Review Date
September 25, 2006

Overall Rating
 4 of 5

Aerobic Difficulty
 3 of 5

Technical Difficulty
 2 of 5

Ridden Trail:
Once a month

Reviewed by: TroyWW ,  Cross Country Rider

Summary:
Has a tendency to get sandy, and is a high use trail with the rare hiker and equestrian, but overall a great ride. No technical sections, but plenty of fun to appeal to a cross section of riders. The trail can easily be completed in 90 minutes, but there are many reasons to take your time, enjoy the scenery, capture some great photos and meet other folks on the trail.

Recommended Route:
Counter Clock wise and to include any of the off shoot trails including the newly opened Dixie Mine Trail.

Other recommended trails in the same area:
Sport Loops, Dixie Mine, Windgate pass, Golden Eagle.

Review Date
August 29, 2005

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Aerobic Difficulty
 3 of 5

Technical Difficulty
 2 of 5

Ridden Trail:
Once a week

Visitors rate this review
5.00 of 5, 2 votes

Reviewed by: KevinB ,  Cross Country Rider

Summary:
The Pemberton trail at McDowell Mountain Park is a 15.4 mile loop through the Sonoran desert. It is technically easy, but this makes it an excellent trail upon which to get a good aerobic workout. Once you get accustomed to the trail, it's possible to pedal hard throughout the entire loop. The trail is mellow enough that it's possible to do multiple laps without getting overly beaten up. That said, it's also quite accessible to novice riders, with several "bail out" options along the way.

This trail may be ridden in either direction, though the clockwise direction is somewhat more popular. Either way you do it, it's mostly uphill for the first third, rolling hills for the middle third, and mostly downhill for the final third. None of the hills are very steep, though the early hills are quite sustained. If you ride clockwise, there's a moderately rocky hill near the beginning. Beginners riding clockwise may wish to avoid this rocky hill by turning right on the Tonto Tank trail at roughly 1 mile along the Pemberton. The Tonto Tank rejoins the Pemberton well after the rocky hill.

If ridden clockwise, there's a long downhill sandy section of doubletrack starting at around mile 8. This doubletrack lasts until around mile 13 at which time a fun twisty section of singletrack starts. The clockwise direction is undoubtedly more popular for this reason: The sandy singletrack is easier to ride downhile than slogging uphill. Plus the singletrack is mostly downhill too and is more fun at high speeds than the reverse.

As noted in other reviews, the park did indeed put in an excessive number of waterbars. These were terrible when first installed, but several of the most egregious ones of have been removed. The trail has become beaten in enough around the remaining water bars so they're not as much of a problem as they used to be. These water bars seem to have done a decent job of preventing erosion during the summer monsoons of 2005 and the winter rains of 2004-2005. By way of contrast, many of the other trails in the area suffered huge ruts, whereas the Pemberton is still in pretty good shape.

The southernmost portion of the Pemberton should be avoided after heavy rains. This portion of the trail is composed of clay, sections of which drain quite poorly. When wet, this clay will make a mess of your bike. (And the trail itself will become quite rutted for a time.) Consider, instead, riding the Granite and Bluff trails along with the northern sections of the Pemberton.

Recommended Route:
Ride either clockwise or counterclockwise on the Pemberton trail. The trail is well marked; you won't get lost. Trail maps are available at the trailhead.

Other recommended trails in the same area:
For a slightly longer variation (approximately 21 miles): Ride the Pemberton trail clockwise until the Bluff trail. Turn right on Bluff and follow Bluff until it terminates at the Granite. Turn left on the Granite trail and ride until it terminates at Bluff. (You will have passed this junction on your earlier descent of the Bluff trail.) Turn right on Bluff and ride back up to the Pemberton. Finally, turn right on Pemberton and ride back to the trailhead.

For an even longer ride (approximately 28 miles): Ride the Pemberton counterclockwise until the Bluff. Descend the Bluff until the first intersection with the Granite trail. Turn left at this intersection. Ride the Granite trail until it terminates at the Pemberton. Turn right on the Pemberton and follow it back (this time going clockwise) to the trailhead.

Riders wanting to incorporate a slightly more technical trail into an outing involving the Pemberton should consider riding the Scenic trail. This trail is significantly narrower, hillier, and rockier than any of the Pemberton. The 3+ miles of the Scenic trail can be substituted for around 1 mile of the Pemberton, or a 4.2 mile loop involving a small part of the Pemberton and all of the Scenic may be ridden instead.

The competitive tracks near the entrance to the park are also well worth doing.

Review Date
October 3, 2003

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Aerobic Difficulty
 5 of 5

Technical Difficulty
 0 of 5

Ridden Trail:
1 Year

Review Date
March 30, 2003

Overall Rating
 3 of 5

Ridden Trail:
Once a month

Review Date
March 30, 2003

Overall Rating
 3 of 5

Ridden Trail:
Once a month