🚲 Key bike routes to know
Knowing the best routes for biking will help make your trips smooth. Below are three bike routes that we find ourselves using most often. We think these will be useful in your first days at Culdesac to get around the neighborhood. Try starting with these routes to get to the grocery store.
Don Carlos/Lemon St route
Taking Don Carlos/Lemon St is the best east/west route to bike from Culdesac to ASU or Downtown Tempe.
Rio Salado Path
The Rio Salado Path is a paved, mixed-use trail that parallels the Salt River in Tempe. It is also known as the Tempe Town Lake Trail. It’s a great way to hop between Tempe Beach Park, Tempe Marketplace, ASU, and many other destinations.
Scottsdale Greenbelt
Officially called the Indian Wash Greenbelt, this greenbelt is an oasis of parks, lakes, paths and golf courses traversing 11 miles through the heart of Scottsdale. The greenbelt features more than 24 grade-separated crossings, meaning users can avoid major cross traffic. This world-renowned flood control project is rated among the top urban "green spaces" in Arizona.
Use the wheel to choose your next ride!
--> Bike Route Wheel <--
- Big Butte Loop - Moderate - Papago Park - 30 mins there + 46 min trail ride + 30 mins back
- Elliot Ramada Loop - Easy - Papago Park - 30 mins there + 55 min trail ride + 30 mins back
- Desert Botanical Garden Loop - Easy - Papago Park - 30 mins there + 41 min trail ride + 30 mins back
- Tempe Town Lake Trail - Easy - Rio Salado Pathway N of Tempe Marketplace - 11 mins there + 2h 10min trail ride + 11 mins back
- TTL via Tempe Center for the Arts - Easy - Neil G. Giuliano Park - 22 mins there + 1h 3min trail ride + 22 mins back
- Greenbelt from Tempe Town Lake - Easy - Tempe Beach Park - 10 mins there + 5h 50min trail ride + 10 mins back
- Crosscut Canal Trail - Moderate - Papago Park - 32 mins there + 5h 21 min trail ride + 32 mins back
- Chaparral Lake Loop - Easy - Tempe Beach Park -> Greenbelt trail - 10 mins there + 2h 10 min trail ride + 10 mins back
- Kiwanis Park Loop* - Easy - Kiwanis Park - 30 mins there (5.3 mi.) + 14 mins trail ride + 30 mins back
- Mesa Rio Salado Pathway** -> Papago Park - Easy - 15 min ride to Mesa Rio Salado from Culdesac (3 mi.) - 31 min trail ride (2.8 mi.) + 30 mins back (5.3 mi.)
*You can take the canal off of the park and go south to a long long long canal straightaway that goes on forever, nice long easy ride.
**Mesa Rio Salado Path: Map this one on your phone/GPS system! Please cross the freeway on Orange St./Victory Dr. to avoid the 101 highway
Can I take my eBike on a trail?
From Archer's Bikes Website, the Lectric Bike is "Uniquely equipped with both variable pedal assist and throttle, the XP™ Step-Thru 2.0 also delivers the speed and sustainability to own the road as either a Class1, 2, or 3 ebike. Fat tires, coupled with adjustable front fork suspension, are designed to power through all types of terrain."
Always make sure to practice safe riding, check out the Arizona Laws about where you can and can't ride your eBike: https://ebikeobserver.com/arizona-electric-bike-laws/#Can_I_ride_my_electric_bike_on_trails_in_Arizona