Where is the Biking Capital of the US?

Okay full disclosure: we were visiting Arizona for a wedding a couple hours away, but you know we had to make a side trip to experience the biking capital of the World, Tucson. The city is known as one of the most bike friendly cities in the US and is home to the famous “Loop” multi-use trail. 350 days of sunshine, 131 miles of paved, car-free bike trails and desert landscape. Needless to say we were in Heaven!

Formally known as the Chuck Huckleberry Loop, or just “The Loop” to locals was finished in 2019. It connects Rillato, Santa Cruz and Pantano River Parks with the Julian Walsh and Harrison Road Greenways to span Tucson, South Tucson, Oro Valley and Marana. The project originally started as riverbank protection to control flooding.

My absolute favorite part of The Loop is how beautifully kept and maintained it is. We’re so used to potholes and cracks here in Montana that experiencing a perfectly smooth trail system is bliss. We stayed at a hotel in the Northeast side of Tucson. While it was not in the downtown area, The Loop trail was literally connected to the hotel parking lot. The bike rental we chose was a self-serve rental stationed inside a storage facility. It was a little sketchy visiting at night, but walkable from our hotel, nice quality bikes and right off The Loop.

While we were in Tucson we also wanted to visit a National Park so instead of taking a more traditional Loop ride, we opted for some miles of street biking to reach Saguaro National Park (East). Even though it was Arizona’s winter, we headed out early and I’m happy we did because The Loop can get busy. In February it averaged 700 cyclists and/or pedestrians each day with the busiest times between 9am and noon.

Like I said earlier, this multiuse pathway is perfectly paved and basically flat for the entirety of the ride. We started out near Rillato Park, which happened to have a great farmer’s market that morning, and followed the trail down the Rillato River. Surprisingly the river was completely dry when we were there. Although the entire paved bike system is named the Chuck Huckleberry Loop, the trail is broken into segments with a few different names. I did think this got a little confusing because there were many places trail merged with options to get off The Loop. However if you are were planning on doing the entire loop I think it would be pretty straight forward to just follow the main trail.

We technically stayed on the Diamond Loop for most of our miles before we split off and headed to Saguaro National Park. We stayed on The Loop until E Golf Links Road where there is a gradual, but very long hill before taking a left on S Houghton Road. After about one block, we took a right on E Old Spanish Road which takes you all the way to the entrance of the park. The road has a smaller shoulder, but a slow speed limit and limited cars.

When you finally reach the National Park, there is a great photo spot with the Saguaro sign at the entrance. The visitor center and entrance gate are only a short ride from there. Continue through the gate and follow the one-way 9.5-mile Cactus Forest Loop Road that takes you through the whole park. Although there is no designated bike lane, I didn’t find it too intimidating to ride with the cars. The speed limit is slow with numerous scenic turnouts. The road itself is skinny, with a few sharp corners that make it easy for bikes to keep up with the cars.

I love cacti and the desert landscape and this place was paradise. Towering saguaros, prickly pears, barrel, cholla and keep your eyes out for javelinas! We didn’t see any, but I was dying to see one. Unfortunately, this part of the ride is also filled with rolling hills and one giant climb. The rolling hills weren’t bad because they were usually proceeded with a big downhill so you could gain some momentum. There is one massive downhill with a very sharp turn at the bottom immediately when you get on the one-way section of Cactus Forest Road. A local actually warned us about it before we started. The giant uphill comes at about the halfway point of the nearly 10-mile loop and seemed never-ending. But the view from the Riparian Overlook is worth it…plus you can’t turn around, it’s a one-way road!

I suggest stopping at the visitor center when you complete the loop. This is a great spot to stop for a snack, rest and grab a small souvenir. Luckily the road back to meet up with the main Loop is mostly downhill. Before re-joining The Loop we had to stop at Sonic for a refreshing slushy, it was getting pretty warm by then (by Montana standards at least). We followed the same way we came back to the hotel. We did cross at N Craycroft Road and then again at N Dodge Boulevard so we could ride on both the North and Sides of the Rillato River.

Once again this was a fantastic way to fully experience a National Park. Especially this one with only one road through the park. It was much easier to take pictures, enjoy the towering saguaros and avoid any crowds. I highly recommend the Chuck Huckleberry Loop as well. Doing The Loop in its entirety is definitely on our biking bucket list.

Although the trail condition was spectacular, it wasn’t the most scenic section. I really enjoyed seeing the cacti in Saguaro National Park, but I don’t think it’s a must do. The difficulty rating would only be about a 3/10 if just staying on the flat Loop instead of off-roading to the park. Next time, we are planning on doing the ride to Oro Valley and Catalina State Park for more mountain views.

• Saguaro became a National Park in 1994 and is home to the largest cacti in the US.
• Saguaros can live 150-200 years and grow 50 feet tall. They don’t grow their arms until they’re around 75 years old and actually only grow 1-2 inches in their first eight years
•  They only grow in the Sonoran Desert located in small parts of Arizona, New Mexico and California
• This park has very diverse wildlife including songbirds, javelinas and an array of reptiles like the desert tortoise and Gila monsters