go up to flagstaff

(but seriously)

i don't know much about the area around sedona, but flagstaff and its general area has SO MANY forest service roads that i don't think you'd ever run out if you lived there for years. road riding in sedona sounds very limited from the residents i have talked to, especially given that its so heavily trafficked this time of year (but really all times of year) by valley residents and other tourists.

That makes sense, I’m having a hard time seeing good connector roads—at least from where we’ll be staying.

I was in Sedona last week, and the main roads have nice bike lanes, I'm sure you can find a decent road ride, rt 179 and 89A should be enough alone to satisfy your road portion. I know you can find mountain bike trails close by but not sure about anything for gravel. Enjoy the views!

I was in Sedona last year for vacation, and it didn’t look road bike friendly at all. The bike lanes are extremely narrow, and the overall car lanes are narrow as well. That doesn’t leave much room for error for a driver not paying attention.

Sedona really is more of a mountain biking and hiking place. The hiking trails are spectacular. If you have any desire to mountain bike, the trails are pretty technical with a lot of rocks and cactus and very few flat sections. I ran a little wide on a descent and swiped a cactus with my calf, leaving a good few dozen needles in my leg. Which by the way are barbed so they do NOT pull out easily. That one left a lot of little bloody marks.

If you want to gravel bike, there are a lot of dirt roads to the north and west of town. I did see some roadies on paved roads to the north of town too, but no bike lanes and it’s undivided roads with fast traffic.

If there are safe places to road bike, I didn’t see them. Perhaps a local can chime in.

you can ride (or drive) to Jerome (road) then head northwest on gravel dirt roads from there. There is sort of a back way into out of Jerome on the dirt. You can end up on quite a long ride of gravel heading towards Chino Valley or north towards Williams. Check out the course from the Chino Grinder (http://chinogrinder.azgravelrides.com/) for an idea.

For gravel, I recommend heading over to Prescott: https://gravelmap.com/#9.34/34.4249/-111.7982

We bought a place in Sedona last year, and will be living there part time going forward. So far, have done just a bit of road riding there, so I can provide a bit of input on that. Haven't explored gravel yet (my road bike isn't really set up for gravel yet).

Here are a few thoughts... The "hub" of the town of Sedona is at the intersection of Hwy 179 and Hwy 89A (used to be know as "the Y", but since replaced with a roundabout). Heading south from there on Hwy 179, there's a stretch for about 9 miles (past Bell Rock and through the Village of Oak Creek) that has bike lanes. The bike lanes end to the south at the Red Rock Visitor Center. Hwy 179 continues south from there down to Interstate 17, but I haven't ridden that section (no bike lanes, and it's a 2 lane road with narrow shoulders and 50+ speed limit).

As you pass through the Village of Oak Creek, there's an interesting spur route you can take out to the back side of Red Rock Crossing. No bike lanes, but relatively light traffic and reasonable vehicle speeds. The first 4 miles (to Verde Valley School) are paved, and then gravel road for another mile or two to Red Rock Crossing trail. I felt safe riding that road, too.

Going back to the "hub" I mentioned above... The other option is to take Hwy 89A west (well, southwest, to be precise) toward Cottonwood. The first portion out on 89A has bike lanes, but also more traffic as you pass through the commercial district known as "West Sedona". I've ridden that, and it's fine (except there are a number of stop lights along the way). Once you pass the emergency medical facility, and the high school, the road opens up. It's 4 lane, divided, for most of the rest of the distance to the town of Cottonwood. Highway speeds, but a good size shoulder to ride on. I haven't ridden this section yet, but I've seen quite a few cyclists out on it. The total distance on this Hwy 89A segment from Sedona to Cottonwood is about 18-20 miles.

Along that 89A segment, there's also a loop road you could add to your ride (Red Rock Loop Rd). The north end of that loop road is at the stop light for the Sedona High School. This loop road is fairly narrow, but traffic speeds are generally pretty low. I haven't ridden this loop yet either, but again I've seen a number of cyclists out riding it.

You could also reach out to the Verde Valley Cycling Coalition [ https://www.vvcc.us/ ], a local cycling group. They organize both road and MTB rides (and I assume they do some gravel, too), so they may be a good resource. Here's a link to some road rides they like [ https://www.vvcc.us/page-18096 ]. Also, here's the bike shop I use when I'm down there [ https://absolutebikes.net/ ]. They have locations in both Sedona and Flagstaff. They are a bit more focused on MTB than road, but they may also have recommendations on good road and gravel routes.

