Sedona

Gnick

Active Member
I'll be out in sedona at the end of the month for a week with the family. I'm staying right near some trailheads and planned on just renting a bike and hitting the trail. I'm going with my wife, wifes gf, brother in law etc. No one else rides. does anyone have any experience riding alone out there? i wont be hitting Hangover alone, or anything else with any real exposure. Any extra gear I should pack?
 

JimN

Captain Wildcat
Team MTBNJ Halter's
I rode alone out there and was fine. Bring plenty of food and water. Areas near the trailheads are swarmed with hikers and weirdos, and you'll likely see bikers out on the trails fairly often.
 

jmanic

JORBA Board Member/Chapter Leader
Staff member
JORBA.ORG
Team MTBNJ Halter's
Pack the mtbproject app
It has great coverage and will help get you around.
 

gtluke

The Moped
I rode a few times alone out there, it's not remote really so it's not a big deal to be solo.
 

Reggie

Formerly ReggieHammond
Team MTBNJ Halter's
Like others have stated, I've ridden here alone without any issues. The trails are very well marked. I rented from both Bike n Bean as well as Over the Edge and both were great to work with.

Both sold a paper map for a few dollars that helped me tremendously.
 

Gnick

Active Member
Pack the mtbproject app
It has great coverage and will help get you around.
I rode a few times alone out there, it's not remote really so it's not a big deal to be solo.
Like others have stated, I've ridden here alone without any issues. The trails are very well marked. I rented from both Bike n Bean as well as Over the Edge and both were great to work with.

Both sold a paper map for a few dollars that helped me tremendously.


thanks for the responses everyone. I posted on MTBR as well in the Arizona section and received this response. I'm not quite sure how literal i should take it.

Well the snakes will still be out but they generally keep their distance, the thing to be most concerned with is that we are going into prime scorpion mating season. Starting in the beginning of September there are thousands of scorpions that climb there way up into to the juniper trees to find partners and make sweet scorpion love. It wouldn't be such a big deal but there are so many aggressive males fighting for courtship that many are knocked out of the branches and fall onto unsuspecting hikers and riders. Just stay covered up in thick long sleeved shirts and pants and make sure to have an insect hat with a bug screen on it, you seriously can't go out safely without these.

I won't go out in Sedona during the next two months any longer, it's just too dangerous but the scorpion mating season is quite the sight to behold. It's like a mass, 17 year cicada hatching. There are days it's literally raining scorpions in Sedona back country. It's pretty darn spectacular. Just take the proper precautions and you should be fine.
 

Santapez

Well-Known Member
Team MTBNJ Halter's
Never heard about Scorpions there...

My one piece of advise, Hiline trail is a don't-miss. Save it for your last day.

It's technical, you won't ride half of it. But it was by far the coolest trail. I'd even say hike it if you're concerned.
 

Gnick

Active Member
Never heard about Scorpions there...

My one piece of advise, Hiline trail is a don't-miss. Save it for your last day.

It's technical, you won't ride half of it. But it was by far the coolest trail. I'd even say hike it if you're concerned.
good to know - thats on my list

the dude talking about the scorpions on mtbr was trolling big time. forget all of that.

thanks everyone!
 
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Tarroneus

Active Member
was out there in May, totally amazing. I think my favorite ride was Broken Arrow/Submarine Loop/Little Horse/Llama. Wagon Wheel counterclockwise was also great. And Slim Shady southbound. I would rent a FS bike, lots of loose rocky stuff. Have fun!
 

Gnick

Active Member
here are a few photos of the trip if anyone is interested

Sedona is really a great mountain biking town. I rented from Over the Edge in downtown and road pavement to all the trailheads since I didn't have a car. I did about 30 miles (not including pavement) over two days, riding about 4 hours a day.

what a blast - cant wait to ride out west again.
 

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Grampaaah

Member
Going to be there this weekend for a 1 day ride. Any recommendations must do rides?

I ll be riding with someone who is not in the best shape, probably looking to do 15-30 miles depending on how tough the climbs are.

Prefer cross country style trails and the more flow, jumps and berms the better
 

Gnick

Active Member
for those style of rides i can suggest, chuckwagon, mescal, aerie, snake, and skywalker if you can get to it. mescal does have a little bit more gnar, but the view are worth it. I rode a lot of other trails on the southwest side of sedona as well, but they are much more technical.

i did 17 miles my first day and it absolutely killed me, and i'm in pretty good shape. your friend will probably be dead. don't forget you're at elevation and will be climbing a lot regardless.
 

Tarroneus

Active Member
My faves:
Broken Arrow/Submarine Rock/Little Horse/Llama
Slim Shady (southbound)
Chuck Wagon (counter clockwise)

30 miles might only be 3k of climbing, but it's harder than it looks. Nothing's really that clean, tons of step-ups on the climbs and loose rocks on the downs.

Have fun!
 

qclabrat

Well-Known Member
here are a few photos of the trip if anyone is interested

Sedona is really a great mountain biking town. I rented from Over the Edge in downtown and road pavement to all the trailheads since I didn't have a car. I did about 30 miles (not including pavement) over two days, riding about 4 hours a day.

what a blast - cant wait to ride out west again.
Great pics, looking for a place to take take the family on either NJ teachers convention week or TG
are there flat trails for non-mtbr out there?
 

Gnick

Active Member
Great pics, looking for a place to take take the family on either NJ teachers convention week or TG
are there flat trails for non-mtbr out there?
yea there are definitely plenty of flat biking trails - and of course hiking trails
 

Grampaaah

Member
Gnick and Tarroneus, thank for the advice I'll let you know how it goes.

This will be my first MTB ride outside of NJ so really psyched
 

Gnick

Active Member
Gnick and Tarroneus, thank for the advice I'll let you know how it goes.

This will be my first MTB ride outside of NJ so really psyched
it will be awesome

with that being said - if you have the chance to drop the newbs - ride scorpion and ridgetrail north to south. it will be worth it. scorpion is almost no climbing. ridge trail is tough but the technical downhills are incredible.
 

THATmanMANNY

Well-Known Member
Always was itching to get to AZ and after seeing the AZ ads EVERYDAY in NY Penn station in the underground corridor I want to go with the Family.

Which city (Tucson, Sedona, Scottsdale, Tempe, prescott) offers good value for city, resort like stay (remoteness), accessible mtb? Sorry, I'm asking for alot.
 

Santapez

Well-Known Member
Team MTBNJ Halter's
Always was itching to get to AZ and after seeing the AZ ads EVERYDAY in NY Penn station in the underground corridor I want to go with the Family.

Which city (Tucson, Sedona, Scottsdale, Tempe, prescott) offers good value for city, resort like stay (remoteness), accessible mtb? Sorry, I'm asking for alot.

Sedona is the shit. I'd say try to get 2-3 days at least of riding there.
Phoenix is definitely good for 2 days. South Mountain is a must-do for at least one day. McDowell park is interesting because of the odd desert but I didn't find the riding spectacular.
Tuscon - Wasn't very exiting MTB to me after doing McDowell. Very open landscape but not the most thrilling stuff I found.
Prescott - Haven't been, heard it's awesome.
Scottsdale - Hell on earth. Great if you're a dentist showing off your 8k road bike.
 
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