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Riding in Phoenix

1K views 5 replies 6 participants last post by  redhawk 
#1 ·
Hi, I'm hoping to get some advice on what would be the best trails to ride in the Phoenix area. I have two days of riding available, and am in good shape. I'm a fairly advanced rider and, while I don't mind climbing, I only do it to enjoy the descents.

Singletracks.com recommends (1) Black Canyon Trail, (2) South Mountain /National Trail, and (3) McDowell Mountain Park.

MTB Project has a bunch of different trails listed, but I don't have a good way of figuring out which ones to go with: https://www.mtbproject.com/directory/8011648

Does it make sense to focus on only one area (e.g., South Mountain)? If not, any other suggestions?

Thanks!

PS: I did a search and didn't find anything too useful.
 
#2 ·
SoMo (South Mountain) has everything you'll ever need, from XC to super gnarly and everything in between. Unless you are an endurance rider, there's easily two days worth of riding on that mountain. If you are riding your own bike, extra-protection side-walled tires are a smart thing to have there.
 
#3 ·
SoMo is pretty much the best of everything and will definitely keep you interested for 2 days. If you want to experience a wider spectrum of terrain, I'd recommend one day at SoMo and one day exploring PMP (Phoenix Mtn Preserve). PMP doesn't have the extended climbs and descents that SoMo has but it has a ton of fast stuff, punchy climbs, wayyyy more turns, plenty of rocky stuff (shale Vs granite, so much more loose/sharp stuff) and there are lots of trail options so traffic gets spread out a lot more (SoMo can get very busy on the Pima canyon end). Trail 100 is the main route thru PMP and there are many trails that split off it. My favorite has been connector trail 25 near the 7th street trail head (heading East on 100 it will be off to the left/North). It's a short connector but is tight and flowy. McDowell Mtn Park is VERY much an XC type ride and not technical, I'd save it for a later date when you want to get out and explore some.
 
#4 ·
Yep. Somo is the iconic Phoenix ride location. Stage at Beverly Canyon, go up Javaline, then up Mormon to National and up to Buena Vista or beyond. Then figure a way down.

PMP/T100 is cool. Has some great tech, it's tech is second to Somo. I agree to skip McD. If I had 2 days though, I would hit up something more epic like Black Canyon Trail or Picket Post on day 2. Both are an hourish out. BCT is ideal with a shuttle from Antelope Canyon to Rock Springs. Picket Post can be a really good Out n Back for 25ish miles and 3500 feetish.. Both those are more XC than DH though. Epic trails with amazing scenery though.

You can do a great 30 miles at Hawes too (NE Mesa). Great scenery, flow, and mix. Plan on 100 feet per mile there. Not as tech as PMP.

It all depends how long you want to ride and how much you want to climb. have fun. Can't really go wrong.
 
#6 ·
BCT is totally XC with some tricky bits and pedally, pedally, pedally. Very beautiful when things are blooming. South Mountain is probably where you want to be but Hawes has some extremely fun bits and a little gnar up at the mines. Forget about McDowell or Brown's Ranch or any of that stuff because it is totally buffed out XC, no tricky bits and without the scenic rewards of BCT.
 
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