4,216 ft
Distance
112 ft
Climb
-270 ft
Descent
00:16:18
Avg time

Ground Control Details

  • Activities
    • Mountain Bike
    • Hike
    • Trail Running
  • Riding Area
    Western Gateway
    Sedona, Arizona
  • Difficulty Rating
    Black Diamond rate
  • Voted Difficulty
    Black Diamond (4 votes)
  • Hiking SAC Scale
    T1 Hiking
  • Trail Type
    Singletrack
  • Bike Type
    AM
  • Direction
    One Direction
    Popular direction shown
  • Trail Visibility
    Always easy to follow
  • Season
    All Season
  • Dogs Allowed
    Yes
  • eBike Allowed
    No
  • TTFs on Trail
    Berm, Drop, Rock Face, Other
  • Global Ranking
    #4238 in Mountain Biking [+]
    • #12720 in Trail Running
    • #9322 in Hiking
  • Local Popularity
    85 in Mountain Biking [+]
    • 60 in Trail Running
    • 40 in Hiking
  • Year Opened
    2020
  • Land Owner
    USFS

Ground Control is one of the Western Gateway trails built by the USFS and mostly local Sedona volunteers. The trail is .8 miles long and my rating of the trail difficulty is as follows: 40% Intermediate, 56% Advanced and 4% Expert. The only direction to ride the trail is north to south (Cockscomb to Outer Limits).

As indicated the trail has some expert sections the will definitely challenge some advanced riders. There are several uphill sections over to the steep challenging downhilll section, some riders might walk. The trail tread on the traverse is constructed with soil with very little clay content, so it will be constantly eroding where it isn't supported by large rock. Shortly before making to the downhill section there are two short challenging steep step-ups, that some advanced riders might not clean.

The views on the trail before the challenging switchbacks are World Class to the northwest and northeast.

As you ride off the high point of the trail you are instantly wondering what kind of steep challenging terrain lays ahead of you. Hopefully your bike has a dropper post to give you a more enjoyable ride to the bottom. Halfway down the downhill section there is an expert spot on the left side or easier rocked berm line on the right. After that point trail becomes easier to ride.

Local Trail Association
Traditionally Indigenous Territory
More Stats for Ground Control multi-use trail trail
  • Altitude change
    -158 ft
  • Altitude min
    4,494 ft
  • Altitude max
    4,727 ft
  • Altitude start
    4,653 ft
  • Altitude end
    4,495 ft
  • Grade
    -3.8%
  • Grade max
    -32.9%
  • Grade min
    12.5%
  • Distance climb
    1,854 ft
  • Distance down
    2,198 ft
  • Distance flat
    164 ft
  • Avg time
    00:16:18
  • Avg reverse time
    00:22:04
  • view trail stats
Status:
on Dec 1, 2023
Ideal
Avg: 4.6 (35 votes)
Your vote: 0

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Trail Conditions
  • Unknown
  • Snow Groomed
  • Snow Packed
  • Snow Covered
  • Snow Cover Inadequate
  • Freeze/thaw Cycle
  • Icy
  • Prevalent Mud
  • Wet
  • Variable
  • Ideal
  • Dry
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      Directions to ground-control-249974 trailhead (34.878500, -111.859950)
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      Ground Control Trail Reports

      statusdatedescription
      Dec 1, 2023 @ 11:38am
      Dec 1, 2023
      		 Recent rain and cool temperatures have the trails holding down some HERO DIRT.
      Nov 28, 2023 @ 2:56pm
      Nov 28, 2023
      Nov 18, 2023 @ 10:49am
      Nov 18, 2023
      		 The rain has cometh!
      Oct 3, 2023 @ 10:55am
      Oct 3, 2023
      		 The moisture didn't stick around long. Back to dry.
      Oct 1, 2023 @ 9:35am
      Oct 1, 2023
      		 HERO DIRT and low temps! Perfect Sedona conditions for riding!
      view all reports »

      Recent Ridelog Activity on Trail

      Past Week
      • 12 rides
      • 14 miles avg distance
      6 Months
      • 249 rides
      • 15 miles avg distance
      All
      • 2,843 rides
      • Last: Dec 10, 2023

      Photos

      more »
      22 |
      Oct 7, 2023 @ 3:45pm
      Oct 7, 2023
      14 |
      Oct 7, 2023 @ 3:45pm
      Oct 7, 2023
      310 |
      Feb 2, 2020 @ 10:29pm
      Feb 2, 2020
      227 |
      Jan 31, 2020 @ 12:15am
      Jan 31, 2020

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      13 Reviews & Comments


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      • #249974 - 10,685 views