Tom's Mountain Bike pages Pages

November 16, 2018

Tucson area Mountain Bike rides

One article lists the following as the five "best" rides in the Tucson area:

Sweetwater (almost in my backyard)
Honeybee Canyon - Rail X (long)
Arizona Trail via Gabe Zimmerman
West Desert Preserve - Green Valley
Fantasy Island, Valencia side is easiest (east side)
Starr Pass (west side)

I don't much like Fantasy Island, and it is way on the east side of town. A big chunk of it got traded to developers by the state.

Two places I find good for some easier riding are:

Tortolita Mountain Preserve
McKenzie Ranch (near Gabe Zimmerman trailhead).

There is an old trail rating system, sadly still in use, that uses numbers and letters like 2A, 3B, (9X for all I know). Despite many searches, I have yet to find this explained. Apparently it is being replaced by a new (better!) ski run like system with green, blue, and various black diamond ratings.

There are things I like about both Trail Forks and MTB Project. I have an app for both on my Android Phone. I find the Trail Forks ratings much more useful, and the way they color code trail difficulty on their maps is very helpful. Sometimes it pays to check both, as one may have a better description than the other.

Have any comments? Questions? Drop me a line!

Tom's mountain bike pages / tom@mmto.org