Madera Canyon bike

February 24, 2025

Madera Canyon is my number one out of town destination now that we have a car. If we hadn’t rented a car I’d have probably lobbied for a one or two night overnight to Green Valley and use it as a base for a climb up to the top. For me the lure is the birding - I’m almost guaranteed to see several birds up there that don’t make it down to the basin. It’s a wonderful hiking area too though, so it will work well for both of us. Rachael can take an out and back up the nature trail that follows the four mile paved road that penetrates through the canyon, and I’ll take a slow bike ride to the end of the pavement and back, stopping everywhere that looks like a promising site.

But first there’s the tire. I’m hopeful that the leak is slow enough that I can just keep pumping it up for another 10 miles (I’ve always been a horrible procrastinator), but it’s completely flat this morning so the day starts with a small maintenance project.

It’s an easy, fast drive to Madera Canyon, on the freeway all the way until the turnoff just past Green Valley. From there it’s a steady climb up to the first parking lot inside the park. Rachael pays the $8 day fee at a kiosk while I unload the bike and look around at the magnificent views north out the wide mouth of the canyon.

The view northwest across the open pit mines. The road across the top is rhe one that passes Helmet Peak and connects San Xavier Mission and Green Valley.

Elephant Head and the west wall of the canyon.

Not much riding is involved here - it’s only three miles from the first parking lot to the end of the pavement, but it’s all up - steeply at times, between 9 and 13%. It’s no big deal now, but it’s always been a challenge on the times I’ve biked up from Green Valley and am tired already.

It’s a stepped ascent though - climb steeply to a plateau at the next parking lot, climb some more to one of the lodges that must predate from when this was converted to a protected park. At each one I stop and find a spot in the shade to sit and look for what might fly by. Surprisingly, there’s nothing at either of the first two parking lots I stop at. I hear a raven in the distance and then see a jay quickly in fly past, but the woods are silent other than from the walkers who pass by regularly.

I’m surrounded by oaks with alligator skin for bark at the lower parking lots.

I don’t make very good time. I bike slowly, climb a level to the next parking lot, find a spot in the shade to watch for birds, but the only one that comes along is my best friend.

She’s traveling faster thank me actually, and after the second parking lot stop finally takes the lead. I won’t see her again until we’re back at the car two hours later.

As I knew would be the case from my past visits, the first real birding action is all at the lodges, which have evolved into a combination of gift shops and birding sights. Santa Rita Lodge, the first one I come to, has a viewing area with benches and seats in the shade, all filled with folks with their cameras pointing at the space below filled with birdhouses and watering spots - and birds. This first one is full of larger, more dominating birds. Wild turkeys roam in gangs across the grass, acorn woodpeckers and Mexican jays swoop in and dominate the feeders, displacing the smaller birds waiting in the canopy for their chance.

I sit there and watch for about a half hour and then climb up to the next lodge, which is less developed - no gift shop, not much in the way of a viewing platform, and at first there’s not a single bird in sight even though there’s a large array of bird feeders in front of it. I sit in the shade for about five minutes though, and soon enough they start showing up.

I turn back here, and on the way back down I stop at Santa Rita Lodge again. I feel like I owe them something for the show so I order a large hazelnut latte and a couple of oatmeal cookies, leave a good tip, and then sit and watch the show until it’s time to drop a mile down to the car and meet up with Rachael. Nine new birds today!

The house finches had so much red on them I thought it might be a different species.

At the bottom of the hill we stop off at Quail Crossing, a golfing resort we’ve stopped at twice before. It’s got a nice menu and a great spot to sit in the shade. Afterwards we stop by the nearest Walmart for something Rachael saw in her inventory that she wanted to pick up, and then we just head home for the night. For me, the evening gets well filled with me poring through the images to see what got hauled in this time.

I could have taken a photo of my pork chop or Rachael’s pistachio-crusted trout, but at least I remembered this.

Today's ride: 6 miles (10 km)
Total: 1,140 miles (1,835 km)

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Janice BranhamYour bird photos are just stunning. We haven't been to Madera yet this year; your post just kicked it up the list.
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