My Favorite Mountain Biking and Cycling Spots in Arizona

[Robert Walsh]

Arizona is home to desert valleys which makes it ideal for bicycling; however, it’s mountain range is also the perfect place to go mountain biking. Below you can find the best places to go mountain biking and bicycling in Arizona. Be sure to bike safely, always wear a helmet.

Arizona Trail

This trail is one of the most beloved in Arizona. It begins at the Coronado National Memorial, which is around the Mexican border, and expands up until the Rincon Mountain further north. The region contains several hotels, and the three-star hotels average at around $144 per night. Arizona Trail features some of Arizona’s most beautiful landscapes and ecosystems.

Sunrise Park Resort

This resort is used as a ski resort in colder temperatures; however, the trails are utilized for hiking and mountain biking when it gets warm. In this resort, visitors get to witness the three peaks of the mountain, 800 acres of land, and a sunrise that reaches over ten thousand feet above sea level.

The three-star hotels in this region cost around one hundred and twenty dollars per day, which is much cheaper than some other resorts in the US. While not yet mandatory, due to the rough terrain the use of a helmet is strongly encouraged by the resort.

Grand Canyon National Park

One of Arizona’s most beautiful attractions is the Grand Canyon, which is made of red rocks that contains millions of years of the Earth’s history. This park is home to some of the most extravagant hiking and mountain biking trails in The United States.

You can make this trip a vacation, though, because there is also space to go camping in the area. If you don’t feel like booking that $132 hotel room, you can always set up a camp and make this one of the most memorable experiences of your life.

Mount Lemmon

Mount Lemmon is one of Arizona’s more challenging and intriguing trails for cyclers and it happens to be the longest climb in Arizona. Its highest elevation is 8206 feet, which is why it is considered to be the most intense trail in the state. A benefit of making this climb, however, is that the higher one ascends up the mountain, the colder it becomes. Arizona is known to be a very hot state and this bicycle ride is a form of salvation from that heat.

Mount Graham

On this mountain, cyclists have to pedal for almost eight thousand feet before they reach the highest peak of Mt. Graham. Those who road cycle on this trail go on for a distance of forty miles and the entire experience is not only challenging, but provides a heightened sense of pride when the challenging route is conquered.

Arizona has a lot of desert, but in northern Arizona there are quite a few mountains. Not only is it known as being one of the hottest states in The United States, but it is also home to the best places for mountain biking and road bicycling. Here, there are luxurious climbs that will no doubt break a sweat for anyone who is daring enough to try them. To find out which locations to visit, reference the above list.