Bean Peaks Gravity Flow Trail System:
The first of its kind in Arizona.
Gravity flow trails are mountain bike-optimized, directional trails peppered with jumps, berms, and technical rock features, providing riders with a fun, roller coaster-like experience. Through a partnership between the U.S. Forest Service, Prescott Mountain Bike Alliance, City of Prescott and IMBA, the state of Arizona is now home to the first gravity trails on National Forest land. These trails have also been designed to include adaptive bikes, such as recumbent hand-pedaled bikes, making them accessible for all those who love to ride.
Trail Champions: Bean Peaks Gravity Flow Trails
Phase one (of three) was completed in March 2024, adding 9.2 miles of trails to the already world-class trail system, and is officially open while phase two construction is underway. Thanks to an IMBA Trail Accelerator grant, IMBA Trail Solutions designed this system, which was a cooperative/hybrid build by IMBA Trail Solutions, the City of Prescott, and PMBA volunteers (notably the Over the Hill Gang). This first phase includes beginner, intermediate and advanced trails accessed less than a mile from downtown.
In fall 2025, IMBA’s Eleanor Blick caught up with Ximena Florez from the Prescott Mountain Bike Alliance and IMBA’s Senior Partnerships Manager Patrick Kell about the Bean Peaks trail system, the community’s efforts on partnerships, and their success with fundraising for a phased approach to construction.
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| Eleanor Blick, IMBA How did the Bean Peaks system add something to Prescott with so many trails already? |
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| Ximena Florez, Prescott Mountain Bike Alliance With a variety of trails, the one thing we were missing was a mountain biking-specific trail system, and definitely a gravity flow trail system. |
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| Patrick Kell, IMBA The convenience and the access to the trails is what's most appealing. |
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| Ximena When we applied to IMBA’s Trail Accelerator Grant, we also had a buy-in from the community: the fact that we had collaboration from the City of Prescott, Prescott National Forest, and IMBA was huge. The Forest Service really needed to make sure it was someone they would trust to build the trails. |
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| Eleanor Patrick, having worked with so many communities in the southwest, does anything stand out about the effort in Prescott that other communities could learn from? |
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| Patrick Kell, IMBA PMBA have always been thorough in standing their ground. I've seen this with mountain bike projects over 20 years: it's okay to want. You can want anything you want, but if you don't commit to following through on the tasks and the steps that are requested, then it won't happen. PMBA is always thorough in deliverables. ‘Here it is. What's next?’ It’s really important to be committed. |
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| Ximena One of the things that makes Prescott unique is the number of volunteers we have helping out with trail work. Like having the Over the Hill Gang really work on a portion of the trail—they built it themselves with the guidance of IMBA Trail Solutions. |
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| Eleanor Have you found any community benefits of Bean Peaks being built in phases? |
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| Ximena Yes, having phase one open earlier than it would have if the system had been built all at the same time has been very beneficial. It's a proof of concept, and people really have an opportunity to see what we're talking about. … Fundraising has been a key component. |
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| Patrick There were several moments when a donor came in early, and that really helped us build momentum. Even before the project was approved, we started meeting with some of these big foundations … Once it was approved, we had six months of relationship-building already completed with some of the big donors. |
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| Ximena Many people didn't know what a gravity flow trail was, so seeing it and actually experiencing it and experiencing the results that it brings: you can see so many young people riding the trails. |
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| Patrick I've observed a lot of women with daughters at Bean Peaks. And it's just not a demographic I would specifically see in other places. |
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| Ximena Also the adaptive bikers. They don't have a lot of places where they can go, and Bean Peaks gives them that opportunity. And they love it. |
Listen to the full interview:
How did they do it?
Planning & Design, Preliminary Fundraising, and Permitting Steps
The opening of Bean Peaks follows several years of planning, public comment periods, fundraising and construction. In 2020, the project was launched with a $10,000 IMBA Trail Accelerator Grant, with a match by Prescott Mountain Bike Alliance. Once a sustainable location was identified, IMBA provided a plan to the U.S. Forest Service.
January 2020: Trail Accelerator Grant
Public comment periods to explore user perspectives and impacts of the new trails plan were launched and supported across Arizona by multiple user groups.
March 2022: Public Comments Are Made
Public comments and IMBA’s expertise helped the U.S. Forest Service professionals approve the plans for Bean Peaks. Sarah Clawson, Forest Supervisor of the Prescott National Forest, said, “It’s really easy to say, ‘Yes’ when you’ve got the right folks bringing all the energy and resources to the table. It takes passion, patience, and collaboration to embark on this kind of effort. More importantly, the demonstrated commitment to long-term shared stewardship from our partners and the community has made this exciting project possible.”
Timeline
Phase One Was Completed in May 2024
After the plan’s approval, a broad fundraising campaign was launched. More than $500,000 was raised by local individuals, businesses, and private foundations, mountain bike raffles, the Prescott Trails Challenge, and a gala hosted by the Vivili Hospitality Group. The trailhead improvements were largely funded by tax-payer dollars, allocated by the federal government. The majority of Phase 1 was completed in December 2023 and IMBA returned to finish in March 2024.
Learn more about Bean Peaks and the plans and momentum for Phase 2.
Phase 2 is Underway
Construction of Phase 2 began in Fall of 2024, moving towards an expansion of another 6.9 miles of directional, bike-optimized trails featuring tabletops, rollers, berms and technical rock features. Fundraising for Phase 2 included a mountain bike raffle, the Prescott Trails Challenge, encouraging biking and showcasing Prescott’s trails; and a gala hosted by the Vivili Hospitality Group with all proceeds going to Bean Peaks.
Phase 3: Construction Fall 2025
This final phase will consist of 4.7 miles of intermediate and advanced trails, including 3.5 miles of gravity flow trails.
Completion & Maintenance
In total, the project will add 17 miles of trails; 10.5 miles of gravity trails, 4.4 miles of trails designed for uphill bike travel and bi-directional travel for hikers, 1.9 miles for shared use, and two new trailheads. There will be restoration of 12 miles of unauthorized routes and the motorized trails will be realigned to reduce impact on the watershed. After completing all three phases, efforts will pivot towards maintaining and enhancing the trails to ensure their long-term viability and continued enjoyment for users for many generations to follow.
