If you only get one week of winter riding somewhere warm, Tucson is where I'd send you. The desert holds a 6,000 foot climb, an 8 mile cactus forest loop, 137 miles of paved path with no cars on it, and quiet two lane roads in every direction out of town. Here's what's actually worth riding when you get there.
I run a training camp in Tucson and I ride every mile of it myself, so this list isn't lifted off a map. It's the roads I've been on, in the order I'd put them in a week.
The short answer
Six rides carry the place. Mount Lemmon is the one people fly in for. Gates Pass and the McCain Loop take you west into the Tucson Mountains. Saguaro National Park East gives you the densest cactus you'll ever ride through. Madera Canyon is the quiet climb an hour south. Kitt Peak is the hardest day in southern Arizona. And the Chuck Huckelberry Loop is 137 miles of paved path where you won't see a car.
You can build a very good week out of the first four. The detail is what makes them work, so here it is.
Mount Lemmon is the climb you came for
The Catalina Highway starts on the northeast edge of town at about 2,858 feet and climbs to the observatory at 9,134 feet. That's 27.8 miles and roughly 6,276 feet of climbing. Summerhaven, the little village most riders stop at, comes at around mile 24.
What makes it famous? It isn't the number. It's that the road is good the whole way. Wide shoulder, smooth pavement, long open turns, and a mile marker every mile so you always know exactly where you are. From the bottom to Summerhaven it sits a bit over 4 percent on average. The last two miles to the observatory are the steepest on the mountain, over 10 percent, and most riders skip them.
So what does nobody tell you before the first attempt? Three things.
There's no water until you're past mile marker 19. Fill everything at the bottom and treat that as the rule, not a suggestion.
The climate changes underneath you. You start in saguaro and finish in pine forest, and the top runs 15 to 20 degrees cooler than the valley floor. On a warm April day the summit can still touch the 60s, which sounds fine until you point a bike downhill for 25 miles at 30 miles an hour. Carry a jacket. If you're on a supported ride, put one in the van.
The descent is the part that hurts people. It's long, it's fast, and your hands will be cold and tired at the same time. Take it in pieces.
The Cookie Cabin in Summerhaven is the traditional stop, and it earns it. Pizza, soup, and cookies the size of a dinner plate, open 11 to 5. On our Tucson Training Camp the Lemmon day runs 89 miles with 8,270 feet of climbing, and lunch is at the Cookie Cabin. That's the day the whole trip is built around.
Gates Pass and the McCain Loop is the best half day in town
Head west out of Tucson and the Tucson Mountains close in fast. Gates Pass is a short, sharp climb through them, and the view from the top is the one that ends up on the postcard: cliffs on both sides and the whole Sonoran valley opening out below.
Past the pass the road drops into Tucson Mountain Park on a narrow, twisting descent, then you pick up Kinney Road past the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum and Old Tucson. The McCain Loop hangs off that, and it's the quiet part. Smooth asphalt, almost no traffic, saguaro on both sides. It also gets you into that section of desert without paying the national park entrance fee, which is a small thing that adds up over a week.
How long is it? A common version is about 35 miles with 1,600 feet of climbing. Ours is 36 miles and 2,028 feet, and we use it as the opening day because it wakes the legs up without wrecking them.
One honest warning. Gates Pass is a favorite drive for tourists, and in the busy season the road west of the pass is narrow and cars come by close. Go early. Weekday mornings are a different road than Saturday afternoons.
Saguaro National Park East is the ride you'll remember visually
The Rincon Mountain District on the east side of town has an 8 mile paved one way loop called the Cactus Forest Loop Drive. One way means the cars are all going your direction, which changes how the ride feels more than you'd expect. It rolls, it's never steep, and it runs through about the densest concentration of saguaro anywhere on earth.
There's an entrance fee, and there are pull-offs the whole way if you want to stop and look at something.
And getting there? That's half the ride. Old Spanish Trail runs southeast out of town toward the park and it's a good road on its own. Our version of this day is 45 miles with 1,562 feet of climbing, out along Old Spanish Trail with the Rincons standing up behind the cactus. It's rolling and fast, and it's the day people take the most photos on.
Madera Canyon is the climb the pros pick second
Drop south to Green Valley, about 40 minutes from Tucson, and you get 13.3 miles of climbing with 2,507 feet of gain into the Santa Rita Mountains. The average is only 3.5 percent, which undersells it badly. The final two and a half to three miles run 12 to 14 percent and they will find out whether you brought enough gearing.
It tops out a little over 5,200 feet. What makes it worth the drive is how empty it is. Very little traffic, real scenery, and a climb that stays interesting the whole way up rather than settling into one long grind. Plenty of professionals who winter in Tucson rate it their second or third ride of the trip.
