Granite Dells is Payson’s in-town trail system. Also known as “Boulders,” the trail system began life as a network of pirate trails, but eight miles of the singletrack were recently legalized. The trails are accessible from a few trailheads located in neighborhoods on the southeast corner of the city. Despite being so close to town, the singletrack is also located on national forest land. And despite being so accessible, they’re the most technical trails in the region.
The trail system’s name comes from the granite boulders and rocky ridgelines rising above the neighborhoods. Granite boulder outcroppings create a visually stunning contrast to the towering ponderosa pines and scraggly junipers and provide entertaining rock gardens and techy granite slabs to rip. But the trails don’t just go downhill: this is very much an up-and-down network that demands technical proficiency while both climbing and descending. After the fairly mellow XC riding of the past two days, getting to challenge the bike handling skills is a welcome change.
That said, all of the most technical features have ride-around options. In places, there are even separate trails running parallel to each other, such as one section of the Billy Goat trail. While these trails aren’t easy, they also aren’t the brutally-gnarly technical testpieces you’ll find in some other areas of Arizona. Expect a black-diamond ride experience, or a blue/black if you take the ride-arounds.
These in-town tech trails are a fantastic getaway from it all! The rocky granite slabs (both up and down) and the short, steep descents demand constant focus, and the views from these elevated boulders are absolutely stunning. Highly recommended!
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