Bellota Trail: Molino to West Spring The Arizona Trail Santa Catalina Mountains Tucson, Arizona Distance: 2-4.6 miles Type: singletrack, out & back Time: 1-3 hours Season: all Elevation Range: 4300-4860 ft Permit Required: Catalina Mountains or Madera Canyon pass Quick Rating: tough technical in a short time Trail Map (251 Kb JPG) About the map and trail profile Updated 6/6/03

Description

The Bellota Trail is close to town and offers extremely technical singletrack that can be short or long depending on your time and nerve. As long as you pick your time of day right, it's ridable year around. Weather and time of year can change trail conditions unexpectedly. The trail may be moist with great traction or dry and loose.

Rating

This trail is steep and technical with switchbacks and a few sections you'll probably walk (or crawl) up. The ride back can verge on dangerous if the trail's loose and the hillside is in shadow. You can ride up to the saddle and back or ride down to West Spring. Either way, this is a tough trail. The east drop to West Spring is highly recommended for anyone who likes a challenge. It's difficult but ridable.

How to get there

Take the Mount Lemmon Highway to Molino Basin (mile 5.6).

Trail Log

0.0	Start from the parking lot at Molino Basin. Cross the highway and follow the trail up the canyon on the north side of the wash.
0.2	The trail you want joins from the right. Cross the wash/stream and head up the hill.
1.0	East saddle. Turn around or keep going. We're going to keep going.
2.3	West Spring tank. This is a good turnaround spot for the grind up and back.

Notes

Start early to avoid traffic on the trail. This is a popular trail with weekend hikers and resort groups.

Watch out for hikers and yield the trail, smile, and wave. In most cases they will encourage you to pass, possibly thinking that anyone crazy enough to try and ride this trail needs all the help they can get.

Trail maintenance can be dangerous if you're not paying attention. This trail has rubber tire sections across the trail to divert water and reduce trail erosion. These are a pain riding uphill and can throw you on the descents.

Variations

Molino Canyon Vista start. Park and start from Molino Canyon Vista point. This will not require a Catalina Mountains pass and you get an extra 15 minutes of warm-up riding up the highway.

Arizona Trail - Molino Basin West
Arizona Trail - Molino Basin Slingshot