Road/ Gravel/ Singletrack mashup to Saguaro National Park

January 24, 2025

While there's a ton of fun mountain biking trails out here west of town, the road riding isn't the greatest. Every year we do a run or two up to Saguaro National Park and deal with too many cranky pickup truck drivers on Bopp Road and bumpy old Kinney Road.

I've seen some gravel routes around where we're staying that could be a way to escape the traffic. Our ride today will be an experimental venture to find a more peaceful route to the national park. Christine, a friend who leads the yoga group at Desert Trails RV park, suggested we try the Well Road Trail that starts from the San Joaquin Trailhead north of here to get to McCain Loop Road which goes very close to the national park. We'll start there.

Leaving Desert Trails, we ride three miles northwest on San Joaquin Road until it ends at the trailhead. In the five years we've been coming here I don't think we've ever taken it this direction before. The road is pleasant and quiet, and after a couple of miles on pavement the surface shifts to gravel. So far so good.

New sign for the park, painted by one of the longtime RV guests here.

The gravel is a little soft in places, not too bad.

At the San Joaquin Trailhead. No pickup trucks going in this way.

At the trailhead we find the entrance to Well Road Trail which takes us into Tucson Mountain Park. Much of the trail is a two-track road. Tire tracks suggest a car or truck has driven on it recently, possibly a park service vehicle. None are in sight today.

The trail gets progressively softer until we are slogging through patches of deep mushy sand. This stuff would be a tough go on a mountain bike, let alone with our 40 mm tires.

With two miles to go on this trail, Barry is ready to bail and turn back. I keep going, finding enough firm-ish ground here and there to make steady if slow progress. Eventually he catches up, committed now. As we plod along I'm thinking about other trails through Tucson Mountain Park we might take on the return trip so we don't have to ride this one again.

Tire tracks can be a good bet for a firmer surface

I figured we might have a few hike-a-bike stretches.

We're almost to the end of this part, I promise

The trail takes us to Gilbert Ray Campground where we hop on McCain Loop and are back on pavement. I always enjoy this hilly romp of a road. It's a good low traffic alternative to avoid a big chunk of Kinney Road. Just one car passes us on this three mile stretch.

At its west end, McCain Loop meets up with Kinney Road very close to where we turn onto the Saguaro National Park Road, which is velvety smooth. Inside the park we pedal on a couple miles past the Visitor Center to Bajada Loop - a six-mile scenic gravel road.

A short downhill stretch on Kinney gets us to the Saguaro National Park road.

The climb up Bajada Loop towards Apache Peak is some work. I'm concerned that we're eating up time, on top of a late start and the slow going back on the Well Road Trail. By the time we cover the first mile it's 3:30, and we still have to figure out a way home. Perhaps we should turn back and save the rest of Bajada for another time. Barry heartily agrees.

At the visitor center we take a little time to commune with the Saguaros. Barry finds a deck of cards in the gift shop to replace the bedraggled one we've been playing with. A useful souvenir!

Bajada Loop road in Saguaro National Park

Taking in the Saguaro forest east of the visitor center. We see this every time we come out here. Never gets old.

Looking west from the parking lot at the Red Hills Visitor Center

On the way back we get another go at the hills on McCain Loop, taking it all the way past Gilbert Ray campground to the east end where it meets up with Kinney Road again.

Just two miles after getting on Kinney we get off it again on Hal Gras, a road we have passed many times but never ventured down. It's another bumpy road with several picnic sites before the pavement ends close to the mountain bike trail system.

We're lucky that Kinney Road is unusually quiet today.

From the end of Hal Gras, a hike up a short hill gets us to Ironwood Trail, one we've ridden many times on our mountain bikes. Ironwood is pretty easy singletrack that the gravel bikes handle well. This part is nice and firm with no sketchy washes. In familiar territory now, we find our way back to the camper by 5:00.

I'm calling this a win. The route back from the national park will be a fine way to get there in the future on these bikes. Studying the map a while longer I see possibilities to cut more miles off the part on Kinney. We'll have to check those out.

Home stretch on the mighty go-anywhere gravel bikes

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Today's ride: 26 miles (42 km)
Total: 93 miles (150 km)

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