Open in App
Get this route on your phone instantly.
38.4 miles
Distance
4,592 ft
Climb
-4,632 ft
Descent
3,006 ft
High Point
-40 ft
Altitude change
1,631 ft
Altitude min
1,742 ft
Altitude start
1,703 ft
Altitude end
-60.6%
Grade max
62.2%
Grade min
18 miles
Distance climb
18 miles
Distance down
3 miles
Distance flat
A nice long ride connecting both sides of the McDowell Mountains.
Detailed Description
Trans-McDowell Route is a 38 mile moderately popular intermediate route located near Fountain Hills Arizona. This mountain bike only route can be used both directions and has a hard overall physical rating. This route includes 36 trails. This route climbs 4,592 ft with a max elevation of 3,006 ft then descends -4,632 ft.
Trail Issues on Route
- Minor Issue / Yellow: 4 trails (newest: Nov 5, 2026)
Local Trail Association
Please consider joining or donating to the local riding association to support trail development & maintenance.
Donate to earn trail karma!
Stats
-
Distance38 miles
-
Avg time3 hr 13 min
-
Altitude min1,631 ft
-
Altitude start1,742 ft
-
Altitude end1,703 ft
-
Climb4,592 ft
-
Descent-4,632 ft
-
Grade max-60.6%
-
Grade min62.2%
-
Distance climb18 miles
-
Distance down18 miles
-
Distance flat3 miles
81 Reviews & Comments
We hope you've been enjoying Trailforks!
Create a FREE account to view all route reviews and much more.
Trails in Route
| 4,931 ft | |||||
| 5,171 ft | |||||
| 1 mile | |||||
| 3,753 ft | |||||
| 2 miles | |||||
| 2 miles | |||||
| 5,233 ft | |||||
| 2 miles | |||||
| 2 miles | |||||
| 3,501 ft | |||||
| 1 mile | |||||
| 1 mile | |||||
| 4,806 ft | |||||
| 4,564 ft | |||||
| 1 mile | |||||
| 2,470 ft | |||||
| 2 miles | |||||
| 2 miles | |||||
| 3,888 ft | |||||
| 3 miles | |||||
| 4 miles | |||||
| 2 miles | |||||
| 2 miles | |||||
| 2 miles |
Details
-
Riding area
-
Primary ActivityMountain Bike
-
Difficulty ratingBlue
-
Route TypeLoop
-
Bike typeXC
-
DirectionBoth Directions
-
Physical ratingHard
-
Activity Logs
close
3D
Trail Conditions
- Unknown
- Snow Groomed
- Snow Packed
- Snow Covered
- Snow Cover Partial
- Freeze/thaw Cycle
- Icy
- Prevalent Mud
- Wet
- Variable
- Ideal
- Dry
- Very Dry
Trail Flow (Ridden Direction)
Trailforks scans users activity logs to determine the most popular direction each trail is ridden. A good flowing trail network will have most trails flowing in a single direction according to their intension.
The colour categories are based on what percentage of users are riding a trail in its intended direction.
The colour categories are based on what percentage of users are riding a trail in its intended direction.
- > 96%
- > 90%
- > 80%
- > 70%
- > 50%
- < 50%
- bi-directional trail
- no data
Trail Last Used
Trailforks scans activity logs to determine the last time a trail was ridden.
- < 2 days
- < 1 week
- < 2 weeks
- < 1 month
- < 6 months
- > 6 months
Trail Ridden Direction
The intended direction a trail should be ridden.
- Downhill Only
- Downhill Primary
- Both Directions
- Uphill Primary
- Uphill Only
- One Direction
Contribute Details
Colors indicate trail is missing specified detail.
- Description
- Photos
- Description & Photos
- Videos
Trail Popularity ?
Trailforks scans activity logs to determine which trails are ridden the most in the last 9 months.
Trails are compared with nearby trails in the same city region with a possible 25 colour shades.
Think of this as a heatmap, more activities = more kinetic energy = warmer colors.
- most popular
- popular
- less popular
- not popular
ATV/ORV/OHV Filter
Max Vehicle Width
inches
US Cell Coverage
Legend
Radar Time
Activity Recordings
Trailforks uses anonymized public activity data.
?
Activity Recordings
Trailforks uses anonymized public activity data.
?
Winter Trails
Warning
A routing network for winter maps does not exist. Selecting trails using the winter trails layer has been disabled.
Missing Trails
Most Popular
Least Popular
Trails are colored based on popularity. The more popular a trail is, the more red. Less popular trails trend towards green.
Jump Magnitude Heatmap
Heatmap of where users jump on trails. Zoom in to see individual jumps, click circles to view jump details.
BC Backroad Status
![map legend]()
Service Road Atlas is a free to use, community-driven service for viewing and creating reports on the numerous back-country service roads around B.C. and Alberta.
Slope Aspect
Direction the slope faces
Trails Deemphasized
Trails are shown in grey.
Only show trails with no bike usage.
Suggested Layers
Based on selected activity type
Save the current map location and zoom level as your default home location whenever this page is loaded.
Save
Trail transparency
- Singletrack
- Unpaved
Photos
Videos
mtb
Lower Shallmo Wash Trail
trail: Lower Shallmo Wash Trail
6:50 | 123 | comments: 0 | favs:
Mar 1, 2025
Recent Trail Reports Along Route
more reports »
- By WanderingJustin & contributors
- #3596 - 1,126 views
Hit the Trail
Download Route
Save to wishlist, Garmin & download.