Tucson to Grand Canyon

[Stefan_E]

Hello everyone, I already got mighty input last year for our tour this spring / summer from Tucson to Canada.
For the part from Tucson to Grand Canyon, I have two alternatives.

#1 via Apache Junction
#2 via Globe


I lean towards #1, since Picacho State Park and Casa Grande NM seam worth visiting as well as doing a hike in the Superstition Mountains. Also there seam to be nice shoulders every part of the way. But surely a lot more suburban environment.
#2 is surely a bit more remote and maybe more scenic? But there seem to be stretches without shoulders, but steady traffic and inclines at the same time.
I would be grateful for some input. (The route planer I use doesn’t work very well on mobiles. You would have to turn your phone sideways and then close the statistics)

[Pat Lamb]

I've driven Tucson to Apache Junction.  As far as Pikacho Peak, you're always close to I-10 on the frontage road; the scenery is boring (look up, you're now a quarter mile closer to Pikacho!) and the road noise is loud.  Services are pretty limited from   Casa Grande was a nice 30 minute diversion.  I didn't zoom in on your route around Phoenix, but there are some fairly decent bike paths and canal roads on your way north.

Getting up to Oracle is a tedious ride with traffic and stop lights every 1/4-1/2 mile, and no bike path or shoulder when I drove it.  OTOH, it's a multi-lane road, so if you leave Tucson after a leisurely breakfast, traffic shouldn't be a problem.  Either way, there's approximately zero services from the outskirts of Oracle Junction to either Florence (missing Pikacho) or Globe, so take plenty of water.

Scenery is much more varied going to Glove, there's a serious climb going up to Globe, and the Gila River makes a nice change in desert vegetation and scenery half-way there.  No shoulders and traffic is close to none, so it doesn't matter.  Maybe one of the pickup trucks will stop to offer you some water?

[Stefan_E]

Thank you, Pat lamp, your experience with traffic along the highway to Globe certainly helped. It’s going to be that route then.

In Tucson I’ll start with the loop through Saguaro National Park West and then take the cycle path along Cañada del Oro up to Catalina State Park, which should avoid most urban traffic and lights.