2000 IMBA EPIC

Level: Intermediate to Advanced (3-C)

Description: This ride is a combination of two popular rides, the "Greaterville Keyhole" and the Kentucky Camp/Gardner Canyon/Flume Trail rides. They offer a good sampling of what riding in Southern Arizona is all about. If you haven't ridden in the Southwest desert, be prepared for a different experience. In general, riding in Southern Arizona is more challenging than most parts of the country thanks to a combination of rocky, loose soils and severe penalties for errors.

You will find spectacular views on this ride, from the imposing Santa Rita Mountain peaks to the west to the grasslands and Whetstone and Mustang ranges on the west and further ranges north and south.

You will see a part of more recent history preserved at Kentucky Camp, an ill-fated gold mining venture just after the turn of the century. Thanks to the efforts of the U.S. Forest Service and the Friends of Kentucky Camp, the adobe structures and the fascinating story of the ascendency and sudden end to this chapter of resource extraction are being preserved for future generations.

Back on the dirt, the Epic has some technical challenging sections, but just enough to make it fun. There's plenty of smooth riding that will allow you to look around and take in the views. It also will challenge your climbing skills. The full ride has approximately 4,500 feet of elevation gain, with several thigh-burning, lung-searing ascents. Altitude of the ride is from around 4,500 feet to nearly 6,000 feet.

Specific Directions: From the trailhead, continue in a westerly direction on Road 4072. It winds its way among the oaks on a gradual climb. The climb becomes steeper and you reach your first intersection, at 1.2 miles, (WP1), with a steel tank on your right. Turn left and continue the steep climb. At the crest of the hill (WP2), bear right and down, going through the fence and on to the Arizona Trail.

At 1.6 miles, (WP3) turn right onto narrow singletrack at the base of the hill. You will contour the hill and come out on the wider trail at Mile 1.7 (WP4) and a gate. Go through the fence and follow the trail along the ridge top. You will go through a fence again and come to an intersection at Mile 2.0 (WP5). Turn right, down a hill, then up and across a cattleguard as you begin a steep climb.

About midway up this climb, at Mile 2.2 (WP6) you will see narrow singletrack going to your right. Take it and contour the hillside. You will again come out on a wider trail and descend to the right on the Arizona Trail, which is also a road.

This road descends and then levels off. At Mile 2.5 (WP7), turn right onto singletrack, which contours, drops and climbs before turning right and taking you through a gate. Continue on this trail to an intersection on a ridge at Mile ??. Turn left (Do NOT take the motorcycle trail that drops straight down to your right) and continue along the ridgetop.

You will go through a wire gate, then descend gradually to an intersection at Mile 3.3 (WP8). Take the Arizona Trail to the right, drop down the hill and go through the gate at Mile 3.4 (WP9). At this point you will turn off the Arizona Trail and turn left on the road.

Follow this road to a cattleguard and intersection at Mile 4.3 (WP10), where you will take a sharp right and head up (the sign will say to Melendrez Pass). You will go past a scenic ranch on your right, the Box Canyon Ranch, at Mile 5.1 (WP11).

The road will continue a gradual climb, which gets steeper as you approach to the head of a canyon. It will crest, then drop sharply down with a right turn. Signs will indicate that it is going through private property.

NOTE: This is where you need to change the route because of the road closure. At the crest of the hill, turn left onto a dirt road that climbs along the side of the hill. Follow this road, keeping right just after the cattle guard. (There's a road going to the left.) You will do some climbing and descending, then come into a valley, where you merge with another road. Continue to the right. Stay on the main road all the way, and turn left where it intersects another road at the bottom of the descent. You will follow the valley floor in an easterly direction until you come to Forest Road 163. Turn right. You will cross a cattleguard and re-enter USFS lands. Continue on this road as it goes back up the valley and climbs out to a ridge top. You will come to one intersection where the road forks to the left, but keep right and continue climbing. This will take you to a gate that is the entrance to Kentucky Camp. (On the way back you will turn left here and continue up the hill.) If you are doing the full Epic, continue the ride as directed. If you are doing only the "keyhole" half of the ride (which, with the reroute is now 23 miles), skip down to mile 27.4 and follow the directions for getting back.

NOTE: All mileages are off now, so you may want to reset your computer and add 8.9 miles to the mileage given below.

Descend .02 miles to Kentucky Camp. (Kentucky Camp).

Kentucky Camp is our sag stop. Among the amenities it offers are a toilet and water. Take a break, do a tour and fuel up. You have some hard climing ahead.

Continue on the Arizona Trail south out of Kentucky camp on a singletrack trail that flows through a meadow. After going through two gates you will come to a road at Mile 10 (WP18). Turn right onto the road and climb up the hill.

Continue on this road, keeping left at the Melendrez Pass junction at Mile 11.7 (WP19) and again in another quarter mile when you encounter another road going down to your right (WP20). You will continue to climb, keeping left when other roads branch off to your right, then a descent followed by a couple of short hills. After one short, steep hill you will come to a serious climb. The good line for the technical rocky section at the beginning is on the right.

After you complete the climb and the road levels off, at Mile 13.2 you will see a road taking off to your left, road 4881. (WP21) Stay right unless you want to bail out.

NOTE: This is a bailout option. You can take this road and drop down to the Arizona Trail at the top of the "Ascent o' Death," (WP30) turning left and picking up the route back.

