Lower 50 Year Trail

Tucson, Arizona
I used to think this trail was just a way to warm up before you got to the Upper 50 year trail. But in the wisdom of my years I've come to appreciate trails of all sorts, even this humble affair.

The Lower 50 Year Trail is neither thrilling nor aerobically challenging. What it is is just a mellow grind that will give you a good workout when you're not in the mood for an epic. The descent has a few rocky water bars, a few nice turns, but all in all it doesn't get your adrenaline flowing. A ride is a ride, and it's nice to mix things up sometimes. You don't always have to order a boilermaker. Sometimes, a cold one is good enough.

How to get there: Head north on Oracle road about 5 miles past the intersection of Ina and Oracle. Turn right into Catalina State Park and follow the entrance road past the booth. The first road you pass is restricted. Turn right at the second road towards two campgrounds and the Equestrian Center. The ride begins at the Equestrian Center. To avoid paying state park fees, riders typically park their cars at the Honeywell or a nearby shopping center.

Length: 13 miles. 1-2 hours. 1000 feet of elevation.

Trail Conditions: Trail is in great shape, but gets a bit sandy as you approach Golder Ranch Road.

The Map: Click on the map below to head to Motionbased. There's also a good map at SDMB.


The Ride: This is a quick out-and-back after work sort of ride. The trail is super easy to follow. It winds through undulating hills from Catalina State Park up to Golder Ranch Road where you can keep going to hit the Chutes and the more technical upper section. About four miles into the trail you'll pass through a gate to exit the state park and enter cattle country. I turned around just past Equestrian Trail -- a wide chalky road. (If you turn left there, you'll come to the Golder Ranch Road parking lot.) The return trip on this 6 mile stretch is the best part of the ride, fast and smooth with a few moderate climbs.

Other Options: As I mentioned above, you can turn this into a 4 hour loop if you do both the lower and upper sections of the trail. There are other tracks in the area (e.g. Baby Jesus) that I haven't had a chance to explore.

Kentucky Camp

Tucson, Arizona
Kentucky Camp is one of the best rides in Southern Arizona. It's higher in elevation than Tucson and parts of it look like my old stomping grounds in central California. The whole area is crisscrossed with canyons, some of which have running water almost all year round. There are tons of jeep roads, abandoned mines, and caves to explore. Today, I went out with SDMB and rode the southern chunk of the IMBA Epic Loop, which is a real blast. My favorite part is the Ascent O' Death, a hellish climb that separates the men from the boys. We were all boys today. But we tried really hard.

How to get there: From Tucson, take I-10 E. Exit at HWY-83 toward Sonoita. About 5 miles before Sonoita, you'll turn right at the Gardner Canyon sign. Take the first right and follow signs 5 miles to Kentucky Camp.

Length: 15 miles, 2 hours, 2000 foot climb.

Trail Conditions: Trail is in great shape, but, as usual, some sections are a tad overgrown with grass and calf-shredding catclaws.

The Map: Click on the map below to head to Motionbased. There's a good map and description of the Kentucky Camp singletrack at SDMB, and the IMBA epic is described here.


The Ride: I won't replicate the great description of the IMBA epic that is available at SDMB. We did the southern section that begins just above Kentucky Camp and is about half jeep road and half singletrack.

To find the trailhead from the parking lot, continue on the dirt road you came in on for about 0.5 mile and you'll see the trail marker on the left. Take this trail down to Kentucky Camp and follow the directions above. On the way out, we skipped this last bit of singletrack and climbed the short 4WD track from the Camp to get back to our cars.

Upper 50 Year Trail

Tucson, Arizona
The 50 year trail is a classic Tucson ride through some serious cattle country. In addition to the overabundant prickly pears on this trail, you're going to have to test your riding skills dodging cow patties and sometimes the cows themselves. Although it hasn't happened to me yet, the tight squeezes on this narrow trail make it a great place to snap off a derailleur hanger.

The quick loop I like to do is the more technical upper section, although I usually end up spending a good amount of time hoisting my bike up the steepest parts. You'll follow a fast windy trail from the Golder Ranch Parking lot to the infamous "chutes" area. After climbing out of the chutes, you'll enter huge boulder fields and steep canyons. The terrain is so gnarly, it amazes me that you can ride your bike through here at all. There are also probably more cacti per square inch then any other trail in this state.

The final descent from the mesa is a total blast and makes all those nasty climbs worth it: windy banked turns through boulders and prickly bushes until you finally come to this creepy dry forest with head-high grass all around you. This loop is just one of many possiblities. Enjoy.

How to get there: Head north on Oracle road about 11 miles past the intersection of Ina and Oracle. Turn right on Golder Ranch Road. You go about 2 miles before crossing a bridge and entering the dirt parking lot.

Length: 9 miles, 1-2 hours, 1000 foot climb.

Trail Conditions: The lower sections are sandy. The upper sections are heavily rutted. Still a blast to ride.

The Map: Click on the map below to head to Motionbased. There's also a good map at SDMB.


The Ride: From the Golder Ranch parking lot, cross the cattle guard and start to head left on Equestrian Road. You'll see the singletrack immediately on the right side of the road. After about 1000 feet, the singletrack will join a jeep road. Follow this jeep road for another 1000 feet and you'll see the first marked singletrack. Follow the 50 yr. trail signs north. There are lots of trails out here so its best too stay on the marked ones your first time around.

