This past weekend was a lazy weekend - of our month in Prescott, it was the only weekend that I stayed in Prescott; the other four weekends I was teaching in either Sierra Vista, AZ or Johnson, VT. So we mostly just took it easy.
On Tuesday, we went to Goldwater Lake Park. It is a City of Prescott Park that is completely within the Prescott National Forest. I had read that there were trails on both sides of this man made lake. So we set off on the one described as the longer one along the south shore, about 3/4 of a mile each way. The lake is in the mountains a couple of miles further up South Senator Highway from our rental in Prescott. As we hiked along, we could that there were plenty of places to picnic, fish, walk and enjoy the beauty of the lake.
Alas, the trail only went so far.
But much to my surprise, it was just the end of that part of the trail. Patty found that the trail continued on to the dam.
When we got to the dam, Patty noticed this friendly fellow on the trail - he is about three inches from the end of one leg to the end of the opposite leg.
Since this was definitely the end of the trail (the dam and fences made it impossible to go any further), we returned on the route we had come. There were many benches to sit and enjoy the peaceful scenery.
The trail in the city park connects with the trails in Prescott National Forest, so on the way back, we headed out on Trail 396 - it is a four mile trail that connects Senator Highway and Arizona Route 89. And that is part of the 52 mile Prescott Circle Trail, and as the name indicates, circles the city of Prescott. We went out for about 20 - 25 minutes and met this friendly fellow before we turned back and returned to the city park and our car.
On Wednesday, we drove to the other side of own and hiked the Flume Trail into the Watson Lake Loop, part of which overlaps with the Prescott Circle Trail. Both the Flume and Watson Lake Loop go through the Prescott Granite Dells. Wikipedia has what appears to be an accurate description of the Granite Dells:
The Granite Dells is a geological feature north of Prescott, Arizona. The Dells consist of exposed bedrock and large boulders of granite that have eroded into an unusual lumpy, rippled appearance. Watson Lake and Willow Lake are small man-made reservoirs in this formation. [1]
The Peavine National Recreation Trail follows the former railbed of the Santa Fe, Prescott and Phoenix Railway through the Granite Dells. This winding portion of the railroad was known as the "Peavine" because its twisting curves resembled that of a pea vine.[2] It connects to the Iron King Trail,[3] which follows the route of the old Prescott & Eastern Railroad through the eastern Granite Dells. Both are rail trail conversions.
The Flume Trail follows Watson Creek, the outflow of man made Lake Watson. Watson Lake Loop circles the lake in just under five miles. We hiked part of that loop, starting from the dam.
As we hiked, we came to a choice - steep or steeper. We chose steep and the sign was as advertised - the trail took us fairly quickly from below the dam up to an overlook above the dam and Lake Watson.
We went back down the steep trail (again avoiding the steeper trail) and headed back on a trail that paralleled the Flume Trail - but instead of following Watson Creek, this trail took us across the tops of several of the dells before descending back to the trail head and our car.
And so we had two days of nice, interesting hikes before I had to get ready for my Wednesday evening trip to Chicago and on to Vermont.
On Tuesday, we went to Goldwater Lake Park. It is a City of Prescott Park that is completely within the Prescott National Forest. I had read that there were trails on both sides of this man made lake. So we set off on the one described as the longer one along the south shore, about 3/4 of a mile each way. The lake is in the mountains a couple of miles further up South Senator Highway from our rental in Prescott. As we hiked along, we could that there were plenty of places to picnic, fish, walk and enjoy the beauty of the lake.
Alas, the trail only went so far.
But much to my surprise, it was just the end of that part of the trail. Patty found that the trail continued on to the dam.
When we got to the dam, Patty noticed this friendly fellow on the trail - he is about three inches from the end of one leg to the end of the opposite leg.
Since this was definitely the end of the trail (the dam and fences made it impossible to go any further), we returned on the route we had come. There were many benches to sit and enjoy the peaceful scenery.
The trail in the city park connects with the trails in Prescott National Forest, so on the way back, we headed out on Trail 396 - it is a four mile trail that connects Senator Highway and Arizona Route 89. And that is part of the 52 mile Prescott Circle Trail, and as the name indicates, circles the city of Prescott. We went out for about 20 - 25 minutes and met this friendly fellow before we turned back and returned to the city park and our car.
On Wednesday, we drove to the other side of own and hiked the Flume Trail into the Watson Lake Loop, part of which overlaps with the Prescott Circle Trail. Both the Flume and Watson Lake Loop go through the Prescott Granite Dells. Wikipedia has what appears to be an accurate description of the Granite Dells:
The Granite Dells is a geological feature north of Prescott, Arizona. The Dells consist of exposed bedrock and large boulders of granite that have eroded into an unusual lumpy, rippled appearance. Watson Lake and Willow Lake are small man-made reservoirs in this formation. [1]
The Peavine National Recreation Trail follows the former railbed of the Santa Fe, Prescott and Phoenix Railway through the Granite Dells. This winding portion of the railroad was known as the "Peavine" because its twisting curves resembled that of a pea vine.[2] It connects to the Iron King Trail,[3] which follows the route of the old Prescott & Eastern Railroad through the eastern Granite Dells. Both are rail trail conversions.
The Flume Trail follows Watson Creek, the outflow of man made Lake Watson. Watson Lake Loop circles the lake in just under five miles. We hiked part of that loop, starting from the dam.
As we hiked, we came to a choice - steep or steeper. We chose steep and the sign was as advertised - the trail took us fairly quickly from below the dam up to an overlook above the dam and Lake Watson.
We went back down the steep trail (again avoiding the steeper trail) and headed back on a trail that paralleled the Flume Trail - but instead of following Watson Creek, this trail took us across the tops of several of the dells before descending back to the trail head and our car.
And so we had two days of nice, interesting hikes before I had to get ready for my Wednesday evening trip to Chicago and on to Vermont.
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