Destination Showcase - Tucson, Arizona

The southwestern United States is home to one of the most unique environments and ecosystems in the entire country. Tucson is no exception, being extremely close to the US-Mexico border. Sedona was always my go-to for riding in this area, however, I may have found a new favorite place to shred.


With most of the destinations I’ve had the chance to cover for Pinkbike, we hit a few different locations in a state. However, Tucson was super unique and enough of a treasure to have its own entire piece.

Mount Lemmon is an absolute unit of a landmark in Tucson, with over 7,000 vertical feet of elevation in an area that’s accustomed to the 2389’ base. There are hardly any locations on the planet that compare to this spectacle.

A little background on the trails:

Mount Lemmon trails are managed by TORCA (Tucson Off-Road Cyclists and Activists). There are about 60 miles of trail to maintain on Mount Lemmon, which is under the jurisdiction of the Coronado National Forest.

Locally, in-town trails in Pima County are managed by SDMB (Sonoran Desert Mountain Bicyclists). There are a couple of hundred miles of trail in metro Tucson, including the famous Arizona Trail which includes 750 miles from the Mexico/US border to the top of the state, near Utah.



The riding is extraordinarily easy to access too. We were beyond thankful to have a personal shuttle system through Homegrown MTB. Tara and the crew we had the opportunity to work with made this experience beyond what we ever could have hoped for. Having this shuttle system was an absolute must so that you can get as much vertical as possible. Make sure to hit up Tara when you're in Tucson!


A little background on Mount Lemmon and why all of this riding exists in the first place. Back during WWII, the US created prison camps on this mountain, and there’s a lot of history still in place because of it. Multiple areas were dedicated to Japanese soldiers held in the camps and the beautiful roads that go all the way to the top now have a new purpose - easy access to some of the country’s best riding.



We began our drive into the riding of Tucson about midway up Mount Lemmon at the Bug Springs trailhead at 5800’. There’s a pretty gnarly ascent right out of the gate - it definitely put us all in our place. Big stairs and loose dirt for about 500’ of elevation in less than half a mile is more than a good warmup. It would be interesting to see if anybody could clear this climb!




Once you reach the top of the ascent (or once you’ve hiked all the way up, like me), you get an amazing overlook into the valley you just climbed. The first descent begins here- a short 1.5-mile descent with about 500’ of elevation loss. Nothing too insanely steep, just really fast, flowy, and mildly technical riding. Loose dirt allows you to slash instead of using your brakes, and the pace feels extremely fast when you’re brushing past thick shrubs on either side.


After this quick descent, you have another tricky climb similar to the first - more huge stairs. This time, about 300’ in a quarter-mile. This view is what makes it all worth it though - an overlook into the entire city of Tucson as far as the eye can see. Being this high in elevation with not much else around really puts into perspective the true scale of Mount Lemmon.


The next descent is where it gets really fun, though. Over 1000’ of descent over a little more than two miles and holy moly is it a good time. Everything from huge rocks to ride on to tight switchbacks.


There’s a really cool mixture of slickrock style riding similar to Sedona and Moab with some chunky bits that you’d find somewhere like the Rocky Mountains.




On our last day of riding, since we had hit the go-to trails for the area already, we decided we wanted to ride Bug Springs again but this time in the evening light. We couldn’t get enough of the sunset light hitting all of the dust we were throwing up.



After we got to the bottom of Bug Springs, we made one more trip back up the hill to one of the techiest public trails I’ve ever gotten a chance to ride - Incinerator Ridge. I’m not exaggerating when I say I couldn’t ride some of this with my camera bag on. If you want a seriously fun challenge, this trail is a must. 2 miles of mostly descent over about 1200’ that’s chock full of technical rock gardens, man-made technical switchbacks, natural rock rolls, and fast segments to connect it all.



Now, you probably assumed this part of the US would have good Mexican food, and you definitely assumed right. Any time I travel to this part of the country, I find myself only eating Mexican food, just because it's so good here. We hit a bunch of different spots, and they were top-notch.

Our first night after riding we went to El Guero Canelo, a local favorite, where they’re known for their “Very Mucho” steak burrito. It was in fact, very mucho. Mucho good, mucho large.



Most mornings we took a quick pit stop at Le Buzz, the go-to for cyclists of all disciplines. They have tons of really good breakfast sandwiches and pastries to keep you fueled up no matter how big your ride is. It’s right at the base too, so you aren’t going out of your way for anything.


The drive up Mount Lemmon would genuinely never get old. It seems like something out of a movie - saguaros as far as the eye can see. I felt like a kid in a candy store shooting photos out the window the whole way up.



