MTB Project Logo

A long, mostly downhill tour of Mt. Lemmon.


Your Rating: Rating Rating Rating Rating Rating      Clear Rating
Your Difficulty:
Your Favorites: Add To-Do · Your List
Zoom in to see details
Map Key

18.8

Miles

30.2

KM

95%

Singletrack

7,332' 2,235 m

High

2,803' 854 m

Low

1,928' 588 m

Up

6,457' 1,968 m

Down

8%

Avg Grade (5°)

39%

Max Grade (21°)

Dogs Off-leash

E-Bikes Unknown

Overview

See Full Lemmon Drop for a longer version of this ride.

This ride is basically a long link up of all the fantastic singletrack Mt. Lemmon has to offer. Almost all downhill, each trail is a mix of both fast and technical riding with the occasional steep uphill hike-a-bike thrown in. The full ride links up Green Mountain, Bug Springs, Molino Basin and La Milagrosa.

Faster riders can probably make the ride in 3-4 hours while many should plan on a full day of riding.

Need to Know

The mobile app, GPS or guide needed is needed. Most trail are not marked or poorly marked. A shuttle is definitely recommended unless you want to ride up 15 or so miles of road to start the day or after the ride.

Description

Green Mountain is a fun trail along the back side of the mountain it runs around. The trail runs through nice wooded areas and opens up to sparse vegetation towards the end, finishing along a well traveled hiking path into a public picnic area.

Bug Springs is a very fun, challenging downhill romp with fast flowing lines and technical rocky switchbacks. Be prepared for a bit of a hike up the first hill and a shorter walk up after some early fun.

Molino Basin is the shortest of the trails along this ride (unless you include Aspen Draw at the top of the mountain), but should still be taken seriously. The route runs down along and into a valley several hundred feet below over 2.5 miles and is almost completely downhill. Fast rocky sections are mixed with slow, tight switchbacks to force you to check your speed.

La Milagrosa is the long and grueling, but very worthwhile finish to the ride. It begins with a long, steep uphill battle, but then rewards those who make it with phenomenal fast, flowy, rocky goodness on the other side. The trail ends in Milagrosa Canyon by looping down south to west, but can be linked with the Arizona Trail as well by instead heading east towards Redington Pass.

Contacts

Shared By:

Ryan Courreges 1

Trail Ratings

  3.7 from 24 votes

#1

in Tucson

#1492

Overall
  3.7 from 24 votes
5 Star
21%
4 Star
50%
3 Star
17%
2 Star
4%
1 Star
8%
Recommended Route Rankings

#1

in Tucson

#59

in Arizona

#1,492

Overall
199 Views Last Month
19,477 Since Apr 3, 2013
Difficult Difficult

0%
0%
0%
9%
74%
17%

Photos

From the ridge on Bugs Springs trail.
Jan 2, 2017 near Tanque…, AZ
Good fun near the bottom of Bug Springs
Mar 30, 2018 near Tanque…, AZ
FROM FOREST TO DESERT! | Riding Mt. Lemmon in Tucson, Arizona!
Feb 24, 2019 near Tanque…, AZ
Great views and great DH's heading east on Bellota towards La Milagrosa
May 13, 2013 near Tanque…, AZ
La Milagrosa decent
Jan 9, 2019 near Tanque…, AZ
Really cool looking canyon off to the left of the trail.
Oct 3, 2022 near Tanque…, AZ
loading

Weather


Current Trail Conditions

Unknown
Add Your Check-In

Check-Ins

Join the Community

Create your FREE account today!
Already have an account? Login to close this notice.

Get Started.