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Looping Ridgeline Trail (more climbing, more technical) in with Honeybee Canyon Loop (fast/easy, smooth singletrack).


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Map Key

32.0

Miles

51.5

KM

95%

Singletrack

4,242' 1,293 m

High

2,965' 904 m

Low

2,476' 755 m

Up

2,476' 755 m

Down

3%

Avg Grade (2°)

20%

Max Grade (11°)

Dogs Unknown

E-Bikes Unknown

Overview

A great ride to put in some higher dirt miles. It's fast and fun on the first bit, and then you descend over the ridge to Ridgeline Trail and loop around there.

Pace yourself - there are three main climbs in the Ridgeline Loop but gorgeous views and great technical features that aren't too advanced make it well worth it.

Need to Know

You're supposed to purchase a pass here: asld.secure.force.com/recre…

It's a 45-60 min drive each way from South Tucson, so factor in if you are up for this many miles in addition to that much driving.

Description

Parking:
You park on the side of the road in a dirt lot right after you get off Oracle Rd.

Riding:Main Loop:
The ride starts out down the road before hanging a left. The first loop is smooth, fast, and fun singletrack with a couple small alternate lines. The way back on this first main loop is very fun, with a little more descending to keep your speed. Watch out for pricklies on those turns!

Ridgeline Loop:
I added this loop (a separate ride) because the start of it is along the main Honeybee Canyon Loop. In general using my Garmin to navigate, I've found the user experience to be poor. I will stop the first course it's navigating once I reach where I know the other one starts, and will start nav on that loop, before returning nav to the original loop once that one's done.

For others, I wanted to instead turn this experience into a more holistic one by giving you my GPX after I did that additional loop :)

Ridgeline Loop is fun, too, but it adds 1,500 ft. of climbing, so be sure you brought enough water. It's a steady climb up over the first ridge with a quick descent down into a ring of peaks that looks really cool. Then you'll do a sustained climb up and finally descend all around the rim for amazing views and great singletrack. You'll climb back out of here (the third and final climb of this extension), so hang tight and power through!

History & Background

There are some cool old farmer's structures including a windmill and an old quarry looking structure in the hills.

Shared By:

Riley Predum

Trail Ratings

  5.0 from 7 votes

#884

Overall
  5.0 from 7 votes
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Recommended Route Rankings

#43

in Arizona

#884

Overall
192 Views Last Month
2,642 Since Mar 8, 2021
Intermediate/Difficult Intermediate/Difficult

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Photos

Wild flowers in bloom and a "Monster" stand off!
Apr 11, 2019 near Catalina, AZ
Singletrack pretty much the entire ride
Apr 7, 2020 near Tortolita, AZ
Heading south toward the Santa Catalinas on Honeybee.
Sep 1, 2015 near Catalina, AZ
Tight cornering with high (prickly) consequences on the Ridgeline Trail.
Dec 30, 2015 near Tortolita, AZ
As technical as the trail gets
May 28, 2014 near Catalina, AZ
Highlights of my first time on the Honeybee Canyon Loop trail.
Oct 25, 2015 near Catalina, AZ

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Current Trail Conditions

All Clear 14 hours ago
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