Desert Classic, South Mountain Park
I’ve been living in Phoenix over seven years. Mountain biking regularly each year. It wasn’t until this year that I finally rode the Desert Classic
trail at South Mountain. I’ve been riding South Mountain for years, but never opted to ride the classic. From what I read it was the easy trail on SoMo and that’s all I knew about it. Wow was I missing out on a great ride!
Yes, this trail is a piece of cake, compared to National or Mormon, but it’s still fun, fast and furious and has a couple of sweet little drops. Be prepared to practice trail etiquette out on Desert Classic, it gets crowded out there–especially after work before sunset.
The time to ride this trail is on a weekday in the early afternoon. It’s the perfect lunch ride if you live nearby. I like to ride a quick out-n-back twelve miler, it takes just over an hour. There are plenty of spurs to explore too.
Thanks to Dave Wissenbach for his GPS tracks for Desert Classic. And a shout out to Brazen Cycleworks for the cool video on YouTube.
South Mountain Trail Guide phoenix.gov
Trails Nearby: Javelina, Mormon/National Loop
Review from Tyson Dale
Time: September 22, 2008, 3:17 pm
The Desert Classic Trail is quick and fun. Ride the Desert Classic trail to Telegraph trail and carry your bike up the hill and come back down on the National Trail. Gets pretty narly over the rocks. Have fun!