Lone Ridge Plus

Lone Ridge Plus starts and finishes at the (Upper) Lone Ridge Trailhead. Distance is a little more than 4 miles. To get to this trailhead, turn south off S. China Lake Blvd. at Downs, and continue past the Lower Lone Ridge and Cholla trailheads. Turn right at the first good dirt road south of Cholla Trailhead, then left in another .2 mile. Stay right at a Y, heading toward the nose of the ridge. Parking at this trailhead is limited, so there is the option of parking elsewhere and warming up in getting to the route start.

From the Lone Ridge Trailhead, start up the steep trail, then cruise along the top of the ridge until reaching the saddle at the upper end of Lone Ridge. From here, retrace your path from Week 4 in reverse: up, right, up again, until you encounter the bike trail. This time turn left (south) and follow the trail for about 1.6 miles, until it ends at a flat junction of several roads.

Take a sharp left, heading downhill. This road soon turns right as it joins a wash. As you continue downhill, the road you are on merges onto the Downs/RC72. At the first major fork in the road, stay right (on Downs). Not much further on, there is a 3-way fork. Here, you will leave the more prominent Downs and take the middle fork. Follow that road downhill as it follows the east side of Lone Ridge and curves around, back to the trailhead.

There are numerous other ways to put together routes in the White Star Ridge area. You will discover other options as you explore here.