I will be in Scottsdale for a week for a conference in April.
Plan to come in the weekend prior or possibly stay after or possibly both.
We are a group of 5 or so and are looking for a nice place to do some mountain biking. We are all not hard core MTBlers with different fitness levels (serious marathoners to weekend joggers). Probably looking for some XC like riding.
Also, we would need a shop to rent bikes. Any advise on that would also be highly appreciated.
Sedona: One of the group wants to go up to Sedona.
Would we be better served to go up to Sedona for that undertaking?
there is some riding out at McDowell mtn in Scottsdale. MTB specific trails. etc. South Mtn has some too.
I dont know Sedona very well…BUT on the way is Prescott and they have been building like CRAZY there. Folks like Chloe Woodruff base themselves there all year and the riding is fantastic. Id check that place, IMHO.
McDowell Mountain park is always fun. Lots of varied terrain. McDowell Mountain Cycles is a nice shop in Fountain Hills that I have rented from a couple of times with no problems.
Sedona gets my vote. Such a beautiful area with a ton of riding available. Just be sure to plan out the routes as some of the trails will have a good bit of technical riding.
McDowell mountain park just outside Fountain Hills or browns ranch in north Scottsdale would be your best options. Lots of great flowy trails at McDowell. Try Escondido or pemberton trail…lots of fun.
McDowell Mountain Cycles is a great shop to deal with and have mountain bikes or road bikes for rent. Great shop!
Sedona is very technical riding and unless you are all very experienced mtb bikers then you would be walking a lot of areas.
Many different options for riding in metro Phoenix. Mcdowell Mtn Park has the competitive track (which I think is a bit boring) plus Pemberton and offshoots. Starting at Brown’s Ranch in Scottsdale Sonoran Preserve and long trail around the perimeter is very fun and scenic. Spur Cross in Cave Creek - if you like climbing. My local trails in Phoenix Mtn Preserve have flats, hills, technical, non technical. South Mtn has everything. Two more competitive tracks - Estrella and White Tank Parks. Cave Creek Park has trails that connect to the Maricopa Trail that go for many miles. In the East Valley there is Hawes and San Tan, both very nice riding. For pure fun, nice scenery, not technical I would suggest Brown’s Ranch in N Scottsdale.
Another shop to try out for rentals is Bike Park at Thompson Peak and Pima (close to the trails at McDowell Sonoron Preserve).
If you don’t want to drive over to the Brown’s Ranch lot you can also park at Pima and Dixileta Dr or on Dynamite Blvd and Pima.
The trails are well marked and if you have the trail forks apb (shows the parking lots as well) that will help. The north part of the preserve is the perfect spot to ride with people of different abilities and fitness. There really isn’t much elevation change and the bulk of the trails are green and blue. Fun, flowy riding with great scenery.
McDowell and Brown’s Ranch are best bets. From everything you described about your group, they are not ready for Sedona. The trails and scenery are amazing there, but most trails start at Intermediate and go up from there - think Moab Procupine Rim as a good comparison. Long travel full suspension all mountain bikes needed.
Browns and McDowell are definitely more beginner/intermediate friendly. PM for bikes that I may be able to source myself (L/XL) and for other sizes I’d look to AOA - https://aoa-adventures.com/mountain-bike-rental/, Exhale or MMC. I can also guide you, provide support/wrenching and give you a full download of local knowledge. I live close to Old Town Scottsdale and have raced and ridden most of the trails in the area.
Hardtail 29ers or full suspension XC is all you need for McDowell or Brown’s.
Spur Cross park is in Cave Creek about 4 miles from the main drag. Browns Ranch starts at Browns Ranch trailhead at the end of Alma School. The two areas are a long way from each other and not connected.
Yes, Brown’s and Spur Cross can be connected, via the Maricopa Trail. It’s quite a long ways, and from what I understand, would involve a lot of hike-a-bike for mere mortals.
I live in Sedona approx. 6 mos. of the year. Mountain Bike a lot. I’d send you to Over The Edge bike shop for rentals. Good folks, and right on 89A en route to some great riding. I think you’ll find areas in West Sedona off Dry Creek rd. most user friendly. Plenty of options there. Get a map from the shop. Another shop as an alternative in The Village of Oak Creek, is Absolute bikes. If you rent MTB’s in Phoenix but bring them to ride in Sedona, consider riding the Black Canyon Trail which lies west of I-17 halfway between Phoenix and Sedona. It’s over 70 miles long point to point. You can pick up any of numerous sections to do a ride. Great trail. A little known gem of an area is just outside Cottonwood starting from Dead Horse State Park. Great trails, way fewer people than Sedona. PM me if you need more info. Enjoy. Sedona is one of the best MTB destinations in America. Yes, it can be technical, but it’s not all gnarly. Plenty of great trails for intermediate level riders. No, I would not do “Hangover” or “Highline” my first ride, but the shops can point in in many other directions.
Thanks. I spend most the winter a mile from Browns so I know it and the Preserve fairly well. Have ridden my road bike to Spur trailhead but haven’t explored the trails that far north.
Shoot an email to Paul Stevenson, who works at Arizona Outback Adventures. They rent road and mountain bikes and can take you on guided rides, or help you plan your own ride.
He’s an excellent triathlete, part of Tri Scottsdale, and a nice guy besides; he can answer your questions.
He volunteered to lead the AM rides during the Triathlon Business Int’l Conference in Tempe, and a good time was had by all. paul@aoa-adventures.com
Actually, the folks from both Tri Scottsdale and Landis Tri Club were extremely generous with their time.
Tri Scottsdale Club President Preston Miller nvelop@aol.com
Landis Tri Club: kilgore.maria@gmail.com
You also might want to consider riding from Brown’s through to the Maricopa Trail, then when you get to Bartlett Dam Rd., instead of continuing on the Maricopa Trail, take the road to Seven Springs/end of pavement, and continue on the dirt (5 miles) to the climb to Humboldt (4 miles). You may already be familiar with that. Then, on the way back, you could take the Maricopa Trail southbound back to Brown’s. I haven’t been on it, but I hear the northbound Maricopa Trail past Bartlett Dam Rd is the really difficult part. I’ve done Brown/7 Springs/Humboldt on the gravel bike, but haven’t yet attempted to take Maricopa Trail southbound from the Humboldt area. Alternatively, you could head west to Spur Cross from there. I hear it is a bit much for a gravel bike; more MTB territory.
I am renting a bike which I imagine would have one cage and have a 1.5L Camelback but if it is in the mid80s, I may want to refill.
I’m a moderately novice MTB. I wanted to get some training in for a gravel race I have coming up and none of the rental gravel bikes were big enough for me.
There will be water at the start/finish, and at the Brown’s Ranch trailhead at/near approx mile 26. The other trailheads you will ride past do not have water. You could hide a gallon of water for resupply somewhere around the Granite Mountain or Fraesfield Trailheads. I do not like running out of water, so I would carry a 3 liter Camelback if doing this ride when it’s warm out. When will you be doing this? If May thru September, it’s best to do this ride in the early morning, or possibly late afternoon if you are experienced in riding in the desert summers.