I’ve mentioned the El Tour de Zona (ETdZ) in a couple of previous blog entries: (Exploring Brunckow’s Cabin: Arizona’s Haunted History, Exploring Arizona – Saguaro National Park: A Desert Wonderland).

The ETdZ is a 3-day cycling event centered in the Cochise County city of Sierra Vista, Arizona. It is held in early to mid-Spring each year and is organized by the Sierra Vista-based Velovets cycling club and by the Tucson-based Perimeter Cycling organization. The routes for the event are patrolled by a trained and knowledgeable volunteer SAG (Support and Gear) crew and there are refreshment / aid stations every 10-15 miles along the routes.

Weather for the event is variable but usually comfortable since it occurs early enough in the year to avoid oppressive summer heat. The variability of the weather can have a downside; in 2024 it snowed on the third day of the event and the Sheriff called off that day’s ride to Tombstone due to safety concerns!

The ETdZ is the kind of cycling event I love – each day a supported ride out of a central hub to some interesting location and then return to the hub where there are food trucks, beer tents, and music are waiting to close out the day.

I first attended the El Tour de Zona on the first year it was offered in 2022. I enjoyed it so much that I’ve returned each Spring since then, except for 2025 due to an injury.

The hub for the ETdZ is Veterans Memorial Park in Sierra Vista, all event rides begin and end there.

The days of the ETdZ are organized as follows:

Day 1 – 27 mile Loop from to Ramsey Canyon Preserve.

After winding several miles through town, this route then climbs for 2 miles at grades ranging from 3%-6% until reaching the event aid station on the idyllic grounds of the Ramsey Canyon Inn B&B.

Just above the Ramsey Canyon Inn is the Ramsey Canyon Preserve visitor center.

The Ramsey Canyon Preserve boasts an outstanding variety of plant and animal life, including such Apache and Chihuahua pines, the ridge-nosed rattlesnake (the official Arizona state reptile!), the lesser long-nosed bat, the elegant trogon and Rivoli’s and Anna’s hummingbirds, all of whom enjoy the Preserve’s moist, cool environment so unusual in the desert Southwest.

The return to Veterans Memorial Park from the Ramsey Canyon Preserve consists of an invigorating 2-mile downhill followed by a winding route back to the park through Sierra Vista.

Here is the Day 1 route as presented in the 2026 ETdZ Riders Guide:

Here is Señor Trail resting in the shade of one of the trees in the park after the ride to Ramsey Canyon.

Day 2 – 63 mile loop to Bisbee, Arizona

Bisbee, Arizona is an old copper mining town located about 30 miles to the Southeast of Sierra Vista. The “Copper Queen Mine”, the town’s largest employer closed operations in 1975 and instead of withering away, Bisbee pivoted into being a tourist destination. The Copper Queen mine tour is excellent. Below are a few photos of Señor Trail on the mine tour.

Bisbee itself is an eclectic town that has a thriving downtown cultural scene with coffee shops restaurants, hotels, pubs, and art galleries, all the while embracing its mining past.

The 63 mile loop to Bisbee consists of an 8.5-mile slight downhill out of Sierra Vista followed by a vigorous uphill for about 14 miles until you reach the top of Mule Pass.

For a time Mule Pass was believed to be a point on the Continental Divide. However, more accurate surveying revealed that the real Continental Divide lay a little over 100 miles to the east. The Continental Divide monument is still there, though.

The downhill from Mule Pass into Bisbee is an invigorating one. Once in Bisbee you can check your bike into the Bike Corral and explore the town.

As you leave Bisbee, you pass the “Lavender Pit” former open pit copper mine.

The remaining ride back to Sierra Vista takes you along highway 90 and then along a pleasant backroad, Herford Road, back into town.

Here is the Day 2 route to Bisbee from the 2026 ETdZ Riders Guide:

Day 3 – 37 mile out-and-back ride to Tombstone.

This is my favorite ride of the event. Tombstone, of course, is the site of the famous gunfight between the Earp brothers (and Doc Holliday) and the Clanton cowboy gang.

Also, this day’s ride to Tombstone as part of the ETdZ is the only time you can safely ride your bicycle from Sierra Vista to Tombstone because the Sheriff closes Charleston Road to automobile traffic, allowing only bicycles on the road.

The route to and from Tombstone is along a rolling desert highway with scenic vistas for nearly the entire length of the ride. Along this route you will also pass South Brunckow Road

A trail that is about a mile long connects South Brunckow Road the site of Bruckow’s Cabin about which I’v previously written: Exploring Brunckow’s Cabin: Arizona’s Haunted History

Arriving in Tombstone after the 17-mile ride from Sierra Vista you check your bike into the bike corral and proceed down Allen Street past the Birdcage Theater.

Tombstone embraces its history and caters to the tourists who seek to learn more about it and celebrate it. Here are a few more immersive photos of Tombstone.

For an even more immersive experience, here is a video of a walk down Allen Street in Tombstone.

Since this ride is the last one of the ETdZ event, the return to Sierra Vista is a bit anticlimactic. The food trucks and beer tents are gone and no music is scheduled for the evening. However, the memory of the day and of the event lingers long after it is completed.

I have found the El Tour de Zona to be an enjoyable, well-organized event that gets better organized each year. Because it is so far south, the warm Spring climate near the US-Mexicsn border makes it is one of the first cycling events of the year that I care to attend. The varied cycling routes along with the interesting destinations make this event one I return to year after year.

You can get more information about this event on the event website: El Tour de Zona