This past weekend we took a little road trip from our condo in San Diego and ventured east to Prescott Arizona. Although we were only there for a couple days we packed in a lot of sightseeing and hiking. What a beautiful, fun, and great place that I hope we visit again.
Willow Creek Reservoir/Willow Lake
Our first stop upon our arrival to Prescott was Willow Creek Reservoir also called Willow Lake. There are a couple places you can park, but our GPS took us to a free parking area on Willow Lake Road. Another parking option is near Heritage Park where the boat ramp is located.
After parking the car we found a dirt path and started to walk toward the water. There were huge boulders all around and the water was just on the other side of them. Although the rocks in the background are beautiful we were not overly impressed with Willow Lake. It seemed rather small with a lot of marshland. We hiked around the area, climbed on the rocks, and enjoyed our introduction to Prescott.
Sunny and I give Willow Creek Reservoir 2 out of 4 paws up. It’s a nice spot for a hike, but there are so many more challenging and interesting areas in Prescott that we would rather visit. We loved climbing on the big boulders and getting a taste of the scenery in the area. We also encountered quite a few people riding their bikes on the trail and we prefer not to share the trail with bikes. We don’t know what it was like near the boat ramp, but may have a different opinion of that area.
Watson Lake Park
Our next stop was Watson Lake Park, which isn’t too far from Willow Creek Reservoir. What we found at this park was breathtakingly beautiful. We entered the park off of 89 and drove past the children’s play area toward the north boat ramp. After parking the car we walked toward the ramp and found several people taking photos of the birds and a family just finishing kayaking. After checking out the lake we found a trail to the right and started hiking.
The trail starts with some uphill climbs and then you start to see views of the lake. As the trail continues you climb up on top of some rocks with amazing views of the lake. The cover photo on this post is from the top of our climb. We instantly wished we had our kayaks so we could explore this area from the water. After taking in the views we turned around, retraced our steps, and returned to the car.
Sunny and I give Watson Lake Park 4 out of 4 paws up. It’s breathtakingly beautiful, has challenging climbs, and the opportunity to kayak. For us there’s not much better. The park has ample parking, restrooms, and a nominal entry fee of $3. This allows access to this park and many other Prescott parks for the day.
There are many areas throughout Prescott where you can access or hike around Watson Lake. The map below shows the many trails around the lake. We were lucky enough to investigate a few more of them during our stay.
By the time we returned back to the car we were pretty tired as it’s nearly a seven hour drive from San Diego to Prescott. We decided it was time to get to our hotel, check in, have some dinner, and plan our next day.
Downtown Prescott
We started our next day by exploring the historic downtown. There are so many shops and restaurants and a beautiful city hall. Since we had Sunny with us we didn’t do much shopping or stop in any of the restaurants. One place we did explore was the Hike Shack. This store, located at 104 N. Montezuma Street is a hiker’s paradise. You can find everything you could ever want for your hiking and backpacking adventures.
After walking around the square we crossed the street and walked near city hall. This area has park benches, a memorial to a fallen fire-fighting team, and several sections of grass. Sunny enjoyed exploring that and all the smells from the other dogs.
We found the historic downtown to be quite nice early in the morning with only a few other people walking around. Later in the day we drove through on the way to Goldwater Lake and it was quite busy. I imagine on Friday and Saturday evenings or during local events it’s quite popular.
Granite Garden Trails
Our next stop, Granite Garden Trails, was just as amazing as the trails at Watson Lake Park. We found a parking area off East Granite Dells by using Flume and Watson Trailhead on our GPS. The entrance to the gravel parking area has a trailhead parking sign. The lot has room for quite a few vehicles and has a port-o-potty to the left.
After parking the car we found a trail to the right and immediately started to climb up large boulders. The climb took us next to, between, and onto huge boulders, thus the name Granite Garden trails. We climbed for a while and then the trail opened to a more forested area. Then we did more climbing and ended up at an area overlooking the beautiful rocks in the distance. Since we had another spot to visit we decided not to hike any further and retraced our steps back to the car. You could hike quite a distance here and we would love to return to check out more trails.
Sunny and I give Granite Garden Trails 4 out of 4 paws up. The only downside is it’s not an easy hike, but it’s well worth the effort for the views. We also loved that there was a nice parking lot with a port-o-potty.
Peavine Trail
Our next stop was the Peavine Trail which is a bike trail using the remnants of Prescott’s first railroad. We accessed it from the south trailhead located at 1624 Sundog Ranch Road. The parking area is quite large and requires a $3 fee paid at a self-pay kiosk.
After passing the self-pay kiosk and the entry gate there is a restroom and some covered picnic benches. The trail continues past these and after a short distance there is the option to walk to the left toward the woods. Since the main trail is frequented by bikes and e-bikes, we opted for the trail in the woods. This section travels over a bridge and past Watson Lake. Eventually it takes you to the parking lot for Watson Lake Park. At this point we turned around and headed back to the car.
Sunny and I give the Peavine Trail 3 out of 4 paws up. We liked being able to walk through the woods and not having to deal with the bikes. We also liked that there was plenty of parking and a restroom. This hike is great for those with mobility issues or looking for a less challenging hike. It’s not nearly as scenic as Watson Lake Park or the Granite Garden trails, but still is quite nice.
By this time we were ready for lunch so our next stop was Robek’s Fresh Juice & Smoothies on Willow Creek Road. If you like acai bowls, we highly recommend Robek’s. The bowls are delicious, full of fresh fruit, and reasonably priced. It was such a nice day that we sat at the tables outside enjoying our bowls. Sunny loved sharing my blueberries and bananas.
Goldwater Lake
Our last stop was Goldwater Lake which has an upper and lower lake. We wanted to check out the upper lake so we used 2875 S. Goldwater Lake Road in our GPS. After parking we found a trail in the woods that we later found out was the Goldwater Loop Trail. This trail had us walking through a forest of evergreen trees. It was so peaceful and beautiful.We followed the trail around the lake and across the dam to the lower lake. At the parking area of the lower lake we turned around and retraced our steps to the car.
Sunny and I give Goldwater Lake 3 out of 4 paws up. The park has camping, playground areas for the kids, several areas to fish, plenty of parking, restrooms, and the ability to launch kayaks on the upper lake. The trails are nice, but not nearly as challenging or scenic as the trails around Watson Lake or the Granite Garden. This location was fairly busy the day we visited and I imagine during the spring and summer it is even busier.
Our Rating
Overall we give Prescott, Arizona 4 out of 4 paws up and highly recommend visiting. It’s a beautiful community with endless hiking opportunities. The people are very friendly and dog-savvy. We only saw two people with off-leash dogs and they put on the leashes when other dogs approached. Prescott truly has something for every hiker – challenging rock climbing to flat rail trails. We barely scratched the service during our short visit and hope to return to check out some other trails.