Bill Williams Mountain, visible to the north from most of the Prescott area, is the westernmost 9,000-foot peak in Arizona. The mountain is named for a preacher/guide/mountain man from North Carolina whose story will weave through the day. We will circle the mountain on the Bill Williams Loop Road starting at Devil Dog Lake just...
The high country east of Verde Valley contains an Arizona rarity, a number of natural lakes, although they do on occasion go dry. We will visit several of these lakes, Stoneman Lake, Ashurst Lake, and the largest of all, Mormon Lake, while exploring the geology and natural history of the area. We will also journey...
Sycamore Canyon enters the Verde River near Clarkdale but begins in the vast Ponderosa Pine forest southeast of Williams. We will travel across to the canyon’s headwaters area from Drake, just north of Chino Valley, visiting JD Dam, Sycamore Point (with incredible views down the canyon), White Horse Lake, and Sycamore Falls, where the creek...
Northwest of Flagstaff is a little-known crater lake, surrounded by meadow and aspen groves, hidden inside a small volcanic cinder cone just east of the Kendricks Mountain Wilderness Area. Our day afield will focus heavily on the volcanic history of the San Francisco Volcano Field surrounding Flagstaff and Williams. We will drive up the access...
Long-time Prescott resident, Gail Gardner (1892-1988) wrote a poem call “The Sierry Petes: Tying knots in the Devil’s Tail” that’s performed regularly by many cowboy poets and musicians. We’ll spend a half-day exploring the Sierra Prieta Mountains south of Prescott, the setting for this poem. Our time will include a short hike on West Spruce Mountain Trail, a visit to the spectacular Sierra Prieta overlook,...
The Northern Bradshaw Mountains overlooking Prescott are the highest range in Yavapai County, peaking out near 8,000 feet. We’ll explore south through this region on the old Senator Highway as far as the site of the town of Goodwin, then head east to Mayer and return via Highway 69. Along the way we’ll visit old...