South Mountain’s San Juan reopens early

One of South Mountain’s popular cycling routes reopened ahead of schedule, Clipped In confirmed with a ranger when visiting the park Tuesday.

San Juan, a six-mile long road that ends at the northwest end of the park is now reopen ahead of its scheduled Oct. 25 opening date.

The road to the summit remains closed indefinitely with a new gate to block its entry.

The summit road, damaged in the last week of August in the heavy rainfall, requires repair to the substructure, shoulders and asphalt surface before it can be opened to the public, said city spokesman Grett Bach.

Officials said although San Juan suffered no damage from the monsoon, the only gate available to close people off from the summit road was at the one-mile mark.

Rangers said the operators of the quarter midget track, a small go-cart-like track for children past the one-mile marker, donated a gate for the summit road so they could access the facility.

On Sunday the park will host “Silent Sunday” where the park is closed to motorized traffic. Global Bikes will also host a demo from 6 a.m. to 2 p.m.

New summit road gate

New summit road gate