One note if you ride up in Flagstaff. Be ready for the elevation. Sedona is at 4,500 ft, and Flagstaff at about 7,000 ft. Impacts me more on runs than on bike, but I definitely notice it when I do aerobic work up in "Flag".

I would recommend mountain biking whilst in Sedona ;)

Sedona local, here. My go-to 2 to 3 hour road route is: Starting in Sedona riding North on 89a to 179, and then turning South (Right). Continue past VOC to Beaverhead Flat Rd. Make a right. Go approx 6 miles to Cornville Rd. Follow this for approx.4 miles or so, then another right to Page Springs Rd. This is a pretty two lane rd that will eventually take you back to 89a. From there it is maybe another 5-6 miles to Sedona. Enjoy.

If you have a chance to get to Flagstaff before it gets too cold, park along Lake Mary rd., and go south. Beautiful rd with a nice wide shoulder. Choose the Mormon Lake loop to make it a 45 mile ride or so.

Have fun.

big-w,

Just curious, you feel safe cycling out on that loop? Especially on Beaverhead Flat and Cornville Rds?

I like that route. Our place is off of 179, so we go through VOC and take that route frequently when we go over to Cottonwood (especially when 179 backs up on weekends with tourist onslaughts). However, from what I've seen, there's hardly any shoulder for the majority of that loop route. And vehicle traffic, especially on Beaverhead Flats and Cornville Rds is generally moving at a pretty fast clip (including semis and commercial vehicles).

I've seen people out cycling on those roads, and thought about riding them. However, given the road configuration and vehicle speeds, it just struck me as pretty risky. How have your experiences been?

I am going to probably have to branch out more to some new routes around Sedona. Last time we were there, I almost wore a groove in the bike lanes on 89A and 179 riding between the high school and the south end of VOC. We'll be back down there again once it starts to cool off, and I'll need some variety.

Any recommendations for group road rides down there (Sedona, Prescott, Cottonwood, Camp Verde, Flag, etc)?

Thanks,
Michael

Mongo:

Good to hear from you, and welcome! The road rides are certainly not as plentiful as they were back in CA., but one adjusts.

There is a group that rides every Saturday morning out of VOC--(VVCC). I believe group riding is both inherently safer (bigger visual), and more enjoyable, too. Wide range of abilities.

Re: The part down to Beaverhead Flat. It is virtually level or perhaps a 1% descent, so it is very practical to get up to the low 20s for the 1-1.5 miles to Beaverhead from the Forest Service office (Where the bike lane ends). Once on Beaverhead, I don't feel the same nervousness that I do on the other roads, primarily because it has none of the spectacular views that 179 and 89a have that can attract a driver's attention. Consequently, people seem to pay more attention to their driving. That, plus the fact that you can see for quite a bit ahead on that road makes it safer, too (IMO).

When the weather turns too cold we'll often ride in the Cottonwood/Clarkdale area. Some locals in the group have configured a pretty good "Outskirt" ride that is free from most traffic.

Personally, I've gone a bit over to the "Dark Side" here and am loving the mtb/Xterra side of things--given the fact that there are 250 miles of trail in town. Still ride road--although am currently on hiatus waiting for the pandemic/ER rooms to clear out.

Send me a PM when you're back in town.

Thanks doe this, was looking at that loop today.

I live in Sedona and routinely do a weekend long ride ~80-110 miles, 6-10K climbing with a few other guys. I start in the VOC @ 5:30 AM year round. You guys are welcome to join for part or whole if interested! We also discuss gravel rides quite a bit, but have yet to do one... Some of the guys know a lot of gravel routes though.

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Do you have a Strava link or .gpx of your route? I'm down near Phoenix, and this sounds like something I might enjoying doing when the weather gets a bit cooler.

Here is my Strava profile:
https://www.strava.com/athletes/616055

Since the birth of my son, most of my rides are indoors, so ignore those :)

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I noticed that...lol. Congrats.

I appreciate the link.

Thanks :) Also notice that I cross the creek a lot in the summer to cool off and cut some miles out. Instead you can continue up Red rock Look Rd and onto 89a, down 179 to skip crossing the creek and get some more miles through town.

If you decide to cross the creek, wear your socks! Otherwise you'll end up on your butt.

If you come up this way, let me know!

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