
2018 Jeep Wrangler
Open
Normal
Ran entire loop from Swansea, to Salt Tram, and exited via Cerro Gordo. Trail is in great shape!
Branden Gabel
Apr 26, 2024
Open
Normal
Dusty
We did not travel the whole route! Trail is open starting from the South point and up to Cerro Gordo town. We did an up and back down the same south side just to show some friends the town. Beautiful trail and very easy drive, when up there it started to snow so we headed back down. It didn’t seem like it was going to snow for too long.
Rick Jackson
Apr 20, 2024
SxS
Obstructed
Deep Snow
I think we were about 10 miles from Cerro Gordo where we planned to go through. Snow was pretty deep, but one guy managed to go ahead a little further and reported that it was too risky on the north facing areas. We turned back.

Access Description

From Hwy. 395 in Lone Pine, take Hwy. 136 east 9.6 miles and turn left just before house with high fence. Small sign on mailbox says 'Welcome to Swansea.'

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