At Tucson’s northeast corner, Mount Lemmon is a dream ride for many serious road cyclists and has long been a training destination for Tour de France racers who need sustained two- to four-hour climbs at a 5 to 6 percent grade. A winding, 20-mile road rises 5,500 feet from the rocky cactus desert to a University of Arizona astronomical observatory surrounded by ponderosa pines. The reward for conquering that grind is a gripping 30-minute descent.
Perhaps an even better road ride is the 10-mile rollercoaster of a loop through Saguaro National Park East. The road is one-way for cars, meaning riders can focus on the sharp, curving descents rather than oncoming traffic. Also notable among dozens of other world-class rides in the area is the rolling, 40-mile out-and-back route to the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum, which stretches up and over Gates Pass and features extensive views of the city. Trek Travel offers a five-day Tucson Ride Camp (from $1,299) that explores a handful of the region’s best road routes and culminates in an ascent of Mount Lemmon.
