There are some wonderful dirt road rides in the Tucson area, all of which can be done on a gravel bike – although a mountain bike makes some of them easier. However, many of the best ones involve driving to the start of the ride.
One thing to note if you are doing any of the rides on the north side of Mount Lemmon is that dirt roads are occasionally paved. For example, between the first and last times I rode up the Control Road from Oracle, another 1.6 miles was paved. So be aware that my descriptions of where dirt roads end and paved roads start may be slightly off.
Map showing the start of the rides below.
Rincon Mountains Loop
Redington Road – over and back
Mount Lemmon Loop
Mount Lemmon via Redington Road
Mount Lemmon via Oracle
Mount Lemmon Control Road
Willow Springs Road
Mount Hopkins
Ruby Road out-and-back
Arivaca Junction – Arivaca – Ruby Road Loop
Forest Road 143 out-and-back
Amado-Patagonia-Nogales Loop
Mt Wrightson Loop
Box Canyon
Patagonia Gravel Loop
Montezuma Pass
Cycle Uphill 