Estrella Mtn. Ranch Tour

 Mike and I have been riding together for a few years now. He's a great rider and has been all over the place as have I, which is why I was shocked to hear he had never ridden the trails down in the Estrella area. It's a bit of a drive for both of us, but that's never stopped us before. A few weeks ago I met up with Mike and his buddy, Justin, for a quick tour of some of my favorites out there. This time, Mike and I would be back for a longer ride and to show him a few more fun ones.

We met at a trailhead next to F.I.N.S. (Fantasy Island North Singletrack), named after a trail system in Tucson called: Fantasy Island. There were a handful of trails here that I wanted Mike to ride, so off we went.

Top of Kimurel's Hurl, a fun, short downhill rip with wooden berms and small jumps.

There are so many trails tucked in these hills, we missed our turn up Kim's Climb and ended up back at the bottom!! Haha. We found it the next try and it's the quickest way to make laps on the Hurl.

Mike railing the big wooden berm.

The Hurl is a fun mix of wooden & dirt berms.

We made our way back to the top of FINS so we could ride down the Grunt. We enjoyed the high traverse and downhill so much, we didn't take any pics!!

Back along the bottom of the network, Spent Spade has a fun inhabited section.

Yep, another rip down the Hurl. Photo by Mike.

Mike levitating.

The bartender must've been on break.

Tiki Man is a fun trail.

We exited FINS and linked up with the Estrella Loop trail for a bit as it tied into the Pirate Trails. We took a different route than our last tour here opting for Queen Anne's Revenge over to the switchbacks. Last time we rode Up There, which is one of my favorites, but today we wanted to ride Blackjack - a double black trail that I had only been on once before.

Making our way up the switchbacks, I spy new dirt on the far hillside.

My switchback game was on point today. Photo by Mike.

Cleaned it. Photo by Mike.

It's a solid, fun, but challenging climb just to get to the start. Then it gets steeper!!

There was a bit of hike-a-bike up to the high point of Blackjack. On a clear day the views are stunning, but it was a bit hazy today. Not bad though.

Mike starts across the ridgeline.

This shows how far we've climbed as you can see the lower trails we came up on.

This trail is a work of art.

Dropping down a cool bridge feature. Photo by Mike.

Quick hitter! Photo by Mike.

Blackjack commands your attention all the way down.

Trails carved into hillsides rock. Especially hand built ones.

You can even have fun on a hardtail. Say whaaa?? Photo by Mike.

The poppies were popping on this hillside.

Oooohhh!!

Mike couldn't resist as he was riding his new Chumba Sendero. Photo by Mike.

A bike bike rack.

We left the Pirate trails crossing under Estrella Pkwy on our way to the newer Lucero trails. Yet another set of trails hand built by the locals.

The trail markers at Lucero are truly a work of art.

Easy to read and beautifully done.

Overall, the trails here are a bit less rocky than FINS or the Pirate trails.

We were both pleasantly surprised by the quality of riding here.

I had only ridden a couple of the trails at Lucero when they were first being built. I hardly recognized the place. Lots of looping options now.

It's so nice to see true singletrack on new trails.

Random desert couch.

Mike nears an amphitheater and horseshoe pit.

Beer me. Photo by Mike.

Meep, meep!!

I'm surprised one of the trails wasn't called 'Acme'.

There was a green trail leaving Lucero back into the Estrella Mtn. Ranch community, but new housing construction annihilated it. Hopefully there will still be a trail easement, but who knows. We were able to rejoin the trail after the construction and join the EMR Loop trail.

For a community trail, there's some legit singletrack. This section goes up and behind the Safeway shopping center.

Mike was digging it.

We stayed on the EMR Loop all the way back to FINS to wrap things up. There are so many trails out here. It may be a far drive for many, but it's worth it if you can spend a few hours pedaling around. We didn't even touch the trails at Estrella Regional Park or off to the west at the Dogbone trails in Buckeye.

Strava link. Stralizer app.

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