Ride some fantastic, overlooked sections of the Arizona Trail.

Statistics

3 - 4

hrs

641

m

467

m

4

max°

Difficulty

FATMAP difficulty grade

Difficult

Description

Traveling from north to south, this four-day adventure includes over 100 miles of amazing Arizona Trail between Flagstaff and Mormon Lake.

You’ll experience a variety of landscapes from start to finish, including the juniper-studded high desert near the Babbitt Ranch, the red dirt beneath Elden Mountain, magical groves of aspens and ferns, the dense ponderosa pine forests of the Colorado Plateau, wind-sculpted cliffs of Walnut Canyon, and the amazing vistas near Mormon Lake. While Flagstaff is a world-famous mountain biking destination, you’ll spend time on trails that are often overlooked.

This trip is great for intermediate to advanced riders who want to see a lot of the Arizona Trail at higher elevations, including a segment of the AZT that is considered the best in the entire state of Arizona. Day 4 The final day of this tour features some truly amazing mountain biking through the ponderosa pine forest.

Most of the terrain is gentle in terms of elevation gain/loss, but a variety of soil conditions make for exciting riding.

Sometimes you’ll be flowing along at high speed on soft tread, and other times you’ll be navigating over volcanic rock obstacles and climbing in your granny gear.

It’s all fun, mostly rideable, and will leave you wanting more.

A short side trip down the Navajo Spring Trail leads to Mormon Lake Lodge, an oasis in the forest, where you can grab a slice of pizza or a cold beer before getting back on the trail.

The final four miles are relatively flat and allow you to sit up and enjoy the view – it’s a great way to end this four-day adventure.

Ride length is about 23 miles. For more information on this route, be sure to check out the separate Flagstaff to Sedona route description.

And be sure to check out AZT Expeditions for all of the route info, and to book a tour: http://aztexpeditions.com/Arizona-Trail-19.html