Those not bailing out will have a fun descent followed by a short rocky stretch of creek bottom. At mile 14.6 you will come to a T intersection (WP22). Turn left (on Road 4085) and begin a brief descent. You will have another rocky creek crossing and a gradual climb to another T intersection at Mile 15.65. (WP23)

This road does a gradual climb followed by a descent with a sharp left turn, then a rocky section, then a creek crossing followed by more rocks to negotiate before coming to another intersection with Gardner Canyon Road at Mile 16.2. (WP24).

NOTE: This intersection gives you another bailout option. You can turn left and go down the road and pick up the Arizona Trail by going left and up the Ascent o' Death (just after WP29). Another, longer, bailout option would be to turn right and cross the cattleguard and then turn left and pick up the route by turning left where the Arizona Trail crosses the road at WP28.

To stay on the Epic, turn right, cross the cattleguard and go straight up the main road. This is a long grind climb of nearly three miles, with a couple of short steep challenges near the end. At Mile 18.8, just after another creek crossing, you will come to a fork. (WP25) Keep left (the right fork is Road 92). The road will bend around to the left and cross a creek. Immediately after crossing the creek look for a singletrack trail going up and angling to the left. Take it, and be ready for some technical climbing followed by a short, steep climb.

At the top of the singletrack, at Mile 19.2, you spill out onto a road. (WP26). If you have the strength to throw a rock straight up you can get it over 6,000 feet.

Turn left on this road and begin a descent. CAUTION: You can get suckered into some high speeds and when you go around a few of the corners you will encounter some nasty rocky sections. Keep it under control.

You will go through a gate (and be on the Arizona Trail, but it's not signed well here) and the descent is not as steep, but fast and fun. Keep an eye on your odometer, though because at Mile 21.35 (WP27) you will have to turn left to stay on the Arizona Trail. NOTE: Signage is poor here, so be sure you don't get carried away and overshoot this turn because you will miss a great section of singletrack.

After making the left, cross a creek and begin riding the flume trail until it takes you out and down off a hillside. You will cross a road at Mile 22.75 (WP28) and continue down the trail. After a nasty descent with loose rocks and a stream crossing you will climb up and out onto a road at Mile 23.35. (WP29). Turn right on the road and watch for the trail breaking to your left in a few hundred feet. It will take you back to the road at a large parking area.

If you look to the left you will see the trail going up a wall, aka the "Ascent o' Death" (or Descent o' Death if you are going the other direction). Climb up the half-mile and after you hit the summit you will come to a jeep road (WP31). Jag left onto the road and an immediate right onto the singletrack, which follows another flume. The trail leaves the flume for good at Mile 24.45, (WP31) where you will turn right and down an old jeep trail.

The old road crosses a plateau and begins a descent, and just after the descent gets fun you need to look again for singletrack going to your left, at Mile 25.5.

Turn left onto the singletrack and descent some more. After going through a gate and one more short descent you will be in a meadow. The trail takes you up to a road, and your loop out of Kentucky Camp has been closed. Continue on the trail back to Kentucky Camp, at Mile 27.4.

Climb out of Kentucky Camp, and turn left immediately after the gate (WP17). Climb the jeep road, keeping right at the first two intersections (WP16 and WP15) and after the summit keeping on the road (WP14) dropping down and left into the nasty jeep road -- take the high banks on the left in the first right-hand turn if you like that sort of thing.

At the bottom of the hill, at Mile 29.6 (WP13) turn LEFT and climb up the hill. Stay on the road to Mile 3.0, (WP33) where you will see an interpretive sign and a singletrack climbing up. Follow it for a hard climb that eventually eases up.

Take a right at the switchback at Mile 30.9 (WP34) and continue climbing. The descent is rocky and tricky but can be done easily with feet in the pedals and the rubber remaining down.

At Mile 32.4, (WP35) bear right, following the Arizona Trail. At Mile 33.4, (WP36) you will cross a wash. There's a singletr ack forking to the left and a road to the right. Both come to a fence that you will follow to your left, so there is no wrong turn here. The trail comes out on a road at Mile 34.4 (WP9), which closes the "keyhole" and begins retracing your tracks to the car. Cross the road and go through the gate, climbing the hill to the junction at the top where you turn left (WP8).

Follow the ridge, go through the gate and continue along the ridge, bearing right and up rather than down and left on the motorcycle trail. You will climb more steeply, drop through a gate and then descend to an intersection with a road at Mile 35.3 (WP7). Bear left, then climb up the road. About 200 yards after the turn, watch for the singletrack going to your right. Take it and contour the hill, rejoining the wider track at Mile 35.6 (WP6). Go left and down, across the cattleguard and up the hill. Turn left at the T intersection at Mile 35.8 (WP5) and follow the ridgetop.

Turn up and go through a fence at Mile 36.1 (WP4) and then bear left on the singletrack. that contours the hill. Turn left onto the wider track at Mile 36.3 (WP3), and ride until you have made your last climb, through a gate and to the crest of the hill at Mile 36.5 (WP2). Descend the hill, bearing right at the tank (WP1) and then cruise down through the oaks to the trailhead, at Mile 37.6.

Directions: From Tucson, take I-10 East to Exit 281. This is Highway 83, the Sonoita Exit. Follow Hwy 83 a little over 15 miles, almost to Milepost 43. About 1/10 mile before MP 43 you will see a "Watch for Animals" sign and a dirt road on the right. Take that road, Road 4072, a very short distance, just down a hill, across a wash and into an open area with plentiful oak trees. Park here.

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A 2.2 Meg high-resolution North map.

A 2.2 Meg high-resolution South map.