A great road bike ride when the tourists are gone
Dificulty: Hard
Average time: 01:50:00 AM
Ride Mileage: 21 to 40 miles
Climbing Elevation: 1859
Type of ride: Climb
Road/Mountain: Road
Gates Pass is one of Arizona’s most popular bike rides, and for a good reason– this is one of Tucson’s road biking gems. This biking route offers everything a cyclist could ever possibly ask for: incredibly scenery, rigorous ups and downs, and a few dangerous stretches to raise your heartbeat a bit more.
What to Expect Cycling Through Gates Pass – Tucson’s Best Views
Along the ride, you pass through Old Tucson and the Desert Museum. These two sites are great rest-stops to load up on water, take a few great pictures, and get to know more of Arizona’s biking capital. Once you get to Gates Pass, you will be high up in the Arizona nature. Stop at the side of the road to look East and West at the expanse of wilderness.
Gates Pass is not cycling-friendly during the busy tourist season, as it is a popular route for cars to drive along. Going down to the West of Gates Pass, the road gets narrow and motorists drive very close to you. But the danger is not high because it can be prevented by mindful cyclists who are experienced around cars. Just keep your eyes up and drive with the traffic.
Gates Pass is scenic but very narrow.
Riding the McCain Loop After Gates Pass: More Arizona Fun!
If you’re an avid cyclist who wants to add more miles, we have a bonus for you. Once you get up the Gates Pass, you can do an additional cycling route. McCain’s Loop is a short, sweet ride that starts just where Gates Pass ends. We recommend doing the loops a couple of times (or doing it in reverse, to add variety and spice to your cycling). The McCain Loop cycling ride has a little of everything: flats, rollers, and a very short killer climb.
Check out this great Gates Pass cycling video below:
Gates Pass and McCain Loop: BikeTucson.com Rents and Delivers Road Bikes
Tucson Bike Rentals and Tours delivers and picks up rental road, mountain, hybrid, and kids bikes to all the routes at Oro Valley and Saddlebrooke. We are the official Tucson, Arizona bicycle guiding and rental arm for the Arizona Bicycle Association. As an added bonus, our company also gives all cyclists free helmets and maps! When cycling Tucson, we recommend you only rent from the best: us.
Mountain Bike Tucson– Bike Delivery To Mountain Bike Trails
For bike deliveries, we ask for a two-rider minimum. Bike from 1 to 5 hours, finish riding, and we pick up the bikes! You don’t have to worry about loading mountain bikes in your rental car, driving back to our store to leave them, or cleaning up dust from the bike and wheels. Price is generally $100 per bike – depending on the location of the trailhead.
Don’t know where to ride? BikeTucson.com offers guided biking tours and rides that range from beginner and intermediate to advanced. Click here to check out our services.
For more cycling information, go to BIKEAZ.org.