Arizona Trail at Colossal Cave

Tucson, Arizona

Scout is a real mountain dog, a trooper who loves to run. If you put her on a leash, she barks and growls and is loath to obey any order you give her. But if you put her behind a mountain bike she's your best friend.

We went out to check out the Colossal Cave section of the Arizona Trail and had a blast cruising along fresh, super smooth singletrack. I felt pretty guilty riding this great stretch of trail considering that I didn't take part in the Cienega Corridor Construction Project. Alas, it's a new year, and I promise I'll try my hand at trail work.

This is a preliminary post, I'll have maps up as soon as I've ridden the Passage #7 from I-10 to Saguaro National Park.

How to get there: From the intersection of Old Spanish Trail and Pistol Ranch Road, continue on the dirt section of Pistol Ranch Road. After about a mile, you'll see a 4wd track on your right, with a wide improvised parking area. The marked AZ trail will cross this track to your right, heading towards Colossal Cave.

Length: 13 miles from I-10 to Saguaro National Park. (About 4 between Pistol Ranch Road and La Sevilla)

Trail Conditions: Smooth singletrack.

The Map: To Come.

The Ride: We rode up to La Sevilla Campground in Colossal Cave and then back down past my car until we got to a cattle guard on Pistol Ranch Road.

San Carlos

San Carlos, Sonora, Mexico

Salty air and fast, rolling trails combine to make San Carlos an overnight stopover during any two-wheeled foray into Sonora. The town, a laid-back gringo hideway just north of the fishing port of Guaymas, doesn't have much to offer culturally -- aside from sprawling condos and white-haired retirees decked out in Tommy Bahama beach wear. But the coastal landscape -- what's left of it at least -- is striking: a string of beaches, bays, and lagoons punctuated by rock-topped hills that look like upside down ice cream cones. The trail is smooth as silicone grease, with just enough topographic relief to give you a workout and a rollercoaster ride. A couple of laps are just about right before sitting down for a Tecate at nearby Playa Piedras Pinturas.

How to get there: From Hwy 15, head west on the four lane road that leads to San Carlos. Just after you pass the sign for Ejido Buenos Aires, you'll see a sign for the Delfinario and Miramar pointing to the left. You have to pass the sign and make a U-turn to get onto that road. From the start of this road, drive exactly 0.8 miles. Turn left on the dirt road at a sign that once said Pista Biclista and now says, "PI . . . A B . . . .TA." When I was there someone stuck a yellow Livestrong sticker in the middle of the sign. Follow this road as it veers to the right (a smaller road heads left), then take your first left where an old gate is sitting in the middle of a field. Park at the white cement block.

Length: 6.5 km. 30 minutes. ~500 feet of elevation.

Trail Conditions: Excellent.

The Map


The Ride: The main loop is well-marked with arrows and distance signs, but still a little confusing at the get-go. It begins and ends at the cement block where several dirt roads and trails converge. If you're facing away from the paved road take the singletrack to the left (north) and you'll loop around the base of a hill for the first 1 km, and it will bring you back to some doubletrack close to your starting point. Turn left here and follow this doubletrack, staying to the right as it becomes singletrack. This trail is easy to follow for the next 4 kms until you come out on some doubletrack along the side of the paved road. Follow this doubletrack north for 100 feet and the you'll be back on singletrack leading you about 1 km to your start. Although the trail is meant to be ridden in one direction, there are few riders in the area and I enjoyed riding it backwards.

Rancho Santa Cruz

Navajoa, Sonora, Mexico

On my way up to Alamos, I met a group of ten riders from Navajoa who call themselves Lobo Aventurismo. Lobo Aventurismo is both club and a guide service, and they operate the only adventure sports store in Navajoa. Sadly, I was unable to ride with them, but they pointed me toward Rancho Santa Cruz, a working cattle ranch that hosts local races. The singletrack was what singletrack should always be: ecstatic. It winds through thorn scrub and cactus, dives into tight arroyos and bounds over rolling hills. It was 80 degrees out when I was there, and -- with little shade in the area -- I bet it's darn hot in the summertime.

How to get there: From Navajoa, head east on the highway to Alamos. Drive 14.2 miles to Rancho Santa Cruz on your left. A sign with a bike painted on it hangs from the barbed wire fence facing towards Navajoa, and it would be hard to see if you're coming from Alamos. On the gate itself is a New Jersey license plate. If the gate is locked, park on the side of the highway.

Length: 1 hour. 10 km. <500 feet elevation.