Our second day was also our biggest, the mac daddy of the Mount Lemmon riding scene. If you like backcountry riding that’s more of an adventure than a ride, this is the ultimate one to check out. This one’s called CDO, or Canada del Oro, a shuttle to the very top of Mount Lemmon, all the way at nearly 9100’ of elevation. The total ride is 24 miles and 8300’ of descending.



The ride goes through so many different types of terrain. It’s like traveling around the world as you ride down.

The ride starts on Aspen Meadow, a blue, then merges into Samaniego Ridge. This was honestly my favorite part of the ride- absolutely gorgeous orange ferns and an overlook of the entirety of Tucson on this ridge. The riding was fast and flowy but simultaneously super loose in the best way possible. Talk about a jaw-dropping location.



Following the ridge, you drop into the trees and the riding feels a lot like Washington- but not overly wet. The rocks vanished and the trail got super fast.

After this, you have a dirt road trek to the beginning of CDO, a double black trail. Dropping into CDO is where it really becomes a unique backcountry experience. CDO truly has every type of terrain. It begins with a short descent into the aspen trees, full of tight turns and technical bits.



What was super cool about this trail was it constantly changed turn after turn. Immediately following the aspens it opened back up to nearly identical terrain to the very top- more burnt orange ferns that were so full you could barely see the trail. After a short climb, that’s where the true backcountry feel begins to show. The trail turns into true singletrack- the type where you’re constantly dodging bushes, trees, and rocks just to stay on the trail. This is how I picture true mountain biking. Nothing overly built, just raw riding.






After the end of CDO, you’ve already gone about 12 miles and 4500’ down. The trail links up next with a double-track- Charouleau Gap, that’s about a 3-mile climb and only 500’ up. We got a little spoiled by Tara with Homegrown again... this time with some really cool toys!



Surprisingly enough, the ride down this double-track before linking up with the 50-year trail was ridiculously fun. You can HAUL going down this, constant water bars and jumps mixed with hopping into and out of different ruts was a hoot.


Once we linked up with the 50-year trail it was the exact kind of riding I expected to see out of Tucson but hadn’t experienced yet. It wasn’t overly fast or technical, but it was mesmerizing.



Constantly dodging cacti of all sorts - ocatillo, saguaros, and smaller cacti at your feet. It felt like you were riding through a children’s book’s representation of the desert. Honestly, it was such a unique experience getting to ride in such an area.



50-year trail would be a really cool ride on its own. Amongst the cacti you had to dodge, there were big rock slabs to ride on, fast flowy bits, and also sand. We even found a little over-under gap.


This ride took us all day (partly due to my massive camera bag and slow speeds) but it was such a good feeling when we made it to the trailhead.

The next day we took some time to recover and went to check out downtown Tucson. There are a ton of really cool murals all around town (and especially 4th, a must-see area full of restaurants and shops). Thankfully Tucson had tons of scooters available to ride so that we could get around easily.





After riding around for a couple of hours, we accidentally found ourselves at Holy Donuts. This is all genuine “holy canoli check this place out” mentality. This place was ridiculous, and the best recovery food for a huge backcountry day. They had everything from maple bacon eclairs to cereal donuts and everything in between. We even got a guava donut that was absolutely absurd and a must-get if you find yourself there.



Even after our huge day riding, we had to get back out since the riding was so good. Bruce was stoked to get outside to check out one more trail!



We went up for an evening ride on Prison Camp. It’s a nice short ride that’s perfect to session in the evening. The drop off point is right off the road and it sets you back 2 miles lower right back at the road again for easy shuttling. The whole trail was super backlit in the evening light so visibility was perfect. This trail was super rad, think the type of trail that seems simple but has tons of little jumps on the side that make it a blast to goof off on with some friends.








We had just enough time to squeeze in two laps on this trail before the full moon popped out.

A nice little gem of Tucson is actually a pull-of on the road up Mount Lemmon. There is some really amazing sightseeing overlooking all of downtown and the surrounding mountains. We spent a solid hour up here just hanging out and enjoying the view.


Have you ever heard of a Sonoran hot dog? Me neither, until this trip. Turns out it’s quite the delicacy in this area, and I found out that was the truest thing I’ve ever heard. Mason, being familiar with the area, knew where to find the best one. It’s a food truck on the southwest side of town, called Monster Sonoran Dogs. Parked in a dirt lot, you know that this is the real deal. A Mexican twist on an American classic that I never knew I needed in my life. If you don’t get one of these when you’re here, you did it wrong.




I cannot express enough how much I enjoyed it here. I realize this is presented by Tucson, but in all honesty, I was beyond impressed and had one of the best riding trips of my life here. The town is extremely welcoming, you have amazing people like Tara to watch your back, and the riding is world-class. Oh, and don't forget all of the outstanding food.





Pinkbike would like to thank Visit Tucson, TORCA, SDMB, and Arizona Trail Association.

This project has been presented by Visit Tucson.

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