Hike #27 - Granite Gardens Trail Prescott AZ

Hike #27

Date: March 30, 2014 

Location: Phoenix AZ

Hikers: Me & Julio (down by the school yard)

Directions:  
From Phoenix, take I17 North to SR69 Cordes Junction exit.  Go west for 30 miles on SR69.  Turn right on Prescott Lakes Parkway. Continue for 2.1 miles to SR89. Take a right onto SR89 for 2.2 miles. Take a right onto Granite Garden Drive (Dirt road).  The Granite Garden Senior Living Community is on the left side with a big flag.  The dirt road gets bumpy.  If you have a regular car park on the right as you immediately enter. (see picture below). No water or restrooms. 

Mile High Trail System - Prescott Arizona : 

http://cityofprescott.net/services/parks/trails/?id=77
 or
http://cityofprescott.net/_d/trails/granite_gardens_trail_system_map.pdf

Julio and I decided to head north for this hike.  Our plan is to do two hikes, however the wind made our plans change and we stuck to one.  I was also told not to pick a long hard hike.

We started the day walking around the old town of Prescott/Whiskey Row.  It was chilly at 60 degrees and windy.  It looked like it may rain but we never saw a drop.  Finding the trailhead was easier than some of the trip reports made it sound.  The road was marked and the parking was easy.  There was only one other car in the lot.

There is a stairway on the side of the parking lot.  There is a bouldering area if you want to try that.

We headed down the road across a creek/bridge to get to the trailhead. 

There is a creek with a little waterfall. We crossed the bridge to the other side where the trailhead is located. 

The sky is clearing as we start. The wind is whipping but it looks like this is going to be a fun hike.

We decided to start at the Stairway loop and wing it once we were up there.  

This trail is a follow the dot trail. I can honestly say this was the best marked "follow the dot" I have ever done.  Great Job.  I understand this is a new trail. The "Over the hill gang" volunteers that created it did an awesome job.
It is one of the best hikes (fun) I have done.

There is the first dot!  Yeah. We know we are heading up.  

 The quick elevation packs a little punch.  My camera man's heart was racing a little.  He stopped for a quick breather. 

It really is a beautiful area and fun!  

You can see the Granite Creek below. 

How can you beat this view?  

Makes you want to hum the song by Imagine Dragons - 

I'm on top of the World!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w5tWYmIOWGk

So much for the cloudy sky. This is blue! 

The wind has picked up a lot as we climbed to this point.

We wrapped around and made it to the "stairway". 

There are 38 stairs. 

Thus the name of the trail = Stairway Loop. 

We head up the stairs and stopped to take in the beauty of the area. At the top of the stairs there were hooks in the rocks. People must free climb or scale. Whatever it is called.  So far we have not seen a soul.  Amazing! This was our view from the top of the stairs.  We followed the dots to the West and then down, then back to the East.

 At the top of the hill was a bench.  I read on another blog that someone put the bench there and dedicated it to their Dad on his birthday. Pretty cool! This was my view as I called Colleen to say Happy Birthday.  I feel bad that I am in beautiful weather and she is not. :) Sorry!

 

We head down the hill and in the distance we finally see a person.  There was a man hiking with his two dogs. We hiked past him and he headed up the hill we just came down.  

    

Julio and I did a little rock climbing ourselves.

We headed down the hill towards the West.  We saw this cool rock.  Can't miss it!
We finished the StairWay Loop and now decide to hit the Rock Stacker.
This cave was near the trailhead.

 This is our view as we pick up the follow the dots on the Rock Stacker trail.  So many cool views.

See why this trail is called Rock Stacker.  Julio thought this picture looked like a monkey head.  Lots of opportunities to use your imagination. It is interesting how the terrain changes.  On the other side the rocks were more red and then they turn a little grayer.

I often find myself rushing to get to the end of a hike.  Either need to complete it in a good time or keep my heart rate up to get the cardio.  Sometimes it is nice to just sit and take it in.  (and if you bring your friendly photographer you get amazing pictures for your memories)

The Rock Stacker turns into the Grotto Trail. At this point the wind is pretty powerful.  Let's say it is not a good hair day.

This side of the hill we see more cactus.  This one green cactus was really weird.  I will have to look it up.  It was not hard it was flimsy. Almost like something you see in New England.  It is larger than the picture appears.  There were a bunch that were growing around dead brush.

Definition of Grotto = Any type of natural or artificial cave that is associated with modern, historic or prehistoric use by humans. 

OK so no joking here I did not know what a Grotto was. I guess I thought it was a bar in Newburyport. HA HA.  Seriously.  I googled it.  Who knew?

Here is the Grotto.  It was huge and tight.  But fun!  

 Good thing we are skinny!

This was a great hike.  FUN!  We did all the trails in this area.  It is a short hike only 2.25 and only took a little over an hour to explore.  We only saw one person which was shocking. This hike is great for kids too that like exploring.
I will come back here for sure.  Good spot to bring out of town guests.  It is a short ride from Phoenix.

  

We headed to Jerome after and had a great day!

Special thanks to Julio for all the GREAT pictures!  

Hike # 27 - Check it off!!