{"id":153952,"date":"2020-04-02T10:42:46","date_gmt":"2020-04-02T17:42:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/?p=153952"},"modified":"2020-05-22T12:28:13","modified_gmt":"2020-05-22T19:28:13","slug":"how-to-mountain-bike-tucson","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/cycle\/how-to-mountain-bike-tucson","title":{"rendered":"How to Mountain Bike in Tucson"},"content":{"rendered":"

Sunny Tucson, Arizona is famous for its giant, sculptural saguaro cacti\u2014and for good reason. But did you know the city is also surrounded by five different mountain ranges ripe for riding? So whether you’re downtown or down the road, here\u2019s how to get the best of the city’s\u00a0massive trail network\u00a0while on two wheels.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Sample Both the Desert and Mountain<\/h2>\n

High-quality trails wind up and down the mountains on every side of the city, and the Arizona Trail<\/a>, which stretches all the way across the state from Mexico to Utah, skirts Tucson along the east side, offering big link-up possibilities.<\/p>\n

If flowy, fun and long sounds like your jam, head to Canada Del Oro\u2014or CDO\u2014which winds its way down Mount Lemmon from 9,000 feet to the desert floor over about 21 miles. The 30-mile Full Lemmon Drop connects several different trails on its namesake mountain’s flanks for a dose of both forested and wide-open desert riding. Or for something mellow, the popular 15-mile Honeybee Canyon Loop offers smooth terrain with a fast finish as your reward for starting with a climb. And those rides only scratch the surface.<\/p>\n

Get In On the 24-Hour Action<\/h2>\n

Looking to meet some new mountain bike buddies or have the competitive itch? Register for the 24 Hours in the Old Pueblo<\/a> mountain bike race. The event is a great way to experience Tucson\u2019s iconic landscape and local biking culture. For more than two decades, riders have converged in the Sonoran Desert, setting up tents and living out of RVs in \u201c24-Hour Town,\u201d on the edge of the massive singletrack racecourse. It\u2019s one of the biggest 24-hour events in the world, and watching the sun come up when you\u2019re out on a relay lap among the saguaros is nothing short of magical.<\/span><\/p>\n

Camp Where You Ride<\/h2>\n

Coronado National Forest<\/a> isn’t just home to Mount Lemmon. There’s plenty of camping, too. Catalina State Park,<\/a> north of the city within the national forest, is the perfect place to pitch your tent if your looking to ride the popular Golder Ranch trail system<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"\"If you want to stay on the west side of town, check out the Gilbert Ray Campground<\/a> in Tucson Mountain Park. It abuts the south side of the scenic Saguaro National Park<\/a>, which doesn\u2019t allow any car camping itself but has several primitive, hike-in campsites if you\u2019re craving a backcountry experience sans bikes.<\/p>\n

Taste the Mexican Food\u2014But Don\u2019t Forget the Coffee and Pizza<\/h2>\n

In this part of the country, the odds of finding good Mexican food are pretty solid, no matter where you go. In fact, the city was named a UNESCO\u00a0Creative City of Gastronomy<\/a> in 2015 for its unique, blended food culture. But we recommend heading to\u00a0Tucson Tamale<\/a>. This local legend has three restaurants in town, but it also flash freezes its fresh tamales for shipment all over the U.S. They even have vegetarian and vegan options. For a caffeine fix or a post-ride pizza and beer\u2014or all three\u2014locals head to Time Market<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n<\/span>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Sunny Tucson, Arizona is famous for its giant, sculptural saguaro cacti\u2014and for good reason. But did you know the city is also surrounded by five different mountain ranges ripe for riding? So whether you’re downtown or down the road, here\u2019s how to get the best of the city’s\u00a0massive trail network\u00a0while on two wheels.\u00a0 Sample Both […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":26,"featured_media":4185,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[76,1155,25,12],"internal-tag":[],"class_list":["post-153952","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-cycle","tag-arizona","tag-arizona-trail","tag-cycle","tag-travel"],"parsely":{"version":"1.1.0","canonical_url":"https:\/\/rei.com\/blog\/cycle\/how-to-mountain-bike-tucson","smart_links":{"inbound":0,"outbound":0},"traffic_boost_suggestions_count":0,"meta":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","headline":"How to Mountain Bike in Tucson","url":"http:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/cycle\/how-to-mountain-bike-tucson","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"http:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/cycle\/how-to-mountain-bike-tucson"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2015\/04\/AZBIK20080117-131-e1448308012553.jpg?resize=150%2C150","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2015\/04\/AZBIK20080117-131-e1448308012553.jpg?fit=1500%2C1004"},"articleSection":"Cycle","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Michelle Flandreau"}],"creator":["Michelle Flandreau"],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Uncommon Path \u2013 An REI Co-op Publication","logo":""},"keywords":["arizona","arizona trail","cycle","travel"],"dateCreated":"2020-04-02T17:42:46Z","datePublished":"2020-04-02T17:42:46Z","dateModified":"2020-05-22T19:28:13Z"},"rendered":"