There are a lot of places we can bike to from our home in Phoneix that are perfect for a weekend getaway!
We are located about 40 miles away from the Usery Campground. This weekend we took off on our bikes and headed for the desert. The route we took was made up of 60 percent paths and 40 percent street paths, but the streets were90 percent bike lanes.
We biked through the Arizona and Crosscut canals as well as the Sun Circle Trail passing various places to stop and rest including restaurants, parks and gas stations.
We enjoyed the slow-paced ride to the campground stopping at Tia Rosas for some margaritas and The Monastery Bar & Grill in Mesa to refuel before getting to the campground. For these quick trips, we typically pack light, stopping for food and water along the way.
As we approached Usery we had to bike through some deeper gravel and sand, but it was all manageable, even with all our gear.
This is definitely a fun trip if you are looking to expand your local bikepacking bucket. If you want to start where we started, Phoenix Mountain Preserve is right down the street. It's a great starting point where you can leave your car at. It is close to the Arizona canal, where we kicked off our trip!
Check out Ride Spot for more or my Strava to see the route! Please not that both Ride Spot and Strava show one way. I have a second route on Strava for the trip back home.