Tucson vacay: best place to stay and MTB out the door

[snack64]

Hi all- Looking for a little advice here. We are trying to combine a family visit with a lot of mountain biking in Tucson in late April. We are looking at getting a VRBO house for a week. We have family in Oro Valley and part of the reason for our visit is to help out with newborn twins.

It seems like both Catalina State Park and Tucson Mountain Park are both good areas for mountain bike areas. In particular we are looking for areas that are more rideable than not- meaning some technical but not overly so ( I know that is very subjective). Both my wife and I ride quite a bit (both do at least one 50+ mile endurance race every summer) but it'll still be early season for us (Montana) and would like to get out and pedal without too much tech or route finding.

Are there any significant pros/cons to those 2 areas? Is there somewhere else we should be looking? We are more drawn to TMP but are concerned it might be a little farther from family than would be ideal.

Also any advice on local killer Mexican restaurants (especially breakfasts) would be bonus info.

Many thanks in advance!

[grizzler]

Oro Valley area includes honeybee/ridgeline/tortolitas, you might find it nice to be up there for proximity. TMP isn't really too far of a drive for you to head over there from OV. I would say the trails up north are less rocky but they're all fun and you can put a lot of miles in at any of the locations.

[RajunCajun44]

Oro Valley area includes honeybee/ridgeline/tortolitas, you might find it nice to be up there for proximity. TMP isn't really too far of a drive for you to head over there from OV. I would say the trails up north are less rocky but they're all fun and you can put a lot of miles in at any of the locations.

what about Miraval ?
Wellness Retreats | Luxury Spa Resorts | Tucson Resorts

Looks like you can take Edwin rd to the tortolita trails
Tortolita Preserve ? Dove Mountain | Sonoran Desert Mountain Bicyclists
and honeybee
Honeybee Canyon Loop Mountain Bike Trail, Oro Valley, Arizona

also racho vistoso... but they look like time shares ?
https://www.clubwyndham.com/cw/resor...o-vistoso.page

[schillingsworth]

Both of those will suit you fine. TMP definitely has some rocks, but most of the lower stuff is all rideable. There's also the 24hr course nearby, but be sure to get a State Trust Recreation permit if you drive out there.

As for food, hit up Bobo's for breakfast & Seis Kitchen for lunch, etc. it may be a bit of a drive, but so worth it. Both places are closer to downtown Tucson FWIW.

You may want to post your question on the Tucson MTB forum as well, there have been some issues with parking and access to the Honeybee trails lately. I can't comment on where to park for those trails as I rarely ride down there.

[snack64]

Both of those will suit you fine. TMP definitely has some rocks, but most of the lower stuff is all rideable. There's also the 24hr course nearby, but be sure to get a State Trust Recreation permit if you drive out there.

As for food, hit up Bobo's for breakfast & Seis Kitchen for lunch, etc. it may be a bit of a drive, but so worth it. Both places are closer to downtown Tucson FWIW.

You may want to post your question on the Tucson MTB forum as well, there have been some issues with parking and access to the Honeybee trails lately. I can't comment on where to park for those trails as I rarely ride down there.

Sorry for delayed response but thanks so much for everyone's input! Sounds like it is hard to wrong between those 2 choices. Still hemming and hawing a little bit as for some reason we are more drawn to TMP area but seems like a daily drive to OV might be easier from Catalina side of Tucson. Maybe it is just that it seems a little easier to get a house on the TMP side that is right by trails as it's be great to not drive to a TH.

I guess another question would be if we stayed farther up toward the Tortolitas would there be any riding up there?

Thanks also on the food recs. I used to live in Abq and have really missed SW food since moving north. I can't wait for some killer huevos rancheros for breakfast, enchiladas for lunch ....etc!!


Thanks again!

[Maadjurguer]

Don't forget to go to Rosa's and get some enchilada's Christmas style....and then take a tub of salsa home with you.

[Jayem]

For Tucson MTB vacay:

"Let's Go Outside!" | WOW Arizona!

[azfishman]

If you want huevos rancheros, Mosaic Cafe at Ironwood Hill/Silverbell....If you have the means...I highly recommend it......

[bigworm520]

TMP is my home turf and I would def recommend it over OV or the Torts. There are some good trails up near there like 50yr and Ridgeline but IMO doesn't offer as many options as TMP. TMP has all the Starr Pass system, Robles system, Sweetwater, and for even longer rides you can ride via trails out to Old Tucson and that area. Plus OV area has no good mexican food joints you need to head further south for those. I can always offer up my services as tour guide for trails or mexican food they are my two favorite things. Tanias 33 mexican food is my jam and very close to TMP. Also TMP doesn't put you that far form OV and put you close to the freeway if you wanted to head out to the Arizona Trail for a day or shoot down south with the familiy to Madera Canyon for some nature hikes.

[snack64]

TMP is my home turf and I would def recommend it over OV or the Torts. There are some good trails up near there like 50yr and Ridgeline but IMO doesn't offer as many options as TMP. TMP has all the Starr Pass system, Robles system, Sweetwater, and for even longer rides you can ride via trails out to Old Tucson and that area. Plus OV area has no good mexican food joints you need to head further
south for those. I can always offer up my services as tour guide for trails or mexican food they are my two favorite things. Tanias 33 mexican food is my jam and very close to TMP. Also TMP doesn't put you that far form OV and put you close to the freeway if you wanted to head out to the Arizona Trail for a day or shoot down south with the familiy to Madera Canyon for some nature hikes.

Bigworm- careful what you offer, I might just take you up on your guide services! Thanks much for the advice. Couldn't really say why but I am more drawn to TMP area, just haven't found the right place to stay yet. Also, still trying to convince myself that it'd be easy enough to visit the in-laws in OV. Some other threads I have read mention how bad certain roads can be for traffic. If we were situated on the west side but near 77, would that be a pretty easy weekday commute? Would I have to work around "rush hour" traffic?

Thanks again!

[Justin MD]

There are a lot of trails up in OV area.

Use trail forks to see most of them. MTB Project is very incomplete.

With the best of traffic the commute to TMP area from OV is a solid 30m. Might be able to do it in less but not much. More likely than not it will be longer than 30m. From OV to Lemmon trails is about an hour. Most of Lemmon is tech and done as a shuttle. From OV to Vail is about an hour or so. So doing the AZT over there is a bit of a journey.

Find something in between the 2. Something along River road or so should put you close.