[sanger66]

Greetings-

I am heading out to Phoenix and was looking to hit up a ride at South Mountain this Friday. Can anyone help me with a trail map of the area. I have done some searching around the web but have not come up with anything. I am vaguely familiar with the mountain, that is to say that I use to ride around it almost 17 years ago on my old rigid. I would enter the park from Guadalupe by the golf course, from what I have read this is still the main entery. I am sure that many other things have changed.

On to the ever popular, "which trails should I take..." First about me... I will be riding my Blur classic, so I am not looking for any of the nasty drops, the blur is just not built for that. I would consider myself an strong XC rider who enjoys long technical climbs and tight twisty singletrack. I would like to ride the National Trail and the Desert Classic Trail but not really sure where I would need to start.

Much thanks in advance.

 

[YuriB]

http://phoenix.gov/PARKS/hiksogud.html

Start at Pima canyon for nat'l and DC.

 

[El profeta negro]

Best I could come up with. Not all trails are shown.

DC and National are highly recommended. I like to tay on the north east face and do Javelina/Mormon/National

 

[El profeta negro]

Wow, just 2 minutes off with the same thought. You must have linked it while I was busy copy/pasting it.

 

[en are es]

I would recommend National more than DC. Funner, and DC is more for begginers. It was my first trail and now I can do it in a really low amount of time.

 

[sanger66]

muchas gracias for the quick responce. One last question, are the trails fairly well marked or should I bring out the compass and bread crumbs?

 

[AZ Mikey]

muchas gracias for the quick responce. One last question, are the trails fairly well marked or should I bring out the compass and bread crumbs?

They're fairly well marked and there will be plenty of bikers and hikers to guide you on the trail. If you like technical climbs then you should go up National to the Buena Vista overlook and back down.

 

[sanger66]

They're fairly well marked and there will be plenty of bikers and hikers to guide you on the trail. If you like technical climbs then you should go up National to the Buena Vista overlook and back down.

When you say go up National Trail, does that mean still start at Pima Canyon? Or start on the Southwestern side of the mountain near what looks like Telegraph pass?

 

[YuriB]

When you say go up National Trail, does that mean still start at Pima Canyon? Or start on the Southwestern side of the mountain near what looks like Telegraph pass?

start at pima. it's a dirt road for a bit then 50 yards of single track. and you'll hit the mormon national split. you may want to head up mormon trail which will link back into national rather than straight up national which can be a bit much the 1st time around. come back down on national. pretty well signed and very well populated. if in doubt ask someone.

 

[AZ Mikey]

you may want to head up mormon trail which will link back into national rather than straight up national which can be a bit much the 1st time around.

He said he wanted a technical climb. Up National fits that description.

 

[sanger66]

I checked out a couple vids from Peter Fagerlin that he shot of South Mtn, looks like some fun stuff. One last question, Is it acceptable to climb national or mormon? Seemed like everyone goes down those two trails? Trying not to upset the locals.

 

[YuriB]

mikey says walk the plank

I checked out a couple vids from Peter Fagerlin that he shot of South Mtn, looks like some fun stuff. One last question, Is it acceptable to climb national or mormon? Seemed like everyone goes down those two trails? Trying not to upset the locals.

Just ignore AZMikey - the homebrew is a messing with his brain and he might be trying to kill you.
But following his logic. Start at the 46st entrance and ride Javalina to the national mormon intersection. If you can clean most of that and still have lungs, then hit national. If not, head up mormon.
but hey, i ride a huffy at 30 mph on trail 100 so take it with a grain of salt.
(climb up whichever way you prefer, you'll know very quickly if national is too much for you)

 

[eatdrinkride]

I checked out a couple vids from Peter Fagerlin that he shot of South Mtn, looks like some fun stuff. One last question, Is it acceptable to climb national or mormon? Seemed like everyone goes down those two trails? Trying not to upset the locals.

Up Mormon to the link with National for the d/h is a quite common trip. Mormon on the way up has about 3 tough climbing sections and a few techie stair steps. I have not ridden UP National but many riders do. National is quite technical with lots and lots of stairsteps, too much for me to attempt on the way up, (and many others), someday when I'm a better rider I will try.

Going down either is fun but National is more of a fun challange, no doubt...

 

[DurtGurl]

A good trail map of South Mountain park is remarkably hard to come by. Here is one that I scanned for the AZ Spring Fling rides. I bought the map at REI, which is near SoMo at the corner of Southern and Priest (stop by and pick up a map if you have the time!).

 

[AZ Mikey]

I have not ridden UP National but many riders do. National is quite technical with lots and lots of stairsteps, too much for me to attempt on the way up, (and many others), someday when I'm a better rider I will try.

If you try to ride up National on a regular basis, you will get better in a hurry. Take a little extra time on the way up and session some of the obstacles, there's no other way to learn.

If you can, hook up with a group that's heading up National, you'll see where all of the lines are. dirtbag and his crew do this on a regular basis and they're good guys to ride with.

 

[AZ Mikey]

but hey, i ride a huffy at 30 mph on trail 100 so take it with a grain of salt.

You rule! When did you get the new ride?

 

[sanger66]

thanks to all

Thanks all for the advice and the maps, I am on my way out the door for the lovely drive across I-8 Am I there yet, oh wait that is only El Centro... Look forward to riding around SoMo, Happy Turkey Day!

 

[en are es]

I would dare say SoMo is one of the hands-down best spots for mountain biking in the country. I might be going to Moab over the summer for a little while... pretty excited about that! Something there for everyone... hope you enjoy your riding! And your Thanksgiving.

 

[tyrone.minton]

bringing this back from the past.

I've tried riding national before but I think I got lost or didn't go far enough. At the end of the road it has a roundabout and you drop down through the rocky wash and have to climb up the other side. I remember seeing a trail that goes up to the north east and though that it didn't seem to be going the right direction.

Did I just not go far enough to hit the mormon/national intersection? i'm going to try again today and see how far I get this time.

Thanks.

 

[TheBarqsMan]

bringing this back from the past.

A good post to resurrect...I've been building a South Mountain interactive map on my blog. It may help you find your way around. Good luck.

http://mtbikeaz.com/trail-index/phoenix/south-mountain-park-trail-map/