Trail Conditions: Dry and dusty.

The Map:


The Ride: From the casita, follow the main dirt road through a gate and head right. Go through another gate and head down the road for about 1 km. You'll see the sign for the Saque de Julian singletrack on your left. The main trail is well-maintained.

Roadside sign pointing you towards Rancho Santa Cruz.

A stretch of shady singletrack to escape the desert heat.

The Lobo Aventurismo storefront in Navajoa.

La Jolla

Hermosillo, Sonora, Mexico

In Mexico, good singletrack is hard to find. You're either on a cow track or a 4x4 road. And if you happen to stumble on a prime stretch of trail, chances are it'll dead end at someone's shanty in about 50 feet.

But overlooking Sonora's capital city is a glorious trail network that looks like something you might find in Aspen during the off-season. Indeed, La Jolla is set up like a small ski area with most of the trails crammed on the front face of the mountain. This is great for spectators during La Jolla's frequent races -- including the Tremos 24 hour race -- but it also makes the whole experience feel sort of frivolous. When you get on a mountain bike, you want to ride somewhere, you want to get AWAY. But at La Jolla, you can almost always look down to the parking lot and see your car waiting for you.

So if you don't require that illusion of wilderness, then you'll have a blast shredding these trails. They are fun and a great place to stop if you're heading south.

How to get there: Driving south into Hermosillo on the 15, the highway follows a complex route around the city on its way to Guaymas. As you first enter town, you'll come to a four-way intersection with a Pemex station, where the highway turns left. Turn right instead and head uphill for 2 km until you see a huge sign for La Jolla. Turn right into La Jolla and go through the security gate. The trails will be right in front of you.

Length: ~10 miles, 1-2 hours riding.

Trail Conditions: Great, well-maintained.

The Map:



The Ride: According to the map at the trailhead, there are four loops, Norbi, Diamond, Nathan, and Roller Coaster Maverick. With some new development on the west side of the mountain, Nathan appears to have been axed or at least re-routed. I couldn't find it. The other trails are fairly easy to follow although its not always clear which trail you're actually on.


Trails crisscross the hillside at La Jolla

John Krein

Tucson, Arizona

It was late in the afternoon, and I started climbing up around Katt Mountain on the south side of Starr Pass when a mountain lion slinked in front of me. I was only a few hundred feet from the developments on Kinney road, and at first I thought it was just a deer that walked funny. But it wasn't. It kept its hips low and level as cruised across the trail and down into a nearby wash. I was climbing and trying to get better and better views, but I could just see flashes of him in the vegetation.

That's the second time I've seen a mountain lion this year. The first time was on a remote part of the Umpqua River Trail in southern Oregon, when I came around a corner and nearly ran into him. He was golden brown with a dark tail and was scrutinizing something in the middle trail. He saw me and leapt onto a pile of boulders and vanished in the wet forest.

What amazes me is that I've spent 12 years mountain biking and hiking and these are the first two cats I've ever seen! There have been a few false alarms and maybes along the way but here are my first two cat sitings and they were just a few months apart. One was in a remote part of Oregon, and this one today was right in our backyard.

I suppose I should mention the trail. I'd been curious about John Krein for some time, perched as it is on gorgeous bluffs. I'd climbed up to a prominotory once before, but I heard there was a way to drop down the other side and back to the Starr Pass area. The answer is, yes, there's a way, but it's mostly a matter of carrying your bike down a steep, rock-strewn slope. Unless you're looking for adventure, I'd recommend just catching the first half of John Krein for a technical climb and turning around for the descent.

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: 10 miles, 2 hours, 1800 foot climb.

Trail Conditions: There's some great new singletrack at the trailhead so you don't have to ride up and down that rocky road anymore.

The Map: Lots of trails out here, but it's hard to get lost. The best way to explore is to get The Map at your local bike shop. SDMB also offers a map. Below is the map for the John Krein loop.


The Ride: Through Starr Pass, up and over John Krein, and back to your car.


View towards Starr Pass from John Krein


Like a big ugly amoeba, the Kinney road sprawl has taken over on the south side of the mountains.

Suffering Gulch

Tucson, Arizona
"There's doubletrack. There's singletrack. And this is quarter track," said SAMBA's John Pollock as we started our ride through Suffering Gulch just north of the 24 hours of Old Pueblo trail. It was a trail insofar as a couple of rock piles and flattened grass maketh a trail. It's nearly impossible to find on your own, and once you find it, it's very easy to lose.

