{"id":2040552,"date":"2026-07-13T10:05:00","date_gmt":"2026-07-13T07:05:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=2040552"},"modified":"2026-07-13T10:05:00","modified_gmt":"2026-07-13T07:05:00","slug":"mountain-biking-payson-az-a-3-day-guide-to-the-best-trails","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=2040552","title":{"rendered":"Mountain Biking Payson, AZ: A 3-day Guide to the Best Trails"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Riding the Pine-Strawberry Loop. All photos: Leslie Kehmeier<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Arizona is chock-full of world-class mountain bike destinations, but there\u2019s a new singletrack hotspot on the rise that you probably haven\u2019t heard of: the Town of Payson.<\/p>\n

Located just over an hour\u2019s drive northeast of the Phoenix metro area, the town of 17,000 people rests at an elevation of 5,000 feet above sea level, with the nearby Mogollon Rim soaring to over 8,000. These high elevations (for Arizona) provide a welcome respite from the brutal heat in the valley. And now, with miles upon miles of fresh, modern mountain bike trails available, Payson beckons riders looking for an escape from the heat and a new adventure.<\/p>\n

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The greater region, which encompasses the smaller towns of Pine and Strawberry, is known as \u201cRim Country,\u201d and it\u2019s rich with public lands. The Tonto National Forest surrounds the towns on all sides with a surprisingly diverse landscape.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat\u2019s unique about the riding in our area is [\u2026] that we\u2019ve got the slabs, and then we\u2019ve got the dense forests. You feel like you\u2019re in the Pacific Northwest in some of the spots,\u201d said Trevor Creighton, President of the Rim Country Mountain Bike Association<\/a> (RCMBA). \u201cAnd we have all the water crossings, and then we have the views [of] the manzanitas and the Granite Dells, the actual boulders.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNot only the scenery, but then it\u2019s the riding style, too,\u201d he continued. \u201cSo sometimes you\u2019re on loose granite, and then sometimes you\u2019ve got kind of loamy dirt. And then you\u2019re on slabs. And then you\u2019re having to hike your bike across a river to get to continue with the trail. It\u2019s so good!\u201d<\/p>\n

If you only have three days to ride in Payson, this is your itinerary for hitting all the can\u2019t-miss trails.<\/p>\n

A three-day bike trip to Payson, Arizona<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n
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