13.4 miles
Distance
1,913 ft
Climb
-4,008 ft
Descent
1 mile
High Point

Mills Peak Shuttle Alternate descent route that Features Mt. Elwell and Smith Creek Trail

Detailed Description
Mills Peak Shuttle - Mt. Elwell Descent is a 13 mile moderately popular expert route located near Graeagle California. This mountain bike only route can be used one direction. This route includes 9 trails. This route climbs 1,913 ft with a max elevation of 7,748 ft then descends -4,008 ft.
Local Trail Association
Local trail association
Sierra Buttes Trail Stewardship (www.sierratrails.org)
Please consider joining or donating to the local riding association to support trail development & maintenance.
donate to earn trail karma!

23 Reviews & Comments


We hope you've been enjoying Trailforks!

Create a FREE account to view route comments and much more.

Create a Free Account

Trails in Route

Details

  • Riding area
    Lakes Basin
  • Primary Activity
    Mountain Bike
  • Difficulty rating
    Black Diamond
  • Route Type
    Shuttled
  • Bike type
    DH, AM
  • Direction
    One Direction
More Stats for Mills Peak Shuttle - Mt. Elwell Descent mountain bike route
  • Avg time
    3 hr 42 min
  • Altitude change
    -2,094 ft
  • Altitude min
    4,417 ft
  • Altitude start
    6,511 ft
  • Altitude end
    4,416 ft
  • Grade
    -3%
  • Grade max
    -67.9%
  • Grade min
    54.1%
  • Distance climb
    4 miles
  • Distance down
    9 miles
  • Distance flat
    3,862 ft
no votes yet
close
  • BasemapMap 
    • Pro
    • Pro
    • Pro
    • Pro
    • Pro
    • Pro
    • Pro
    • Pro
3D
Trail Conditions
  • Unknown
  • Snow Groomed
  • Snow Packed
  • Snow Covered
  • Snow Cover Partial
  • Freeze/thaw Cycle
  • Icy
  • Prevalent Mud
  • Wet
  • Variable
  • Ideal
  • Dry
  • Very Dry
Trail Flow (Ridden Direction)
Trailforks scans users ridelogs to determine the most popular direction each trail is ridden. A good flowing trail network will have most trails flowing in a single direction according to their intension.
The colour categories are based on what percentage of riders are riding a trail in its intended direction.
  • > 96%
  • > 90%
  • > 80%
  • > 70%
  • > 50%
  • < 50%
  • bi-directional trail
  • no data
Trail Last Ridden
Trailforks scans ridelogs to determine the last time a trail was ridden.
  • < 2 days
  • < 1 week
  • < 2 weeks
  • < 1 month
  • < 6 months
  • > 6 months
Trail Ridden Direction
The intended direction a trail should be ridden.
  • Downhill Only
  • Downhill Primary
  • Both Directions
  • Uphill Primary
  • Uphill Only
  • One Direction
Contribute Details
Colors indicate trail is missing specified detail.
  • Description
  • Photos
  • Description & Photos
  • Videos
Trail Popularity ?
Trailforks scans ridelogs to determine which trails are ridden the most in the last 9 months. Trails are compared with nearby trails in the same city region with a possible 25 colour shades. Think of this as a heatmap, more rides = more kinetic energy = warmer colors.
  • most popular
  • popular
  • less popular
  • not popular
ATV/ORV/OHV Filter
Max Vehicle Width
inches
US Cell Coverage
Legend
cell carrier legend

Radar Time
x Activity Recordings
Trailforks users anonymized public ridelogs from the past 6 months.
  • mountain biking recent
  • mountain biking (>6 month)
  • hiking (1 year)
  • moto (1 year)
Activity Recordings
Trailforks users anonymized public skilogs from the past 12 months.
  • Downhill Ski
  • Backcountry Ski
  • Nordic Ski
  • Snowmobile
Winter Trails
Warning A routing network for winter maps does not exist. Selecting trails using the winter trails layer has been disabled.
x Missing Trails
Most Popular
Least Popular
Trails are colored based on popularity. The more popular a trail is, the more red. Less popular trails trend towards green.
Jump Magnitude Heatmap
Heatmap of where riders jump on trails. Zoom in to see individual jumps, click circles to view jump details.
Trails Deemphasized
Trails are shown in grey.
disable
Only show trails with NO bikes.
enable

Save the current map location and zoom level as your default home location whenever this page is loaded.

Save
Trail transparency
view larger map

Photos

more photos »
17
18
18
6

Videos

more videos »
Lakes Basin - Part II: Mount Elwell Peak Trail
Lakes Basin - Part II: Mount Elwell Peak Trail
10:00 | 120 | comments: 0 | favs:
Dec 2, 2023

Recent Trail Reports Along Route

statustraildateconditiondescription
Mount Elwell Peak Trail
Jun 28, 2025 @ 2:56pm
Jun 28, 2025
Went over the top, BIG snow drifts, pretty nasty sliding down and steep. Worth waiting a couple weeks, I’m sure it’ll melt fast. A few big trees down as well.
Mount Ewell Peak Trail (Silver to Long)
Jun 25, 2025 @ 8:35am
Jun 25, 2025
All clear
Silver Lake Trail (Ewell to Mud Lake)
Jun 25, 2025 @ 8:34am
Jun 25, 2025
Tiny bits of snow but basically clear
Smith Creek Trail (12E22)
Jun 16, 2025 @ 12:27pm
Jun 16, 2025
Lakes Basin Trail Access
May 18, 2025 @ 1:09pm
May 18, 2025
Definitely not worth the climb. Use the road. Pretty fun for quick little downhill. Maybe black rated cause of pine cones and rutted out streams.
more reports »
  • By egodeathmetalTF Pro & contributors
  • #38139 - 1,679 views