Bright Angel Bikepacking
Bright Angel Bikepacking features cycling routes, community rides, and bike events on the South and North Rims of Grand Canyon National Park.
These bicycle routes explore the Grand Rimlands region via day rides, overnighters, and extended backcountry trips. The Grand Rimlands are the belts of land surrounding the Grand Canyon. The rim terrain varies from lowland sagebrush desert plains to high country subalpine meadows and forests. The Grand Rimlands make up the Grand Canyon’s vital immediate watershed zone and are ecologically connected with the Canyon. Bicycling is the best way to experience this vast, geologically complex, biodiverse, and culturally rich area.
Bright Angel Bikepacking routes traverse classic Colorado Plateau geography. They take riders through vast forests of pinyon, juniper, ponderosa, aspen, and spruce. They roll across open subalpine meadows and arid savannahs. They cross exposed plains of sand, sage, stone, and prickly pear. They traverse across benchlands and canyonlands topography. They peer down at the waters of the Colorado River. And most strikingly, these routes often take cyclists to capes of land jutting out into geological space, providing riders iconically recognizable and rarely regarded views of the Grand Canyon.
Visit the Ride with GPS page for all routes, collections, and GPX.
South Rim Collections
The South Rim Collection’s bicycle routes are centered on and around the Coconino Plateau. The riding in this region stretches from the Navajo Nation in the east over to the Havasupai Tribal Land in the west. The region spans from the South Rim of Grand Canyon National Park in the north down to the boundary of the Baaj Nwaavjo I’tah Kukveni National Monument at Red Butte in the south.
Only a 1.5 hour drive from Flagstaff, AZ, the South Rim encompasses the Coconino Plateau and the more developed Grand Canyon Village area. Riding along the rim is typified by longer paved stretches and some iconic dirt doubletrack out to distant rim viewpoints. The South Rim Village boasts a robust network of paved multi-use Greenway that stretches from the canyon to the town of Tusayan. Outside the core developed visitor areas is the vast Baaj Nwaavjo I'tah Kukveni National Monument. Here, cyclists can tackle hundreds of miles of dirt forest service roads and little-traveled doubletrack. Nearly 70 miles of Arizona Trail singletrack is available for mountain bikers that wraps through this region. Remoteness and solitude are abundant within the outer stretches of the national monument although vehicles and people are expected near the South Rim developed areas. The Coconino Plateau's elevation ranges from 6000 feet at its lowest point to over 7500 feet at its highest. The landscape is marked by arid-uplands and desert with dominant vegetation being the juniper and the pinyon pine although thick stands of ponderosa pine are prevalent among the highest portions of the Coconino Rim.
North Rim Collections
The North Rim Collection’s bicycle routes are centered on and around the Kaibab Plateau. The riding in this region stretches from Lee’s Ferry at Marble Canyon and House Rock Valley in the east over to the Kanab Creek Wilderness in the west. The region spans from the North Rim of Grand Canyon National Park in the south up to the Vermilion Cliffs and Buckskin Mountains in the north.
The North Rim of the Grand Canyon is remote to access at a nearly 4 hour drive from Flagstaff, AZ or 3.5 hours from St. George; it consequently receives only a fraction of the visitors that the popular South Rim receives. The region sits high up on the elevated Kaibab Plateau where viewpoints of the Grand Canyon are at nearly 9000 feet. Cycling routes in the area head down rarely used roads into lesser-seen parts of the Kaibab Plateau. This landscape is filled with thousands of miles of unpaved tracks criss-crossing terrain that makes dramatic swings between high elevation subalpine and lower elevation exposed desert; these biome changes exemplify the large elevation gains riding in this area requires. The North Rim's winter weather can be extreme at the higher elevations, making the riding season narrow. Lower parts of the region around House Rock Valley and the Vermilion Cliffs can be incredibly hot in the summer. The landscape juxtaposes thick aspen groves and spruce with raw rocklands seeded with sparse grass and sage. Riders should be prepared to self-rescue and be self-sufficient on the more isolated routes as hitching a ride may be unlikely if a problem arises. Truly reliable water resupplies are few with long distances between sources. About 77 miles of Arizona Trail singletrack, all open to mountain bikes, stretches from the North Rim edge all the way to the trail’s terminus at the Arizona-Utah border. Camping rim-side is available at many locations including Rainbow Rim, which is the sole opportunity for mountain bikers to ride singletrack along the rim of Grand Canyon National Park.
Arizona Strip Collection
The Arizona Strip Collection’s bicycle routes are centered on and around the famously remote Arizona Strip of northern Arizona. The riding in this region stretches from the Kanab Creek Wilderness in the east over to Gold Butte National Monument in the west. The region spans from the Grand Canyon-Parshant National Monument in the south up to the Arizona-Utah state border and Virgin Mountains in the north.
The Arizona Strip is famously isolated - an area of the land that the Grand-Canyon Parashant National Monument recommends only be traversed by vehicles with two extra spare tires and advertises no developed facilities, stores, ranger stations, or paved roads. This is expedition bikepacking country. Riding in this landscape requires self-sufficient and experienced cyclists willing to take on extreme heat in the lowlands and cold conditions on mountain passes. Carrying many liters of water is a safe and expected norm along with several days worth of food. Bikepackers need to be prepared to repair their own bikes and gear. The rewards for the physical and preparation challenges associated with this place are geological wonder and remote beauty along with some of the most epic views of the Grand Canyon.
Bikepacking Routes of the Grand Rimlands Collection
The vast public lands that make up the Grand Rimlands present a true spread of options for bikepackers seeking overnighters, weekend escapes, or extended expeditions. Water and food resupplies present the biggest challenges for bikepackers exploring the region; riders should always be prepared to carry many liters of water and several days of food on the longer routes. The reward for anyone heading into the Grand Rimlands will be remote lookouts, stunning geology, gorgeous woodlands, and abundant wildlife.
