(photos by Bear Guerra(B&W), Ken Keberle and Jonathan Culp) ***If you would like to join this ride but it is cost prohibitive to do so or if you need to borrow gear to make it happen, please let us know.

3 Route Versions
We are excited this year to be offering three versions in one of this ride. This is our first time doing a three in one and it should make for a good time for all!

Intermediate Route – 32 miles
Intermediate and advanced route riders will be leaving Campfire Cycling at around 9:30AM. This group will ride a paved bike path most of the way to Colossal Cave State Park. The route does have some rolling climbs over the last 5 miles.

Beginner Route – 18 miles
For beginner bikepackers who are looking for a shorter version of the ride (18 miles instead of 32), we welcome you to join at mile 14 of our route at Fantasy Island’s north parking area (See Point-of-Interest on the route map). We will be joining with beginner riders at this point. This beginner section is similar in difficulty to our beginner ride that we do from Campfire to Catalina State Park in the Fall.

Advanced Route – 43 miles with AZT
For the advanced riders that would like to join us, we’ve come up with a new version that incorporates in some AZT riding. We part ways with the beginner and intermediate riders to navigate through fantasy island on the trails. The route splits off from the main route in Vail. The route here shows as 86 miles because it is the full out and back, but to compare it to the other two routes, it is 43 miles one way. While a good portion of this route is on pavement, the AZT section does necessitate a sturdy mountain bike. We will likely be arriving to camp quite a bit later then the other groups, perhaps as late as 6 or 7pm, please bring lighting in case we are riding later then anticipated.

Camping
We’ll be staying at the Sevilla group campground with room for 20 tents. Drinking water and pit toilets are available.

About Riding with Campfire
On our Community Events/Rides we follow our Campfire Code of Conduct. We strive to create a positive and supportive environment where everyone feels welcome and heard. We don’t assume anyone’s abilities based on outwards appearance. We take responsibility for our actions and words. We respect the land, it’s original stewards and leave no trace.

If this is your first bikepacking trip, we are here to help. If you like advise on gear need or want any other advice we strongly recommend you stop by with your bike or pack up your bike for the trip and bring it by the shop so we can checkout your setup and make recommendations as needed. Feel free to setup an appointment or just stop on by.

While this is a beginner oriented bikepacking trip, everyone is welcome. I’m sure all of the newbies will appreciate having experienced campers along for the ride.  It’s a great opportunity to do a shake down run with new gear or a new to you setup as well as sharing experinece, knowledge and setups.

This will be a no drop ride. We ride at a party pace with many stops and chances for regrouping as well as resupply. Campfire Cycling will also always have a mechanic at the back of the ride so no one is left behind in case trouble arises. There is also food available near the camp.

Please be prepared with all of your own camping gear, food and water. This will be semi remote camping without many supplies nearby. Campgound has vault toilets and running water. There are businesses and a grocery store on the route with markets nearby the entrance/exit of the campground. To get a good idea of what the trip looks like, our friend Jonathan Culp made this rad video!

And here’s a suggested pack list 🙂

NonPremium RideWithGPS users can get access to premium features for this route and other Campfire Cycling routes.

• Go to CampfireCycling’s Ride with GPS page.
• Click Join Now.
• If not already signed in, sign in to your Ride with GPS Account.
• OR Setup a Free Basic Ride with GPS Account.
• You will now be able to access the three versions of this route and our Route Library.
  • Beginner
  • Intermediate
  • Advanced

***We strongly recommend all participants who do not have offline access to the route on their phone or other navigation devise, setup a free RideWithGPS account and use the above process to access the route and download it to their phon

Protect the Land we Ride on. For this trip we will have beautiful scenic views of the Santa Rita Mountains who’s unique environment is under threat to some heavy mining. Rosemont Canadian Company want to extract and export copper while dumping tons of wast into a mile wide hole that will seep lots of toxins into our groundwater. The Tohono O’odham Tribe as well as many conservation groups have been fighting this mine and for years. We recommend visiting: The Sky Islands Alliance, The Calabasas Alliance, Save the Scenic Santa Ritas. Donate, show up to events and get involved!