This ride loops around the inner section of the Tucson Mountains, excluding Golden Gate Mountain and Cat Mountain to the south, and Safford Peak and Panther Peak to the north.
It basically follows the roads: Sweetwater Drive, Camino de Oeste, Gates Pass Road, Kinney, Sandario, Picture Rocks Road, Ina, Silverbell.
It goes over Gates Pass and Picture Rocks Road, both of these being very pretty, along with the lovely Kinney Road. The loop is about 33.7 miles with 1,840 feet of climbing.
Here’s the map and profile on Ride with GPS. Note that it shows the loop being ridden twice, once in each direction. If you are going to do it only one way I’d recommend clockwise. I rode it both ways in October, 2022.
I started on Silverbell, just north of Sweetwater Drive. The Pima Animal Care Center is on this corner, and I parked in the extension parking lot just north of the main Animal Care entrance. From here you start up Sweetwater Drive.
I won’t describe all the various turns you make as you can find that on the Ride with GPS map. You can also extend the ride if you like by adding the enjoyable McCain Loop off Kinney road.
Links and Other Clicks
Other rides in the Tucson Mountains area are:
The Tucson Mountains Outer Loop, which is a longer and inferior loop to this one.
The Five Fingers of West Tucson, which does 5 climbs from Silverbell road into the Tucson Mountains.
The Seven Snakes of Silverbell, a longer and harder version of the Five Fingers ride.
Cycle Uphill 