Skip to main content

The Loop - Tucson

In this episode, The Huckleberry Loop . . .

Last week we spoke about a BIG world just waiting to be explored. Well, Christmas week 2021, we extended our exploration while planning for 2022. We loaded up our truck for some vacation time and headed for Tucson, AZ.

"Why Tucson?" you ask?

The Huckleberry Loop, of course.

The Chuck Huckleberry Loop is a system of paved, shared-use paths and short segments of bicycle (bike) lanes connecting the Cañada del Oro, Rillito, Santa Cruz, and Pantano River Parks with Julian Wash and Harrison Road Greenway in Tucson. It totals about 137 miles of beautifully paved pathways. The Loop stretches more than 45 miles north to south and almost 30 miles east to west. Some 70% of the Loop directly follows the banks of five significant watersheds that dominate the Tucson Valley.

Since the late 1980s, Tucson has been building this series of bicycle trails in conjunction with flood control waterways that circumnavigate the city.

"The Loop" (as it's known) became a reality in January of 2018 when Pima County, AZ. completed a connection of five of the six Loop trail sections that form an elongated circle around the city of Tucson.

It's a 53.9-mile circuit, and completing it in one day is known to the locals as "Looping the Loop." According to local author and bicyclist of the book The Loop - Americas #1 Recreational Trail, "Doing so requires a little local knowledge since it requires crossing back and forth across riverbeds several times to avoid backtracking."

We stayed at the Hilton Homewood Suites off North Campbell. It has a large parking lot with a friendly local Pedego bicycle shop and direct access to the trail. The staff there will be happy to provide you with maps and advice on avoiding backtracking while completing the Loop.

The Loop extends through unincorporated Pima County, Marana, Oro Valley, Tucson, and South Tucson. The connections result from Pima County's cooperative partnerships with these jurisdictions.

This network of trails connects public parks, hiking trailheads, bus and bike routes, workplaces, restaurants, schools, hotels and motels, shopping areas, and entertainment venues. Visitors and Pima County residents can enjoy the Loop on foot, bikes, skates, and horses.

There is one section, as of 2021, not yet completed, a 1.3-mile segment of surface streets with a wide bike lane along Rita Road.

We completed the 54 miles "Loop the Loop" in about 5 hours. As you cruise the pristine pavement, you may come upon an electric golf cart; these are friendly maintenance crew members that keep debris off the trail, the restrooms clean, and are always willing to answer questions you may have along the way. We thoroughly recommend it to anyone. What a wonderful experience.

So, get out there and explore!

I'm Patrick Ball; thanks for listening; I'll see you in the next episode.

Comments

Don Hanley said…
Good essay and I wish I had known about these kind of trails years ago. Would you and Lori have invited a couple of teens you knew join you and do you think they would enjoy it? Thanks, Don Hanley

Most Popular of All Time

Beyond Facts-The Deep Dive

✨ In this episode, Beyond Facts: Reimagining School–in the Age of AI . . .   This week's podcast is a bit different; it's another example of how Artificial Intelligence (AI) can offer tools to creatively enhance your analytical presentation of information. We took this week's blog and copied it into Gemini with the question, “If a story is to work, it must, on some level, create an illusion of escape and also achieve a goal simultaneously. Does this apply to my blog post that follows?” What's created is not just an analysis of the writing, but an AI-generated discussion produced “On the Fly” - Enjoy! Did you know that the word "school" comes from the ancient Greek word scholÄ“ , which originally meant "leisure"? Not a rigid schedule or droning lectures filled with "facts," but free time for thinking and conversation. To the Greeks, learning happened best when life slowed down—when you had room to reflect, to ask questions, and to wrestle ...

A Heart Full of Thanks

Oh, the thanks I could think, and the thanks I could say! For the wonderful people who brightened my day. The first one is Lori, my wife, sweet and true, Who knows just the thing and knows just what to do. She whipped up a feast with a smile and a sigh, With corn on the cob and a steak cooked “On the Fly!” My neighbor, Steve, with a mischievous gleam, Said, “No fence work today! No work, it would seem! You’ll paint with some water, some colors so bright, And sign your new painting with all of your might!" I laughed and I said, “But I don’t know that skill! I’ll slap on some paint and see what sticks still!” Then there’s my friends on the Facebook machine, The best group of readers that ever was seen! They read all my blogs and they hear my podcasts, They send all their cheer that's built to last! And Billy and Linda. A Snoopy card in the mail. A wonderful surprise that was sure to prevail! From very good friends, a delightful new tale ! But the thanks didn't stop, no, not...

The Summer Surprise

In this special episode, The Summer Surprise . . .   Well, howdy there! It's me, Huck Finn, and lemme tell ya, somethin' special happened just the other day. We called it "The Summer Surprise.” Phew-wee! That ol' post box, it coughed up somethin' good! Wasn't no bills, nor them pesky ads, and thankfully, no regular ol' rocks neither. Nope, this here was a letter, folded up neat as a pin, looked a bit like one o' them school lockers, just sittin' there waitin' to be opened. It was from young Sierra, a mighty fine friend, and she'd gone and made some pure, honest-to-goodness artwork with her own two hands. My fingers they was all thumbs, just itching to see what kind of wild wonder she'd whipped up this time. I unfolded that paper, careful-like, you know, and bless my bare feet, there it was! A picture of a whole gymnasium and a mini-soccer field, all done up in colors that just popped. She'd used crayons and pencils, and you could tel...

A Pirate's Ponderings

In this episode, A Pirate's Ponderings: Turning 69 with a Classic . . . When was the last time you were so compelled by a quest that you had your bags packed and your boots on before the first rooster crowed? For me, this summer has been exactly that, a journey where the world outside faded away and the one inside my head roared to life. I felt like that young cabin boy in training, with the vast ocean of a great story stretching out before me. My hand was on the wheel, navigating every swell, riding the waves, and eager to see what lay just beyond the horizon. This wasn't a journey across lands, but a flight of imagination that has been an exciting ride. My adventure took off on the deck of the Hispaniola as I became lost on Treasure Island . My imagination soared, and I could almost taste the salt spray and feel the ship's timbers groan as we sailed toward our destiny. Below deck, in the narrow, shadowy depths, I could smell the hearty meals Long John Silver and Jim Haw...