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Brown Canyon This is a fabulous ride! Although it is short (about 5 miles, 6 with the optional single track), it is still terrific. In my opinion the best single track in Southern Arizona. It should be ridden in a clockwise direction which gives you a moderate climb for around 2 miles on jeep road at the beginning and then the simply wonderful downhill sections. Give it around 45 minutes to do the loop (some hard core folks will do it in much less). You will have so much fun on this ride that you will most likely want to do the loop more than once. It is pretty, has real trees, cooler than Tucson, and fun, fun, fun. DIRECTIONS: From Sierra Vista, take Highway 92 to Ramsey Canyon Road. Turn right and go up Ramsey Canyon for 2 miles to a marked trailhead parking area on your right. Get your gear, mount your steed and head 0.5 miles back up Ramsey Canyon Road to Brown Canyon Road and turn right. This is the jeep road. Stay left at every option (especially the washed out portion with the sign saying "Keep Right." You will stay on this road for 2 miles before descending to a concrete watering trough which marks the start of the real fun. The only real option comes SHORTLY after the trough. There will be a sign for POMONA MINE. Go right and downhill if you don't want to take the out-and-back option. To take the optional out and back (recommended at least once), go a short distance up the road until it bends left, and take the singletrack to the right. (Don't bother going up the hill to the mine; it runs into the Wilderness Area.) The trail is fun with a couple of short uphill challenges. Take it to the fence that is the border of Fort Huachuca, then turn around and retrace your route to the intersection, heading left and downhill on the singletrack. It's a bit rocky at the beginning and has a couple of spots that might be intimidating to less experienced riders, but it's 90 percent sheer fun. If you don't like this section you might consider taking up another sport, like lawn darts. At the bottom of this you will come to a Y. Take the right fork, UP the hill (steep climb) to the top and then back to the parking area, heading in a southerly direction at the intersections you encounter. Your next choice is whether to do it one more time. Two is the minimum, and more is better; each time you will dial it in a little better. After you finish your ride, stop at La Casita Restaurant & Cantina for great Mexican food and cold beer. It is very close to the Main Entrance to the Fort Huachucak on Fry Blvd. (465 E. Fry). This is a few blocks east of the entrance and on the north side of Fry (right as you head back from your ride). Dick Bryant and Glen Powell with the Aerostat balloon in the background Dick and Glen at the Water Trough where the wonderful downhill begins Dick cleans the hard hill on his 4th try! - Back to Trails - |