Probably the biggest perk we discovered after moving here from New York was the extensive and diverse trail system in and around Prescott. Any trail user will attest that having access to this system benefits both our physical and mental health. Hiking saved my sanity during the Covid-shutdown months, and I’m sure I’m not unique in that. I wrote a while back in these pages about how the various trail-user groups (mountain bikers, hikers, dirt bikers and horse people) actively work together to maintain and build trails and promote trail etiquette to keep us all safe and preserve our trails. This cultivation of goodwill among trail users is something we should not take for granted.
Our local mountain-biking community is robust, enthusiastic, well-organized and growing! Bikers come from all over the country to enjoy our many trails and spectacular views. In 2019 Charlie Glasel (then president of Prescott Mountain Bike Alliance, or PMBA) and Joyce van Walsum, both longtime bike enthusiasts, worked on a grant proposal for a feasibility study to create a gravity-flow trail in Prescott. The grant came from the International Mountain Bicycling Association (IMBA), the study was done and some serious and creative fundraising began to build the first gravity-flow trail system in Arizona. This extensive, exclusive bike-trail system will add significant value to our trail offerings. Work has begun to build these specialized trails just south of town, near the White Spar campground.
What is a gravity-flow trail, and why do we need it?
All Prescott trails are shared by horses, bikes and feet. Horses and feet go slowly, but mountain bikes go fast, especially downhill. This would be terrifying for me as a hiker, but bikers get a huge rush from the speed. A gravity-flow trail system is like a ski slope, with trails that are only used for descent and only for mountain bikes. For obvious reasons these trails are closed to other users.
Like a ski slope, the system includes many interconnected trails of varying difficulty, with color-coded signs indicating easy, moderate and difficult routes. When complete the Bean Peaks Gravity-Flow Trail System will run from up near Goldwater Lake down to White Spar Road near the campground. The system is being built by specialized trail contractors IMBA Trails Solutions in collaboration with Chris Hosking and our local volunteer group the Over the Hill Gang.
The project will go forward in three phases, each completed during autumn and opening the following spring after the trails have had a time to settle through the winter. Construction on the first phase is already underway and a six-mile section is scheduled to open in the spring.
The official opening of the complete system will take place in spring 2026. The specialized contractors are creating 17 miles of trails wide enough for bikes to pass one another, with tabletops, rollers, berms and technical rock features. The trails are smooth, unlike our usually bumpy, rocky, gravelly trails.
I spoke with PBMA president Ximena Florez about the Bean Peaks project. She is very positive about how it will benefit Prescott: “In addition to tourism and economic development, we’re hoping it will bring more young people to live here.” Bikers tend to be relatively affluent, spending money on hotels, restaurants and pubs, and they usually stay about four days in one place before moving to another biking destination.
Prescott is part of a lively biking area in Northern Arizona. There are now six high-school mountain-bike teams in our area that will benefit greatly from training on these trails. The system will also accommodate adaptive bikes, used by those with disabilities. Ximena emphasizes that this project could not have become a reality without the support of the US Forest Service and the City of Prescott.
PMBA now has 350 members (over 100 new members this year) and has worked hard to raise the money for this new system, the ultimate cost for which will come to $1.5M. This money won’t come just from individual donations. Multiple fundraising campaigns were held over the past four months. In addition to a crowdfunding campaign, Skyler Reeves, proprietor of Vivili Hospitality Group and an avid mountain biker, hosted a gala event at the County Seat restaurant that raised $21,000. Bikesmith and SoulRide held bike raffles raising about $15,000 each, and the Prescott Trails Challenge event, started by Chloe Woodruff, raised over $20,000. Local businesses and the community as a whole stand to benefit greatly from an influx of passionate pedalers.
More information about PMBA and the Bean Peaks Gravity-Flow Trail System can be found at prescottmtb.com. PMBA is a 501(c)3 nonprofit and all donations are tax-deductible.
