Best E-Bike Trails in Phoenix: Epic Desert Rides

Written by: Kazim Ladimeji | April 24, 2026 | Time to read 6 min

Phoenix is a unique e-Bike riding destination, combining long, flat canal paths with suburban greenways and epic desert trail systems in South Mountains Park.

A key highlight is the Arizona Canal Path, a long-distance heritage trail that runs through multiple cities in Maricopa County, surrounding Phoenix.

For shorter, family-friendly rides, trails like the Skunk Creek Trail and the New River Trail offer flat, accessible routes with numerous parks, recreation areas, and stop-off points along the way. These routes are well-suited to Class 1 and Class 2 e-Bikes, cargo bikes, and city bikes.

For those wanting a more natural setting, the Skunk Creek Linear Park Trail offers a quieter, wildlife-focused ride along a natural creek bed.

If you’re looking for more of a challenge, Phoenix also offers some of the best desert mountain biking in the region. The epic South Mountain Park desert trail system and Papago Park provide a wide range of off-road trails, from highly technical terrain to beginner-friendly routes.

Arizona follows the three-class e-Bike system (Class 1, 2, and Class 3), with Class 1 and Class 2 e-Bikes generally treated like traditional bicycles on roads and bike paths, while Class 3 e-Bikes are typically restricted from multi-use trails.

The popular Skunk Creek Trail snakes alongside Skunk Creek, running from the Eastern edge of Phoenix to Glendale and Peoria. It passes through two parks and recreation centers, including Rio Vista Park (described on trail reviews as a hidden gem) and Glendales Foothills Recreation and Aquatic Center, making this a family-friendly trail with fun places to stop.

This is a flat and easy trail which mixes concrete and gravel, so this might suit a cargo bike or electric city bike with off-road tires, or a fat-tired electric bike. Trail users have reported that the route is poorly marked at some points, so a trail map is recommended. This route merges into the 19.5-mile New River Trail (listed below), so it can be easily extended with proper battery range planning.

This 19.5-mile trail runs through the suburbs of Glendale and Peoria, alongside the mostly dry New River. This fully paved and practical bike lane is also a sporting heritage trail providing access to the University of Phoenix Stadium (where the NFL team Arizona Cardinals Play) and Gila River Arena (where the NHL’s Arizona Coyotes play). The New River bike lane also passes through Rio Vista Park, which includes attractions such as a lake, skate park, splash park, picnic areas, drinking fountains, and restrooms. This trail will suit class 1 and class 2 e-Bikes, city bikes, and cargo bikes transporting kids.

This is a lovely little 3.6-mile shared-use wildlife and nature trail. It is mostly paved and well-suited to families on cargo bikes transporting kids and relaxed rides on Class 1 E-Bikes. It runs along the natural creek bed of Skunk Creek, so great for reptile and mammal sightings. There are parking areas at Union Hills Drive.

If you are looking for a long-distance cycling pilgrimage through Maricopa County, then the Arizona Canal Path is for you. This 72-mile heritage trail runs along both sides of the canal, taking e-Bike riders on a long-distance tour of Peoria, Glendale, Phoenix, Scottsdale, and past the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community (a 52,000-acre Salt River reservation in Maricopa County). Other highlights on the route include Thunderbird Paseo Park (in Glendale), which has four miles of scenic trails and provides access to Skunk Park Linear Trail (mentioned above) and Paseo Neighborhood Park (Peoria).

This 72-mile route is a mix of concrete and crushed stone and would be suited to long distance electric bikes with gravel or fat tires.

South Mountain Park is a 16,000-acre wild desert space with over 50 miles of rugged trails perfect for electric mountain bikes. This is an e-mountain biking haven with 163 e-Bike trails: 16 double black diamond, 16 black diamond, 54 intermediate, and 38 green difficulty trails. There is a trail for everyone. This highly rugged terrain is well-suited to full suspension e-mountain bikes.

Just a few minutes' drive from Phoenix is Papago Park with several miles of mostly smooth natural-surface trails with limited elevation, which are considered easy to moderate difficulty. This is a great option for mountain bike beginners to have a rugged off-road experience. This could suit families with older children with advanced riding skills on fat tire electric bikes.