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Sometimes it is hard to find things to do with kids in certain cities! Prescott, AZ is a town in central-Arizona that was once the Arizona Territory capital before Arizona became a state. It is filled with western folklore, and it is well known by those of us from Phoenix as a place with cooler weather and “Whiskey Row”. “Whiskey Row” is a historic street (Gurley Street is its actual name) with loads of bars and the oldest continuous business in the state (The Palace Restaurant and Saloon). This street is FUN, but it is really more adult-friendly. However, there are plenty of fun things to do in Prescott with kids!
Prescott is an easy and fun trip north of Phoenix, but is also the location of our family golf tournament that just celebrated its 55th year! For this reason, our family travels to Prescott every July to golf and see friends and family.
We were able to explore some kid-friendly fun this year and really enjoyed our adventures outside the golf tournament.
Friday: Prescott Trip Day 1
While the daddies and grandpas played golf on Friday at the local Antelope Hills Golf Course, the moms and kiddos explored some fun things to do. Our first adventure was a hike around Lynx Lake on Lakeshore Trail.
This hike is posted to be about 2.3 miles all the way around. You do have to pay to park, and it is one of those cash-only, on your honor but monitored type of places. Bring your $5 and hang your tag so you don’t have to worry about it.
The West side of the trail from the North parking lot to the South campground is paved and is easily stroller (partially wheelchair) friendly. The East side is dirt and easy for kids but not for strollers. On the East side there is a small section where you need to cross the waterway. The kids LOVED this part, but definitely make sure you are prepared with shoes that can get wet (and maybe a pair to change into if sensitive feet don’t like to be wet for long). This might have been our kids favorite part!
Saturday, Prescott Trip Day 2
Well, this day did NOT go as planned. On our list we had swimming, the Spot Children’s Museum, and the downtown summer craft fair. We nailed one of three! Yikes!
Swimming was literally a requirement because, if our hotel has a pool, swimming is MANDATORY on every vacation we take. Even if it is FREEZING outside, we must swim if the water is habitable. In this case, the weather was warm and the pool was both indoors and heated. Double win.
Can you believe this photo was at 7am!?? I honestly laugh to myself just thinking about it!
After swimming was complete and we were dressed and ready to go, we found out two very sad things: 1) the craft fair we loved to attend each year had occurred the weekend prior due to a conflict in scheduling and 2) the Spot Children’s Museum had just closed its doors. Our plans for the day were definitely changed, but we were not defeated!
Back-up Plan #1: Shop at Target, Buy Snacks
We love Target. Our kids love Target. Target has toys and snacks. Target is always a win-win.
Back-up Plan #2: Buy Food, Make Picnic
After our shopping was complete, we thought it would still be fun to head downtown, even though the craft fair was not in progress. The huge downtown courthouse and surrounding stores make for a lovely place to eat a picnic, play with your dog, throw a football, and play & run around. We wanted to be downtown even if our initial plans had changed because it is just a place to take in the feel of the city.
Back-up Plan #3: Find Ice Cream
Lucky for us one of the local radio stations was out to support one of the local churches. They were spreading the word, giving away prizes, and sharing drinks and free ice cream. The kiddos definitely liked the prospect of free ice cream and quickly forgot about the closed children’s museum.
Ice cream is always good. