Ride Across Arizona

The 616 mile RIDE ACROSS ARIZONA is a cross-state adventure ride developed and mapped by the folks from AZ Gravel Rides. The route is made up of non-technical dirt, gravel and forest service roads with just 20% of the route being pavement. The course is designed to allow high clearance vehicles to follow for support. The western end (suggested direction is west to east) starts on the Colorado River at the California/Arizona border from the historic river settlement of Topock and finishes at Alpine, Arizona. Before arriving at Alpine signs will indicate that you’ve briefly entered New Mexico before re-entering Arizona just in time for the final climb to the finish. There is 66,000 feet of elevation gain! The low elevation is 473 feet at the start at Topock on the Colorado River while the highest elevation is 9579 feet near Big Lake 50 miles from the finish.

The Ride Across Arizona traverses through a cross-section of Arizona defined by spectacular scenery, a variety of landscapes, historic towns and remote wilderness. You’ll ride along the Colorado Plateau, the Mogollon Rim, San Francisco Peaks, White Mountains and Blue Primitive Area not to mention riding remote sections of the National Old Road Trail and Route 66. There are numerous campgrounds along the way and hotels can be found along the route at Bagdad, Seligman, Williams, Flagstaff and Show Low. The finish is near the beautiful Town of Alpine which has numerous places to stay.

This course is suited for both mountain bikes and gravel bikes. The route is very long and requires a lot of planning as it pertains to proper weather gear and resupply. The lower areas have a high concentration of mountain lions and at the higher elevations they are joined by black bears and at least 27 different wolfpacks near the Blue Primitive area. Be prepared!