Buda_jim
12-10-2006, 03:49 PM
This is a "Must Do" ride for Southeastern Arizona. Mount Lemon is the tallest peak in the Catalina Mountains which border Tucson's North side. The road to the top is 27 miles from Tucson, and the road is paved all the way and punctuated with breathtaking scenic overlooks at almost every turn. Find Tanque Verde road on the Tucson map and this will lead you to Catalina Highway, which is the way up. Due to the twisties and switchbacks, it will take you the better part of an hour to ride from Tucson up to the tiny village of Summerhaven, a small cluster of cabins and businesses near the top. It's also interesting to watch the vegetation transition from giant saguaro cactus at the bottom, to high sierra in the middle, and finally towering pines at the top. The one-hour drive will transform you from the desert to the Rockies. The Mount Lemon Cafe is known for the best homemade, deep dish pies in North America (if you ask me). It's on the left as you enter Summerhaven. I've made the two-hour (plus) ride from my home for no other reason than to have a piece of that pie and a cup of coffee. The elevation is over 9,000 feet so you can count on it being as much as 20 degrees cooler up top than down in the desert of Tucson. The temperature difference is a lot more than that in the Winter. Bring appropriate riding gear! Mount Lemmon gets around 180 inches of snow on average, and a lot of the the Winter tourist travel is skiers. During the rest of the year, the ride to the top is a favorite of bikers. It's a great break from the Summer heat in Tucson.
Buda_Jim
:cool:
Buda_Jim
:cool: