Swansea-Cerro Gordo Road

Ran clockwise from entrance off 136 close to Lone Pine. Made it all the way out to 190, 15 miles before Panamint Springs. Took just under 5 hours from the Chevron in Lone Pine + 1/4 tank of gas. Hardest part was the section 3 miles in through the canyon, lots of rock climbing. Other than that, rest of trail was pretty tame. Just need to watch downhill speed at parts. Only saw 2 PCT Hikers and no other vehicles the whole time.

Great day on the trail. No obstructions throughout the entire route. Did Swansea Cerro Gordo to the ghost town. High clearance 4x4 recommend. Lockers were not required to complete trail. Took roughly 7 hrs to complete.

Trail condition is OK, running counterclockwise with my open-diff T100, and doing mostly ok. I met with open washed out spot there is no way to get traction even with my aluminum land rover traction board, eventually get over with on-vehicle winch. For open diff and 32s, I think clockwise the trail is impassable. Sharp edge rock everywhere, I think heavy duty tire is critical.

Heading clockwise you will encounter some narrow canyons with numerous waterfall step ups and a long rocky climb. The trail smooths out for a bit and then keeps going up with loose and deteriorated road. Very top about 9,000 ‘ there was still deep snow. Loose down hills and eroded roads lead you back to the mine. Would not attempt on any bike larger than 450/500 and be an experienced trail rider. Some sections are black diamond rated IMO.

Trail was in good shape withinimal washboard. Definitely a 4x4 trail with a short shelve section. No idea how they got some of the equipment shown on the YouTube channel up here.

At the top the crusty snow looks passable but we broke through the crust and spent hours recovering one our most capable

Went to Cerro Gordo Ghost town from 136. Snowy toward the town.

my first real out-there trail for me and my wk2. it was a blast. climbing, stones, mud, slippery snow + exposure, and had to dig out cuz i was stuck in some slush then found myself sliding sideways down the parking lot. got myself straight again so good type-2 fun. had to turn around at the ghost town cuz a polaris side by side was stuck in a slot just below the summit. folks said it was the furthest anyone had gotten since a winter storm a few days prior. highlight was getting passed twice on the way up by a ROAD BIKER! gave him a beer at the top. and the he beat us down again to the trailhead. a gc and a 4runner in our convoy both got transmission indicator lights blnking so we took several cool down refreshment rest stops. my wk2 kicked ass.

We did the trail clockwise from Swansea. The most challenging section was in the first few miles climbing up through the narrow canyon. Steep with rocks and ledges. Some very steep downhills between the tram summit station and Cerro Gordo but road surface conditions were good. Tried to reach the tram from the Cerro Gordo side in mid-March but was blocked by snow drifts. Recommended for experienced drivers with high clearance, 4WD, low range and tough tires.

Well graded. Narrow and steep but not technical.

Ran counterclockwise: Cerro Gordo > tram > Burgess > Swansea. Cerro Gordo to the salt tram is relatively tame, but the Swansea side is definitely more challenging. Easy on 37s and a lift, but challenging for a stock JK Willy’s. Surprised to see an empty trail on the long weekend.

We took the southern route up to Cerro Gordo Mine. Long uphill climb, road was easy but grade went from 4000 to 8000+. Stop at ghost town mine and check in, they are very welcoming. Decided to try the road to the salt tram at the top ridge. Three phases of the route: shelf, canyon, ridge. Once you start the shelf, there is NO turning back, you have to complete as there are no turn arounds and no where to let oncoming vehicles pass. Make sure you can back up if you have to, road is all shelf rock and sharp. Drop off to the left and mountain to the right. Made it past shelf to amazing views and plateau. Then hit canyon, long steep drop in, rutted and large rocks, high clearance 4x4 a must, 4Lo mostly, rear locker helped a lot. Ran out of time to make ridge, took an hour to make half the canyon portion. My Silverado ZR2 did well, had to pick good lines over bolders. Buddy had older Tundra 4x, struggled on rock ledges in canyon. Will try to make summit ridge next time and start early.

This is just for the portion from Keeler to Cerro Gordo, the road is in good condition and dry. The snow from a couple weeks back is nowhere to be seen.