ASPEN DRAW - MT. LEMMON
Level: Intermediate to Advanced (3-C)
Description: Wonderful, cool ride, and fun descent, but not incredibly long. Seven miles WITH the steep asphalt uphill. Single track for almost all of the return downhill. This is a loop you will probably want to do twice. Ride it, eat, and ride it again. It is 30 degrees cooler than the Tucson basin and feels all of it. 8,000 to 9,000 ft. elevation so the air is a lot thinner and you will most definitely take notice of this. The uphill on the little used road to the Observatory is fairly tough. The single track has some technical challenges (logs, wet roots, tree stumps, switchbacks, etc.) but it is rideable by an intermediate who is cautious. If you are out of shape, blow this ride off.
Directions: Take the Mt. Lemmon Highway to the top (Summerhaven) and park in the paved area as you enter the village. Get on your bike and ride up Bowie Street. In a short distance it will become Turkey Run Road (dirt) and will end roughly at the END of the Aspen Draw Trail. Google Map.
Swing right and you'll find a singletrack that climbs up alongside Ski Valley Road, which will dump you out right at the Ski Valley parking lot. From here, take the paved road to the Observatory on the top of the mountain.
Take the trail from the parking area at left of the gate on the road into the obsorvatory. The trail is at the west end of the lot.
It's a short climb, roughly parallel to the road and then a slight downhill. Bear to the right at an intersection and skirt the south side of the observatory. You'll encounter some rocks and roots on the singletrack, but it's rideable. You will come out on a jeep road. Turn left and follow the road, climbing back towards the observatory. When you return to the parking area, find the trail dropping down to the south, and take it a short distance to a gate on the road that goes behind the ski area (This is close to the road you came up.) Follow that road about a quarter mile and look for a trail on the left. This is the Aspen Draw Trail (do NOT go on the Aspen Trail!).
One of our great sponsors, Southwest Trekking, offers a shuttle service for those interested. You need to have at least six riders, and the cost is usually around $15/person. Contact John at SWTrekking and tell him you found this on the SDMB site. They can drop you off anywhere you want on the mountain, and can even pick you up to take you to other trails if needed. Shuttling, you can do Aspen Draw, Green Mountain, Bug Springs, Prison Camp, AZTrail-Molino Basin trail and La Milagrosa for a technical-lovers dream day-ride. Be aware this combo ride is brutal and not for the faint-of-heart.
What most of the trail looks like.
LOTS of logs, waterbars and tight switchbacks. Not for beginners.
Graeme at the top of Aspen Draw.
