The Cooper Loop, so named after the late John Cooper, is one of Sierra Vista's best mountain bike rides, especially for those looking for more of a technical challenge than is presented by Brown Canyon. The loop is composed of about 8 miles of sweet, no really, sweet semi-technical singletrack, and 1.7 miles of dirt road, with great views of Sierra Vista, the San Pedro River, and the Mule Mountains. On a technical scale of 1 to 10, with Brown Canyon being a 3 or 4, the Cooper Loop is a 4-5. There are two locations to start the ride, and two directions in which you can travel (depending on how frisky you feel). We'll start with the most popular routing. Meet your buddies at the Carr Canyon parking lot and begin the ride from here (look near the northeast corner of the parking lot, this is where you will end your ride).

From the parking lot, turn left on Carr Canyon road and start the ~1.7 mile grind up to the first true switchback. Once at the first switchback, look for a trail leaving the south side of the road, with several large rocks blocking vehicle access. From here, the trail will turn right and you're on your way.

There are only two intersections with other trails that require you to be heads up and paying attention. The first is a left onto the John Cooper Trail, which is marked by a wooden sign, but easy to miss. If you left at 1:00 pm during the summer, are dehydrated, and missed the turn, you will eventually meet back with the main trail, however, you are now riding in a wilderness area (shame on you) and should see signs indicating you are now a federal criminal. Please turn around and find the Cooper Loop, the local riders will thank you for keeping the peace, plus, it's a much better trail. Note: The John Cooper Trail will join back up with the trail that ventured into the wilderness area, so keep heading down if you happen to see this trail to the right. The second intersection is a "T" intersection, take the left, or eastern route (a right will take you up Miller Canyon, which is a great hike, but again, illegal for knobby tires). Please see the maps for visual clarification.

Soon you'll hit Miller Canyon road, and it gets a little tricky, but don't freak out, you'll find your way. "Basically", if you ride straight across the road, onto a small trail, back onto the road (which looped farther up), take a right, and about 30 to 50 feet later, take a left onto the next section of trail, you'll be on your way. Here is our disclaimer, this section of trail has a number of intersecting trails that will be impossible to describe here, so please, ride this with the club, or contact Sun 'N Spokes to hook up with somebody that can show you the way. You can always head down Miller Canyon road, or throw caution to the wind and ride down the trail, just remember, if you attempted the trail, Miller Canyon Road is on your left, and you will eventually need to make it back to this road. Again, reference a map for visual aids.

"If" you took the "correct" trail down, you will need to turn left (west) onto Miller Canyon road and head up to the first entrance of the Miller Canyon parking area and begin looking for single track on the right (north) side of the road. If you came down the road, once near the parking area, keep riding down the road and look for the trail on the left (north) side of the road. From here, the trail is easy to follow and will take you back to the Carr Canyon parking lot. Enjoy this section of the perimeter trail!

If you have the itch for something different. You can start at the Miller Canyon parking area and ride in the same direction as described above. This is the option used for the John Cooper Tour, and places the main climb in a different portion of the loop. The other option is to start at either Carr Canyon or Miller Canyon and ride the loop in the opposite direction. This means more climbing, and unless you just won the World's Bike Trials Championship, you'll likely be doing a little hiking. But, it's recommended at least once, right?

Bottom line, please ride this with someone who has ridden the trail before, you'll enjoy it far more, and won't be cursing the author of this description for shotty details.

Trail describtion and information courtesy of Dawn to Dust Mountain Bike Club

www.dawntodustmountainbikeclub.org

Visit their site for more pics and info.