Eventually, you'll descend into the "chutes." I make a quick loop, cross two washes, and climb out of there --still following the signs for the 50 yr trail. This steep technical ascent will eventually lead you to a barbed wire fence that you'll need to cross. This section has a lot of hike-a-bike, but has some great views. After about 1-2 miles of toil, you'll cross a sandy wash and make one last ascent before descending on the killer singletrack I mentioned above. The singletrack will come out at another sandy wash. You cross that and follow trail until you come to a jeep track and a cattle guard. Cross the cattle guard, and you'll see the spot where you crossed this road earlier on the trail. Turn left and follow the trail back to your car.

Other Options: I've barely explored this place and there are a lot of great options out here. One common route is to park outside Catalina State Park and take the Lower 50 year trail all the way to the chutes. That's about a 12 mile round trip. There's some other singletrack out around Golder that I'd like to add in later postings.

The climb up takes zen-like concentration, planning, and endurance, but if you have to dab do yourself a favor and look around.

Perimeter Trail

Sierra Vista, Arizona
I did this right after doing Brown Canyon, and I actually like this one a little better. Most of the trail is on a banked slope overlooking Highway 92, but it dives into a few nooks and crannies and even has a couple switchbacks along the way. There's ample climbing and downhill in both directions, although I definitely had more fun on the return trip (Carr to Miller).

How to get there: From Sierra Vista, take Hwy 92 to Miller Canyon Road. Turn right on Miller Canyon Road and head about 2 miles up to the parking area. The trailhead is on the right side of the road just before you reach the parking area.

Length: 7 miles, 1-2 hours, 1000 foot climb.

Trail Conditions: Pretty good.

The Map: Click on the map below to head to Motionbased. There's also a good map at SDMB.


The Ride: Start at the Perimeter trailhead in Miller Canyon. Head 3.75 miles on skinny singletrack to Carr Canyon. Turn around and come back.

Other Options: You can turn this into a good 10 mile loop by incorporating the Clark Springs trail. Directions are here

Trailhead at Carr Canyon

View of the Huachucas from Miller Canyon Road.

Brown Canyon

Sierra Vista, Arizona
I heard this was a must-do -- the best singletrack in southern Arizona. Sure enough, it was a lot of fun, and the area is just gorgeous. The spooky cliffs of the Huachucas loom over you. There are a couple small streams around, and the place is so lush that the prickly pears and cholla seem like aliens peaking through the pine trees.

How to get there: From Sierra Vista, take Hwy 92 to Ramsey Canyon Road. Turn right on Ramsey Canyon Road and head 2 miles to the trailhead parking area.

Length: 6 miles, 1 hour, 1100 foot climb.

Trail Conditions: Pretty good. Streams are flowing but soil is a little dry.

The Map: Click on the map below to check out the trail on Motionbased. There's also a good map at SDMB.


The Ride: I followed the directions from SDMB. You park at the trailhead, then ride 0.5 miles up the paved Ramsey Canyon Road. Turn right onto Brown Canyon Road and climb about 2 miles, veering left at all intersections. Eventually you'll get to a concrete water trough (see photo). You'll see a trail following a stream up into the wilderness area, but if you continue on the road you'll come to V. Head downhill for the normal loop. Or, you can head uphill about 100 feet and catch some singletrack on your right for a quick out-and-back to the boundary with Fort Huachuca. (Note: I didn't see a sign for the POMONA MINE as described on SDMB's website).

Heading back to the main loop, the downhill is smooth and fast, with a few pseudo-slickrock sections and couple rocky spots. At the bottom, you'll take a right at the V and climb a steep rocky hill. At the top of the hill, stay right and follow the dirt road back to your car at the trailhead.

It's such a quick ride it's almost worth doing it again. Instead, I drove over to Miller Canyon to ride the Perimeter Trail (see next post).

This quick stretch of singletrack takes you from the Brown Canyon loop over to a fence on the boundary of Fort Huachuca

Rocky downhill on the Brown Canyon Loop

Starr Pass

Tucson, Arizona

How to get there: Take Speedway toward Tucson Mountain Park. Turn left on Silverbell. Right on Ajo Way. Head up Ajo way until you get to Starr Pass Resort. Turn left and go up the hill to the stop sign. Turn left. Take the first right on a dirt road along the golf course. Go to the end of the road and park.

Length: 15 miles, 2 hours, 1500 foot climb.

Trail Conditions: Pretty good. Sandy and rocky as usual.

The Map: Lots of trails out here. The best way to explore is to get The Map at your local bike shop. SDMB also offers a map. Or click on my Motionbased map below.


The Ride: My favorite loop takes you through Starr Pass, Golden Gate Pass, loops around Gate mountain down Kinney Road, left on Saratoga and back into the trail system up and over Starr Pass. I sometimes take the Golden Gate trail, but I opted out this time. There's a lot of rocky/sandy unpleasantness on the Tucson Mountains but I think this loop gives you some fast singletrack and some decent distance.

Other Options: Whatever you do don't take the David Yetman wash on the backside of John Krein. That said, it can be fun to take the steep singletrack up John Krein mountain, but watch out for saguaros on the downhill. You can also loop around Starr mountain for a real quick ride. The Prospector trail on the other side of Kinney road seemed kind of weak when I rode it, but I've got to try it out again. Also, don't be stupid like me and try "Unrideable" from Golden Gate Pass. It really is unrideable. I ended up carrying my bike to the road and got some serious cholla stuck in my fingers.