Yavapai County Trips   

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 Apple Creek (an informal name) is a tributary to the Hassayampa River east of Spruce Mountain and crossed by Senator Highway.  Homesteaders and miners have both left their mark on this little drainage.  During this half-day trip, we’ll hike up the creek (about a mile round trip - fairly easy informal trail) while we visit the old abandoned mine and both homesteads.  There’s a standing cabin at one, and many blackberries and several apple trees. This time of year, we may find the apples in bloom, although ripe blackberries will have to wait for fall. Activity Rating: 2. 

Tuition includes transportation and field instruction. Departs 8AM from Prescott campus. 

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Perry Mesa, in Agua Fria National Monument, was heavily occupied by prehistoric people some 700 years ago. There are significant abandoned village sites all across the mesa. One of the largest of these, and one of the least visited, is Baby Canyon Ruin, several hundred rooms perched on a butte on the south side of Baby Canyon, a little over a mile from the Agua Fria River. We’ll visit this site while talking about the prehistory of the area, and a bit of geology and ecology. The hike is about 6 miles total, largely off trail, and includes a nearly 400-foot steep elevation gain at the end to reach the ruin. The footing on the climb is very stable and not hand and foothold climbing, just steep hiking, but a lot of work. Activity Rating: 5.

Tuition includes transportation, box lunch and field instruction. Departs 8:00AM from Prescott Campus.

*Cordes Junction pickup available around 8:30am. 

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This back road exploration will take you from Jerome along the old narrow gauge railroad bed that once led to Chino Valley (formerly known as Jerome Junction), then down to the Verde River at Perkinsville.  From there, we’ll head across to Drake, just off Highway 89 north of Chino Valley.  From Drake we’ll skirt around Prescott and Prescott Valley and back to campus via Mingus Mountain.  Along the way we’ll talk about geology, natural history, the Verde River, the Perkins Ranch, the old railroad, and the mines of Jerome.  Lots of short walks but no serious hiking. Activity Rating: 2. 

Tuition includes ground transportation, box lunch and field instruction.

Departs 8:00AM from Verde Valley Campus. 

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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 mining and homestead sites on Wolf Creek, explore the ruins of the Senator Mine, enjoy distant views from the Mt. Union Divide, and other historic and natural features. We’ll also pass though the burn area of the Goodwin fire of 2017 and talk about fire management and the role of fire in the natural ecosystem. The trip will include about two miles of moderate hiking. Expect driving on bumpy, winding roads. Activity Rating: 2

 Tuition includes transportation, box lunch and field instruction. Departs 8 AM from Prescott Campus.

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This road trip takes Williamson Valley Road all the way to Seligman with a return via Ash Fork and Highway 89. We’ll visit the areas of many early historic sites, including the town sites of Simmons and Walnut Creek. On the return from Ash Fork we’ll stop at the old Little Hell Canyon stage stop and a mysterious and unique signpost from the earliest days of air travel in the county. Along the way we’ll discuss the geology and natural history and many aspects of the human history of the area. There will be a few short walks of up to a quarter mile, but no serious hiking. Activity Rating: 2

Tuition includes ground transportation, box lunch and field instruction. Departs 8AM from Prescott Campus.

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In 1904 Frank Murphy, a renowned railroad builder, built a railroad that many believed was impossible.  This railroad ran from Mayer to the silver mines at Crown King over an unimaginably rugged landscape.  This railroad was so amazing that folks today come from all over the world to view its route.  While the railroad has been gone since 1924, its route is closely followed by a gravel road.  We’ll journey to Crown King, visiting old sites along the railroad route, and talking about the history of the area.  We’ll stop at the site of Bradshaw City, once with a population of 5,000, the Crown King Saloon, dating from 1898, the old Middleton town site, and the Cleator Yacht Club (not to be missed).  Lot’s of short easy walks, but a long bumpy road. Activity Rating: 1

Tuition includes transportation, box lunch and field instruction. Departs 8AM from Prescott Campus.

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The headwaters of the Verde River, just northeast of Chino Valley, is a fascinating area. The springs there are the source of the only perennial river flowing entirely within Arizona. We will hike some distance along the rim and enter the canyon about a mile downstream from the confluence with Granite Creek, hiking upstream to the headwaters springs and a large and little-known rock art site which incorporates both Hopi and Yavapai winter solstice observatory features. We will discuss geology, natural history and prehistory along the way. Total hiking distance about four miles. The climb out, several hundred feet elevation gain, is steep and rocky. We will ford the river once, 12-18 inches deep; suitable barefoot or light water shoe/sandal wading. Activity Rating: 3.

Tuition includes transportation, box lunch and field instruction. Departs 8AM from Prescott Campus.

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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, with great views of Copper Basin far below, and a visit to one of the few Aspen groves in the area, as we talk about the geology, ecology, and history of the range.  Includes about a mile of moderate trail hiking at near 7,000 feet elevation.  Activity Rating: 2. 

Tuition includes transportation and field instruction. Departs 8AM from Prescott campus. 

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