Underexposed

The Sonoran Desert lies in a region of the West called the Basin and Range geologic province. This hypnotic landscape consists of broad, low-elevation valleys rimmed by long, thin, parallel mountain ranges, which extend from northern Mexico across much of Arizona, California, Utah, and Nevada, northward to the southern plains of Idaho. It’s a brutally hot and arid corner of North America, but despite the obvious challenges to life in this part of the world, life flourishes. The flora is as beautiful as it is sharp and pointy, and the wildlife diverse and fascinating. It covers roughly 86,000 square miles, and while much of it is devoid of civilization, it is in fact home to one of America’s most populous and sprawling metropolitan areas known as the Valley of the Sun, the center of which lies the capital city of Phoenix. One part of the Phoenix metro in particular is home to a major University as well as one of the world’s leading mountain bike manufacturers, Pivot Cycles, and happens to be centrally located to some of the American southwest’s most underrated mountain bike trails.

While places like Sedona, Mount Lemmon, or Flagstaff are a bit more top of mind for mountain bikers looking to AZ for options, the truth is that Phoenix, Tempe and the surrounding area is absolutely loaded with ample and diverse riding opportunities. Tempe in particular is bordered by the famously rugged trails of South Mountain to the south, Papago Park to the north, and twenty minutes to the east by Hawes trail network in Tonto National Forest. The Hawes Trail Alliance is responsible for the maintenance and expansion of the Hawes Trail System, and several of its members also volunteer at South Mountain, which is under the jurisdiction of the City of Phoenix.

Pivot doesn’t have any catchy marketing names for its trails program. They just really love their local trails and are willing and able to pump some resources into trying to make them better. They are simply doing what needs to be done so that the place they call home is the best version it can be. Quite honestly, Tempe might not be top of mind for virtually anyone when it comes to outdoor recreation, let alone mountain biking, but once you’re here it’s easy to see just how abundant and brilliant the options are. The Sonoran desert offers truly diverse riding opportunities just outside, and sometimes inside, city limits. While the sprawl is real, many residents are actively working to preserve those riding opportunities for themselves and future generations. This part of the Sonoran Desert is a lot of things to a lot of people, and mountain bike paradise is one of them.