[reel effort]

I noticed some park just south of the Hunt Hwy east of the San Tan Flat restaurant in Queen Creek. Has anyone ridden out there and is it worth doing?
Thanks

 

[dsittman]

Pretty sure you're talking about Santan Mountain Regional Park. It's a decent trail system if you live close. I ride out there mostly for fitness and with my wife who's learning to mtb. There are some pretty fun/fast sections but not on the same level as something like Hawes or South Mtn. Give it a shot, maybe I'll see you out there :thumbsup:

 

[reel effort]

I went out there today for an hour or so. Rode the Gold Mine trail to the San Tan Trail and back down to the parking lot. It is a pretty good trail to 'break -in' for the new year. My wife is also learning and did really good once she got the hang of the gear ratios, etc...
I saw a few bikers out there and everyone was nice.
One thing i did wrong was I filled the tires really full up here in Globe (36 degrees) and down there they warmed up and expanded and one had a bulge ready to blow. I let the air out and we were okay. The same thing happened last year when we went riding but the tire ripped apart.

 

[kaboose]

santan is a great xc place to ride. next time go up little leaf and ride santan all the way to the south wash, then turn around and take hedge hog back to santan (skipping the sandy section of santan on the east side of the loop). then climb stargazer which will dump you on moonlight. make a right and ride back to the parking lot for a 12-mile fun ride! it's the loop we always do out there and love it!

get a map when you pay the entrance fee. good luck.

 

[dsittman]

santan is a great xc place to ride. next time go up little leaf and ride santan all the way to the south wash, then turn around and take hedge hog back to santan (skipping the sandy section of santan on the east side of the loop). then climb stargazer which will dump you on moonlight. make a right and ride back to the parking lot for a 12-mile fun ride! it's the loop we always do out there and love it!

get a map when you pay the entrance fee. good luck.

That's a good route which I've done a handful of times. Guess I didn't realize it amounted to as much as 12 miles. Most of the time I just skip the out and back on Santan and go straight (left turn) to hedgehog.

I'll also usually run this route in reverse (clockwise), but skip the north end of Santan and ride back to the lot via moonlight for my first warmup loop.

There's been a lot more traffic out there lately but the overall vibe is real good so far. Even the horsey folks have been really cool, but I take extra caution with them cuz u just never know how they (horse & jockey) might react to a biker.

 

[FireLikeIYA]

santan is a great xc place to ride. next time go up little leaf and ride santan all the way to the south wash, then turn around and take hedge hog back to santan (skipping the sandy section of santan on the east side of the loop). then climb stargazer which will dump you on moonlight. make a right and ride back to the parking lot for a 12-mile fun ride! it's the loop we always do out there and love it!

get a map when you pay the entrance fee. good luck.

Awesome! I have been riding Santan occasionally since it is close to the house but have always done the Goldmine to Santan loop. I have been wanting to try the other trails but never seem to have the time to experiment. I will try this route next time. Thanks for posting :thumbsup:

 

[sjreeves717]

Did 16 miles there on Wed. I rode Little Leaf to Goldmine then hop on San Tan. Then I rode Malapais until it turns into a wash then turned around. Got back on San Tan and rode it to Moonlight. Went up ML and rode the first half of San Tan counter clockwise. Then back up Moonlight to Stargazer back to truck. 15.88 miles and a decent workout.