The route mapped here is a non-technical 13-mile loop that's guaranteed to be a crowd-pleaser. Endurance riders can easily add on more miles by heading deeper into the desert or connecting to the more technical trails higher on the mesas in the Santa Clara Preserve or the Barrel and Zen trails. But for a great introduction to the area, stick to this recommended loop.

The ride begins from the popular Bearclaw Poppy trailhead, following the climbing route meandering up a mellow desert wash. Keep your eyes peeled for the left turn onto the Stucki trail.

While a few of the trail junctions are signed, this section of the deser is an absolute mess of user-created trails that aren't signed and aren't on any of the maps. Many times, you'll simply need to follow your nose and your intuition to determine the best route through the many branches and trail braids. One of the best methods of navigation is to simply follow the most well-worn trail, but it doesn't always pan out. Be sure to download this route for offline navigation before you head out.

Assuming you find your way onto Stucki, the singletrack narrows down into an easier-to-follow route that winds its way up and along several scenic ridges deep in the desert. Eventually, you'll reach the route's highpoint near a barbed-wire fence, and you'll see the upcoming descent rolling out before you.

Get ready to rip! While this descent is never too steep or too technical, it is fast, flowy, and fun! You'll rocket up and down a slew of rollers unfurling through the dry, sandy desert, whipping around bermed corners and flying up the next rise. A couple of excessively steep climbs punctuate the descent, but they're over quickly.

Follow the turns as marked to work your way back toward Bearclaw Poppy. You'll soon find another flowy section of braided trail filled with flowy up-and-down rollers. This is an absurdly fun stretch of trail, allowing you to choose your own adventure as you rock and roll down the hill.

Once you return to Bearclaw Poppy, pick up the designated downhill section of this trail. Here, the choose-your-own-adventure mountain bike character gets cranked up to 11. This downhill "trail" is actually a maze of social trails that swoop and flow down the rollers and desert ridges. All of these trails will take you back to the Bearclaw Poppy trailhead, so put the map away, stop thinking about what trail to take, and just flow! You'll spot a few Y junctions where small trail signs indicate that one fork is more difficult than the other, but do your best to make your decisions on the fly so you can swoop and flow your way back down to the trailhead.

This maze of unmarked trails is an intriguing mountain biking experience–one that undoubtedly some riders will hate but one that apparently many riders absolutely love. On any day of the week (during the cooler months), you'll see streams of mountain bikers pedaling up and down Bearclaw Poppy enjoying the swoop and flow of this desert mountain bike playground.