Cycling in Phoenix

About Phoenix

Downtown Phoenix is the center for every distance on these pages, and the riding is at the edges of the Valley. This guide names its zones: South Mountain and Ahwatukee on the south edge; Scottsdale and the northeast (Gainey Village, the Indian Bend Wash greenbelt, Fountain Hills, Rio Verde and McDowell Mountain Regional Park); the East Valley (Tempe, Mesa, Usery Pass and the Salt River, Chandler); and the dirt (Trail 100 in the Phoenix Mountains Preserve, the Competitive Track at McDowell Mountain Regional Park, South Mountain’s trails). Every listing says which one it sits in and how far it is from downtown.

Phoenix is Cycle for Change’s home base. one·n·ten, the LGBTQ youth organization in Phoenix, is one of the orgs Cycle for Change rides for. The rest of the winter calendar: the Valley of the Sun Stage Race in February, Belgian Waffle Ride Arizona on March 7, 2027 and the Cactus Cup at McDowell Mountain in March, and the HonorHealth Tour de Scottsdale on April 10, 2027.

Riding in Phoenix

The ride for the evening you land is the Indian Bend Wash path: 11 miles of concrete path through Scottsdale’s greenbelt, with more than 24 underpasses and bridges at the big streets. The climb is South Mountain’s Summit Road, 7 miles and about 1,330 feet from the ranger station to the towers. The city closes it to cars for Silent Sunday (Sundays, 5:00 am), a closed road rather than a led ride. The long loop goes around the McDowell Mountains from the Safeway at DC Ranch, up Pima to Dynamite, over to Rio Verde and down Saguaro to Shea. 50 miles and about 2,750 feet, with no water on the route page. The East Valley’s loop is Usery Pass and the Salt River out of Mesa, 27 miles and about 1,500 feet, with the only water at the top of Usery. Dirt is Trail 100 across the Phoenix Mountains Preserve and the Competitive Track at McDowell Mountain Regional Park, where the Four Peaks lot has water, showers and a bike wash.

The group rides are the way in. Scottsdale Cycling leaves Gainey Village, the southeast corner of Scottsdale Rd and Doubletree Ranch Rd, for two fast weekday rides (Tue and Thu, 5:30 am) and TSR (Saturdays, 6:00 am). They start in the dark most of the year, so bring lights. TriScottsdale rolls from Village Tavern on the same block for its long weekend ride (Saturdays, 6:30 am). Phoenix Metro Bicycle Club’s Saturday Cycling (Saturdays, 8:00 am) from Kiwanis Park in Tempe is no-drop with a sweep, the easiest group ride in the Valley for a visitor. Its Granada Park ride (Sundays, 6:30 am) ends at breakfast. Regroup’s coffee ride (Saturdays, 6:30 am) leaves the café in Tempe and comes back to it. McDowell Mountain Cycles in Fountain Hills posts a no-drop road ride (Some Saturdays, 6:30 am) and Sunday Funday gravel (Some Sundays, 6:30 am). On dirt, Valley Epic Rides meets for Taco Tuesday (Tuesdays, 6:30 pm) on South Mountain and the Night Rider series (Wednesdays, 6:30 pm) on Trail 100. The Downtempo ride (Mondays, 8:00 pm) is the slow, no-drop social ride from Civic Space Park downtown.

The 12 routes, with maps →

Getting to Phoenix

Fly into Phoenix Sky Harbor (PHX), about 4 miles east of downtown. American and Southwest use Terminal 4; Alaska, Delta, United, Frontier, JetBlue and the rest use Terminal 3 (the airport’s airline list, Oct 2026). The free PHX Sky Train runs 24 hours from both terminals to the Rental Car Center, where 14 companies rent, and to the Valley Metro Rail stop at 44th and Washington streets. Reserve a car, because walk-up cars are limited. You will want one: the shops in this guide run from 2 to 23 miles out of downtown, and the riding zones sit further apart than that. Rideshare picks up at marked curbs at Terminals 3 and 4, and a taxi to downtown Phoenix is a $20 flat rate (Oct 2026). The Bring-your-bike page has American’s bike rules, the rental math and the shipping gap.

Bringing the bike: fly, ship or rent →