All this will change, John hopes, when riders discover its rewards. And in truth, it's rewards are many. So are it's perils. At first, I cringed when I saw the SAMBA old-timers had gaiters on over their tattered biking shoes, looking like a bunch of hobos on two wheels. But after nicking my legs with umpteen thousand thorns, I realized I was the fool, and I should never underestimate the wisdom of my elders.

As far as the terrain goes, I've always lamented the fact that the 24 hour trail hardly penetrates these boulder-strewn mountains streaked with otherworldly veins of snow white quartz. One leg of the race course wraps around a tiny peak, but the rest of the land has been a big question mark for me. That's the same reason why John and his buddy Stan decided to start blazing some new trails, turning hoof prints into tire tread.

The first five miles are rather faint, but with a little luck the frequent rock piles will keep you on the right track. Once you climb over the back side, and enter the gulch the fun really starts. The downhill -- though no highway -- is easier to follow than the rest of the trail, and is at least as fun as the best parts of the race course.

How to get there: Take Oracle north past Catalina. Turn left at Willow Springs Road. Drive down Willow Springs Road about 10 miles (past the Willow Springs Ranch arch). Keep a lookout for a road coming in from the left side -- it's kind of hard to see and you have to turn almost 180 degrees to get on it. Follow this road for about 1/4 mile until you come to the 24 hour race start/finish line. You'll see a wide dirt parking lot and a trail blazing through it.

Length: 10.5 miles. 1-2 hours. ~1000 feet of elevation.

Trail Conditions: I would say its overgrown, but that would imply that there was once a real trail there in the first place. Get ready to deal with serious thorns and a few wrong turns.

The Map: Good luck!


The Ride: Head uphill on the race course (you'll be going UP the DOWNHILL). After you go through the pass, the trail begins to descend and loop around to the right, keep on the lookout for a small cattle track to your left. It should be marked with a couple of stones (see Photo). You'll wind your way around the back of the property where the trail is pretty faint, windy and hard to follow at first. It's also mostly uphill. Keep with it. You'll go under the first of four barbed wire fences. By the third fence, you'll begin your descent into Suffering Gulch, where the trail becomes much easier to follow and much more fun. It will eventually spit you out back at the race course, a couple of hundred feet from where the faint trail first took off from the main track.


On the left of this photo you can see the wide singletrack of the race course. The rider stands on the faint cow path that leads to Suffering Gulch. Notice the small pile of rocks in the foreground, topped with a white chunk of quartz.

Other Options: Start at the Willow Springs Arch parking lot to add 4-5 miles to your route.

Cougar Trail

Tucson, Arizona
Did you bring the map? I obviously didn't, because I never made it to the trail I wanted to get to. I know I made a stupid mistake along the way, but it doesn't matter. Let's just pretend I really meant to ride the Cougar.

The truth is I had a nice sunset ride and explored some of the rolling trails and jeep roads around the Arizona Sonora Desert Museum. This is a great beginner ride.

How to get there: Take Speedway until it turns into Gates Pass Road. Take Gates Pass Road over the pass to the intersection with Kinney Road. Drive through the intersection and park in Parking Area K16.

Length: 9 miles. 1 hour. ~1000 feet of elevation.

Trail Conditions: Good.

The Map:


The Ride:Cross Kinney Road and head into the brush on the NE corner of the intersection. After 0.35 miles, turn left when you reach the graded road to Sonoran Arthropod Studies Institute. Follow this road for 0.85 miles then turn left onto the marked Orcutt Trail. When you will hit the T intersection at the power line, turn left and head down the hill. Turn right at the fence at the bottom of the hill. This is the Cougar Trail. Keep going straight and cross a deep wash. You'll come to a T-intersection and follow the rock arrow to the left down to Kinney Road. Turn right on Kinney Road and go 1.2 miles. Turn left into the Juan Santa Cruz Picnic Area. Jump the curb before the road loops back. Head down into the wash and catch the trail going to the left around Brown Mountain. It will eventually parallel Kinney road. After 2.5 miles, you'll come to the end of the singletrack. Cross McCain Loop Road and head into the Gilbert Ray Campground. Take the A loop and catch the trail marked with a TRAIL sign on the left at campsite 52. Follow this trail for 0.35 miles, and you'll come out at parking area K16.

Other Options: Now that I know what I'm doing I think I'll climb the Cougar Trail, and then take the Brown Mountain trail back for a more exciting descent.