Prescott National Forest Overview
Central Arizona's Prescott National Forest straddles the extremities of the Sonoran Desert and the Bradshaw Mountains—in between, the terrain's gradual metamorphosis encompasses desert grasslands, chaparral, canyon hardwoods, pinion-juniper woodlands, and ponderosa forests.
Explore Sycamore Canyon as it eviscerates the Mogollon Rim, laying open a colorful labyrinth of crimson cliffs, red sandstone, white limestone, and lava flows. Over 450 miles of trail snake their way through the Prescott like a sidewinder on the sun-baked desert, as well as along switchbacks up the timbered slopes of towering sentinels like the 7,628-foot Towers Mountain. It's no mirage; river rafters can actually float through the desert in the arid sections of this mystical forest of cactus and sand.
Prescott is also a forest rife with Western folklore—names like Lonesome Pocket, Yellowjacket Gulch, Grief Hill, and Horsethief Basin evoke the West's wilder days. At Battle Flat in 1864, five cowboys held off 150 Indians in a do-or-die gunfight. Gold seekers were constantly skirmishing with Native Americans in these parts.
In the early 1860s, Captain Joseph Walker led an expedition of 34 men into Apache territory after being told by an Indian "there's gold in those mountains." One of the members of the expedition, Sam Miller, found what he thought was a dead lynx in a gold-filled creek. He tried to pick it up, it suddenly came back to and life clawed him something fierce—ever since the creek has been known as Lynx Creek.
Follow GORP's advice so they won't be naming any landforms in the forest after you, like Lost Tourist Gulch or Ruined Vacation Bluff.
Hike the Black Canyon
The Black Canyon Trail starts at Quail Springs at an elevation of 4,100 feet and continues upward for 6.6 miles until it reaches Forest Road 413 at 6,400 feet. Along the way, you'll have views of the Verde Valley, red rocks above Sedona, overlooks into Black Canyon, and in the distance, the volcanic San Francisco Peaks.
Explore the Little Grand Canyon
If you like canyons, then the Sycamore Canyon Wilderness is for you—the canyon winds its way for 20 miles along Sycamore Creek and cuts across the Mogollon Rim. Often referred to as the Little Grand Canyon, this wonder created by wind and water offers vistas of towering spires and serpentine canyons in a cathedral of solitude.
Raft a Desert River
The headwaters of the 200-mile Verde River can be found just north of the town of Prescott and they boast Class II, III, and (sometimes) IV rapids. Cactus cling to canyon walls as willows and tamarisk line the riverbank. Summer in the desert is ridiculously hot, so consider rafting the Verde during the spring. On the other hand, August monsoons lure rafters seeking the whitewater surge brought on by torrential rainfall. You decide.
Pan for Gold
Stop staring at the computer screen. Get out of the office and start panning for gold. Head for Lynx Creek, where you can pan for gold just like the prospectors did in the 1800s, when more than 1,600 prospectors crowded into the Bradshaw Mountains. Besides, you might have a knack for panning—it's all in the wrist.
Butt Heads with Bullheads
The Verde River offers primo fishing for bullheads, smallmouth bass, and channel catfish. Lynx Lake has some sweet trout fishing. And you can reel in crappies, catfish, bluegill, and largemouth bass at numerous water impoundments around the forest.
