McDowell Mountain Competitive Loops

Love this place. In fact MMP is one of the reasons I moved to Fountain Hills, well that and the nightlife. Seriously, if you like to ride single track– fast get your fat tires out here. As you see in the other reviews the competitive loops offer some great terrain and variety and, yes, the long loop is long. The short loop, though, is short and fast and fun as hell. Also, there are other trails in the park if these are too technical– but those are open to hikers and horses, so be careful. It’s all making me wonder why I am sitting here Unilocaling when I could be riding!

Love this track ! It’s fun with lots of choices for riders. My husband and I
biked out here many times this spring. It is pretty intense in spots for those not used to really mountain biking.
The long loop is really long, be prepared with water. It has some big drops, sandy washes, rocky trails and desert beauty.
Warning this is used by many very competitive riders. If you are not used to riding on single track with other riders than be prepared to get out of the way quick.

These are the best bike tracks in the area. There are three tracks, an easy (sport loop,) moderate (long loop,) and difficult (tech loop.)
The sport loop by a good rider can be done in less than 20 minutes. It is FAST, and has a lot of fun turns. There are also some nice places to catch some air, and really build up some speed on downhill sections. This is by far the most entertaining trail I have ridden in the Phoenix area, and only Schultz Pass in Flagstaff is faster.
The long loop has some teriffic climb sections and some nice ledges to climb, as well as a couple of moderate to mild drops. it takes significantly more time, and as I remember is around 12 – 14 miles. It’s a great workout if you do it twice around.
The tech loop is the most difficult with the ledge drop and a couple other obstacles. This is a good track to donate blood or break bones if you are not an experienced rider. I ride a hardtail Kona Kula Supreme and it kicks my butt. This is one of the more demanding trails in the Mcdowell Mountain area, and only National and Trail 1A are tougher in my opinion.
If you want to experience all 3 tracks, but aren’t really inclined to do the tough obstacles on the tech loop, try starting out on the Sport, then merge onto the tech (this will bypass the obstacles) and then onto the long loop. Thats about a 16 mile track and is a lot of fun. I will go out in the winter and do that once, then do sport, then long again and its a very good workout.

THIS is the place to go if you want to break your collar bone! Miles of competitive course– ups, downs, berms, jumps, technical, FAST!
I took a buddy of mine out here the first time I went mountain biking with him, we were on the Long Loop for no longer than 10 minutes when we came to a STEEP drop. I took it and it was fine but there was some sand down in the ravine, he took it and unfortunately hit the brakes when he hit the sand. My friend (let’s call him «Mike») went FLYING! Stop, drop and roll. «Mike» stood up and said, while rubbing his shoulder, «something doesn’t feel right» So we walked our bikes back to the car and ran into some hippies with «whiskey». «Mike» said, «Go take the 3 mile sport loop, I’m gonna hang with these guys» So I took it.
DAMN, that was 12 TONS OF FUN!
(I am in love with capital letters today, the coffee just kicked in!)
Took «Mike» to the emergency room after, his collar bone had multiple breaks.
A few weeks later I brought another friend, we’ll call him «Eric» out there, took the Long Loop but made the mistake of telling him where «Mike» busted himself up. «Eric» ended up walking down Collar Bone Gulch instead of riding that spot.
I highly recommend it, wear your helmet!
***
Hi, this is «Eric.» I may not be a GIANT COCKSWINGING STUD like Aaron, but at least my collarbone is intact. Fucker.