Frye Mesa

Bandit Route









A simple out & back venturing into the Pinaleno mountains, offering up spectacular views of the Gila River Valley below and Mount Graham above. Of note, the Pinaleno mountains have more relief than any other mountain range in the state (7000 feet), traverse five ecological communities and contain “the highest diversity of habitats of any mountain range in North America.” [1]

The ride. Smooth gravel that leads to increasingly steep hardscrabble (8% average grade for 3.5 miles), ending at a reservoir. The descent is rough and fast. Bring big, fat tires for this ride. 50 mm or better.

This route was forwarded to us by a local rider, JonD. The Dirty Freehub Team has not ridden the route, thus the designation of Bandit Route. If you ride the route, please leave us a comment below.

Adventure / Gravel Route

– Out & Back: 19 miles / 2200 ft gain

– Surface: ~ 85% gravel, 15% paved

– eBike Friendly: Yes

– Location: ~ 2 hours northeast of Tucson, AZ

– Published: March 2020

Difficulty

Moderate. Due to the technical demand of the hardscrabble and rocky sections.

The Start

Thatcher Park. Flush toilets. Water.

Lat / Long: 32.849512, -109.767590

Downloads

Wahoo / Garmin Direct Download

Cue Sheet / GPX file / TCX file

Legend

Red = paved road

Brown = gravel / dirt road

For help with GPS files, the RideWithGPs mapping app and to learn how to download our routes for free, see the “Using Our Rides” page.