Is Kitt Peak worth the drive?
Southwest of Tucson, about 40 miles out toward Sasabe and the Mexican border, the Quinlan Mountains hold an observatory at the top of a 12 mile climb. It's 3,624 feet of gain at 5.7 percent average, starting around 3,200 feet and finishing just over 6,800. Out and back it's 24 miles of the actual climb, plus whatever you ride to get there.
The pavement is excellent and there's almost nothing on the road. You can see the Mayall 4-meter telescope from most of the way up, which is a strange thing to climb toward.
This is the one I'd leave off a first trip. It's remote, there's no support out there, and if the weather turns you're a long way from anything. Do Lemmon first. Come back for Kitt Peak.
The Chuck Huckelberry Loop is 137 miles without a single car
Tucson built a paved shared-use path network around the whole metro area. It's about 137 miles of it, with a central circuit of roughly 54 miles that rings the city. Locals call it the Loop.
It follows the river beds, so it's flat, it's smooth, and there's no traffic at all. The Rillito River path, the Cañada del Oro and the Santa Cruz river parks are the sections most riders use.
Would anyone fly to Tucson for this? No. But it's the perfect recovery spin the morning after Mount Lemmon, and it's where I'd put a rider who wants miles without decisions. Our last day is 41 easy miles on those paths with about 900 feet of climbing, and it's the ride people are most surprised they enjoyed.
The Shootout, if you want to ride with locals
Saturday morning, the Shootout rolls from the west side of the University of Arizona campus, around University Avenue and Euclid. Start time moves with the season, roughly 6 a.m. in summer and 7:30 in winter. It's easy for the first 10 miles or so, then it crosses Valencia and turns into a race.
Twenty riders in summer. Well over a hundred in winter and spring, when half the pro peloton is in town. About 35 miles of rolling road with a climb at the end.
It's an unsanctioned group ride on open public roads with real traffic signals, and you're responsible for obeying them. Know that going in. If you can hold 22 to 24 miles an hour in a big pack you'll have a great morning. If you can't, ride Lemmon instead and don't feel bad about it.
When should you go?
Tucson's cycling season is the inverse of everywhere else. It runs November through March, exactly when the northern half of the country is indoors.
February through April is the sweet spot. February averages around 70 degrees, April gets to the low 80s. Early April in particular is about as good as desert riding gets: dry, blue, almost no rain, saguaro blooming, and mornings cool enough that you want long sleeves at roll-out. Our camp runs April 7 to 11 for exactly that reason.
Winter has a catch worth knowing. The daily temperature swing is big, sometimes more than 20 degrees between dawn and afternoon, so you're dressing for two different days on one ride. We wrote a whole piece on what to wear on a bike tour if you want the layer-by-layer version.
Summer is out. Don't plan a June trip.
If you'd rather ride an event than a training week, El Tour de Tucson is the Saturday before Thanksgiving, with around 7,500 riders and mid-November temperatures between about 49 and 71 degrees.
Getting yourself and a bike there
Tucson International is about 13 miles from the middle of town, roughly a 20 minute drive, with direct flights from most western hubs and a handful of eastern ones. Rental cars and rideshares are both easy at the airport.
Bringing your own bike costs more than people expect, and the number varies wildly by airline. We broke that down in what it costs to fly with your bike.
If you'd rather not travel with one, Fair Wheel Bikes on East 6th Street is the shop most visiting riders use. It's a long-standing Tucson institution with a deep road bike rental selection, and it sits between the airport and most of the hotels. Reserve ahead in spring. Everyone else is doing the same thing.
How I'd actually string a week together
Day one, Gates Pass and the McCain Loop. Short, scenic, and it tells you what shape you're in.
Day two, Saguaro East. Longer, rolling, no climb big enough to cost you tomorrow.
Day three, Mount Lemmon. Rested legs, early start, full bottles, a jacket for the descent.
Day four, the Loop, easy, or Madera Canyon if Lemmon went well and you want one more.
That's the order we run, and it's the order I'd give a friend. Save Kitt Peak for the second trip.
The one thing that decides your week
It isn't which rides you pick. Every ride on this list is worth doing. What decides the week is whether you spend your energy on the riding or on the logistics: routes, food, water in the desert, a mechanic when your rear derailleur starts skipping on day two, and someone carrying a jacket up Mount Lemmon so you have it at the top.
That's the whole reason our Tucson Training Camp exists. Four scouted routes, a support vehicle behind the group every day, a mechanic on staff who rides with us, all your meals, and your kit washed at night. You bring the legs.
Whichever way you do it, go. Mount Lemmon is a climb every American road cyclist should ride once, and Tucson gives you five more good days around it.