Cave Creek Regional Park in Cave Creek, Arizona has a set of trails for mountain biking, hiking and horseback riding that showcase the area beautifully. We had never ridden here before and were surprised at how fun and challenging the trails were.
There are only about 15 milles of trail here to ride but that 15 makes for a great loop with 1800 feet of climbing. Be aware, there is a day use fee if you park inside the park. As usual, we rode on a weekday since this area is popular with hikers and horses and we still saw a few groups of hikers and 2 groups on horseback. No cyclisst.
Go John Trail on the map is advanced and that’s probably appropriate. There are several rocky steep climbs that are likely hike a bikes on the back side if you are riding counter clockwise which I strongly suggest. Derek and I both agree that the trails are all well planned and have interesting features and views. On both the Slate trail and the Granite Trail we encountered a rattlesnake. Watch out!
If you’re in the area, this is definitely worth checking out, even if you aren’t a rider. Hiking all these trails would be fun too.
Love Go John but have only hiked it and only clockwise. Have seen riders though and agree it’s got some challenging sections especially that chonky uphill on the backside.
Such a fun area!