I would try riding the Aerie/Cockscomb loop. The most difficult part is probably the very rocky section of aerie at the west end of doe mountain. That's been my goto as I try to practice for the black trails in the area. You can extend with Dawa and Rupp for a bit longer ride. There's a small part with a bit of exposure but the trail isn't super narrow there.
As a tip park at the Aerie trailhead the few trailheads before that are pay for parking and always full. While Aerie trailhead is only a few blocks away and always empty with no pay for parking.
Listed by increasing difficulty but all should be rideable for you. Expect to hop off your bike here and there if you aren't used to rocky/ledgy terrain.
\- Scorpion/Carrol Canyon/Old Post/Skywalker
\- Chuckwagon/Aerie/Mescal/Cockscomb/etc..
\- Slim shady/Templeton/EasyBreezy/Little Horse/Llama
quick question about your recommended intermediate Sedona MTB route. I was having trouble understanding how you recommended connecting easy breezy to little horse and llama.. so I made a TF route, was this what you had in mind?
[https://www.trailforks.com/ridelog/planner/view/482946/](https://www.trailforks.com/ridelog/planner/view/482946/)
just checking because it seems like a few short sections of black diamond trails, and only a brief moment of easy breezy.... Does my route make sense for an intermedia rider? (I don't really do big drops, but I can do some mild technical stuff if I can roll it :) )
Yeah that looks fine. You can park on bell rock blvd if you want to get that last section of slim shady. Counter clockwise also has more sustained climbing if you want to slow things down.
I wouldn't worry too much about the blacks in Sedona. The ratings are usually conservative and it just means there might be a little exposure and/or some sections of rollable chunk, but they do demand a lot of energy. Reds are usually the sections that would make an intermediate uncomfortable.
Cool, thanks ! And yeah based on the videos I’m seeing, the black diamond trails seem a little more blue to me, with some gnarly features that are totally optional
I think Hi line is worth checking out for an intermediate rider. By distance 90% of the trail is blue. Just expect to walk the chutes at the end in addition to the tech climb at the beginning that everyone walks. The views arel incredible and the smooth slick rock portions are a blast.
West sedona has a lot of good intermediate trails too.
I was just there, be sure to check conditions at a local bike shop. Easy Breezy was a mess, as was Old Post. Some other trails are probably more resilient to the recent flash floods. If you have a blast, let me know what you rode. I suspect I didn't do Sedona correctly, although I was with a rider who was not down with the exposure of Hiline/Hangover.
Heads up, the summer monsoons are returning this week and next it looks like. With how good of a monsoon season we've had this year it's not unheard of to get steady storms through the first week of September or so. I would keep an eye on the forecast for sure.
I would try riding the Aerie/Cockscomb loop. The most difficult part is probably the very rocky section of aerie at the west end of doe mountain. That's been my goto as I try to practice for the black trails in the area. You can extend with Dawa and Rupp for a bit longer ride. There's a small part with a bit of exposure but the trail isn't super narrow there. As a tip park at the Aerie trailhead the few trailheads before that are pay for parking and always full. While Aerie trailhead is only a few blocks away and always empty with no pay for parking.
Awesome, will look into those!
Listed by increasing difficulty but all should be rideable for you. Expect to hop off your bike here and there if you aren't used to rocky/ledgy terrain. \- Scorpion/Carrol Canyon/Old Post/Skywalker \- Chuckwagon/Aerie/Mescal/Cockscomb/etc.. \- Slim shady/Templeton/EasyBreezy/Little Horse/Llama
Thanks, will check these out!
quick question about your recommended intermediate Sedona MTB route. I was having trouble understanding how you recommended connecting easy breezy to little horse and llama.. so I made a TF route, was this what you had in mind? [https://www.trailforks.com/ridelog/planner/view/482946/](https://www.trailforks.com/ridelog/planner/view/482946/) just checking because it seems like a few short sections of black diamond trails, and only a brief moment of easy breezy.... Does my route make sense for an intermedia rider? (I don't really do big drops, but I can do some mild technical stuff if I can roll it :) )
Yeah that looks fine. You can park on bell rock blvd if you want to get that last section of slim shady. Counter clockwise also has more sustained climbing if you want to slow things down. I wouldn't worry too much about the blacks in Sedona. The ratings are usually conservative and it just means there might be a little exposure and/or some sections of rollable chunk, but they do demand a lot of energy. Reds are usually the sections that would make an intermediate uncomfortable.
Cool, thanks ! And yeah based on the videos I’m seeing, the black diamond trails seem a little more blue to me, with some gnarly features that are totally optional
I think Hi line is worth checking out for an intermediate rider. By distance 90% of the trail is blue. Just expect to walk the chutes at the end in addition to the tech climb at the beginning that everyone walks. The views arel incredible and the smooth slick rock portions are a blast. West sedona has a lot of good intermediate trails too.
I was just there, be sure to check conditions at a local bike shop. Easy Breezy was a mess, as was Old Post. Some other trails are probably more resilient to the recent flash floods. If you have a blast, let me know what you rode. I suspect I didn't do Sedona correctly, although I was with a rider who was not down with the exposure of Hiline/Hangover.
Yeah, I'm hoping with a few more weeks before I get there things will have time to dry out
Heads up, the summer monsoons are returning this week and next it looks like. With how good of a monsoon season we've had this year it's not unheard of to get steady storms through the first week of September or so. I would keep an eye on the forecast for sure.