Deep in the Sonoran Desert in southern Arizona lies one of the finest stretches of singletrack anywhere – The Arizona Trail between Oracle, AZ and Superior, AZ. We often use the word “remote”, but this section of trail may take the cake. It’s OUT there. Despite being one of the hottest deserts in North America the Sonoran Desert is teaming with life. Gila monsters, desert tortoise, javelinas, rattlesnakes and countless types of cactus permeate the landscape. Rugged and unforgiving as it is beautiful - it is magical world many of us do not get to experience often.
This is a self-guided tour, but not like our others. We mandate the following: GPS with the AZ Trail track from Topofusion.com loaded, latex or Slime tubes (and plenty of them), 100oz hydration bladder and at least one water bottle mounted on the bike, and beefy tires. A little preparation goes a long way on this trip.
We created this trip for those who don’t want a guide, don’t want to be supported during the week and generally just want their own self-serve adventure with a bit of logistical assistance. Each day we relocate a very deluxe camp setup (provided by Ready Camp) of (2) 10x10 canopies, full kitchen, dry firewood, camp chairs, fresh water, coolers of food and beverages (you purchase prior to trip) and all your personal gear like tents, bags and clothing. You can go as cheap or deluxe as you want on food, beverages and amenities!!
Arrival Day: Our meeting point for this trip is Apache Junction, AZ at Junction Bicycle. The day before the trip starts you can pick up a cooler (if needed) from us to do your shopping for the week.
Day One: The beginning of the trail from Oracle takes you up and down on narrow singletrack crossing 5 or 6 washes. Distant views of Antelope Peak, our night’s destination, reveal themselves periodically. Behind us we can see the northern slopes of Mount Lemmon, Tucson’s signature peak. The vegetation in this area consists mainly of low-lying cacti such as prickly pear and chollas.
Day Two: The second day of your journey marks the transition into the more stunning final 3 days of purpose-built singletrack, flowy trails and rugged, jaw-dropping terrain. Right from the gate riders are treated to some fast, flowy singletrack into the “Boulders” section of the AZT. The sky-scraping spires of the Gila Canyons…
Day Three: Riding away from camp on even more great bench cut singletrack you’ll wrap around a ridge and slowly merge into the Gila River corridor. The trail in this section is stunning – excellent contouring grades through thick Saguaro forests with the Gila River gently flowing beneath us to our left for the entire day…
Day Four:Day 4 is truly a “queen’s stage” that starts with a very sizeable climb up through the Gila Canyons. The route today will leave an imprint of desert beauty and diversity on riders as they head home and for weeks afterward. Simply put this final day is one of the best days of singletrack riding you’ll get anywhere, anytime…
- 4 days, 3 nights of self-guided riding
- 90% singletrack and some double-track and dirt roads in southern Arizona
- This tour is appropriate for high intermediate and advanced riders
- Includes daily gear transport, Ready Camp Kitchen gear and setup, water and firewood
- This trip begins and ends in Apache Junction, AZ. Phoenix International Airport has plenty of flights each day and is less than an hour away from Apache Junction, AZ.
- Total group size limited to (12) per trip
- Cost: $375 per person
- January 31st – February 3rd
- February 7th – February 10th
- February 14th – February 17th
- February 21st – February 24th
- February 28th – March 3rd
- March 7th – March 10th
- March 14th – March 17th
- March 21st – March 24th
- March 28th – March 31st
- April 4th – April 7th
- October 24th – October 27th
- October 31st – November 3rd
- November 7th – November 10th
- November 14th – November 17th
