If you can see Mt. Baker, you are part of The Experience
Pop quiz: Name four different huckleberries.
If that last one has you a bit flummoxed, let me introduce you to Chuck Huckelberry: a dedicated Arizona civil servant known for his environmental conservation, oversight of major infrastructure projects, and — most importantly — being the driving force behind the development of Tucson’s massive, shared-use trail system.
The Chuck Huckelberry Tucson Loop (also known simply as “The Loop”) was named in his honor. No portion of the 131-mile paved trail, which extends throughout Marana, Oro Valley, Tucson, South Tucson and unincorporated Pima County, is open to cars. Along the way, The Loop connects to parks, trails, bus and bike routes, schools, restaurants, lodging, shopping areas, entertainment and sports venues. The trail is so popular that local real estate agents have cited property values as being higher based on proximity to the system, while the surrounding area is often touted as the top U.S. retirement destination for cyclists.
“What I’ve discovered is that The Loop means many things to many people,” Tucsonan Maxwell Yanoff tells me. “On any given day you’re going to see runners, walkers, dog walkers, e-bike and mountain bike riders, unicycles, tandem and recumbent bikes. And for the most part, the differing groups get along.
“I usually like to ride alone or with one other rider,” Yanoff continues, “but comradery is also fun and more challenging in a way. In that scenario, six to 12 riders is perfect. I like to ride in the mornings if I can since there’s less traffic, but there is one caveat: I never leave the house until after my second cappuccino. And March to April is a remarkable time to enjoy the weather, emerging animals and desert bloom.”
As Yanoff notes, spring is the best time to not only enjoy Tucson’s milder weather, but the profusion of wildflowers that bloom throughout the valley. An abundance of flora — from bright yellow poppies to brilliant purple lupine — can be seen ushering in the season across the state. Catalina State Park, accessible from The Loop, is particularly popular. The 5,500-acre park has more than 150 species of birds making their home there. It provides miles of equestrian, birding, hiking and biking trails that wind through the park. Camping and RVing sites are also available for overnight visitors.
As an urban trail, The Loop offers an array of surfaces such as paved concrete, sloped sides, gravel or dirt sections. And it has a variety of tunnels. With desert flora paralleling the route, you’ll encounter areas with much-appreciated shady patches and the opportunity to view some of Tucson’s iconic saguaro cacti, which grow to heights of 50 feet.
Fun facts: It takes a giant saguaro more than 75 years to grow a set of “arms,” so the more they have the older they’ll likely be. They’re also considered a keystone species as they provide nectar, fruit and nesting cavities for numerous desert-dwelling animals, and boast root systems that can spread as wide as 100 feet.
On a route that’s more than 100 miles long, it’s understandable there are areas of The Loop riders describe as their favorite. Vance Carver, who once rode a 67-mile portion of the route in one outing, is a part-time resident of the Tucson area and Lummi Island. His favorite stretch is the northwest portion in the Marana area, which starts at the intersection near West Ina Road and Thornydale Road.
“It starts off slowly but steadily takes you all the way into the heart of the Oro Valley, ending just south of Oracle Road,” Carver explains. “The great thing is that each mile on that section goes uphill at about one to two degrees through beautiful desert country — the wash to the left, two golf courses and nice neighborhoods to the right, and the beautiful Pusch Ridge dominating the landscape to the north and west.”
For those unfamiliar with the topography surrounding Oro Valley, the Pusch Ridge Wilderness is a 56,933-acre protected area in the Santa Catalina Mountains north of Tucson that towers over the valley below. Considered a “sky-island ecosystem,” the ridge is known for its rugged, rocky and steep terrain, rising from the desert floor to a 9,000-foot elevation. Boasting thousands of saguaros, as well as pine and fir trees, bighorn sheep grow and roam amid a portion of the area hidden among the forested terrain.
Outside of nature-made wonders, there are also manmade ones.
Almost 50 public works of art can be found along the route, including sculptures and murals. A few notables are the Batty Biker Family and Extreme Batty Biker (steel sculptures of playful bats on bikes), Joining Hands (an arch based on figures from traditional Hohokam pottery), and the Rillito Hawks (three life-sized sculptures of hawks soaring overhead).
Many riders will tell you that time spent on the route means rewarding yourself at the end with a beverage or meal. What’s cool about The Loop is that you can head off the trail and be sitting at a table within five minutes at popular spots like the Union Public House, El Corral or Noble Hops, though none of them feature huckleberry pie, or Huckelberry pie, on their menu.
But who knows? Maybe somewhere down the line a local establishment might create a signature dish inspired by the same outdoor enthusiast who helped set aside a tangible homage to the desert landscape he so loved. X
Useful Links
Loop Art Map: https://bit.ly/4aXjjoo
Bike Rentals: https://bit.ly/3Pnjf8U
Saguaro National Park: https://bit.ly/4bftd3J
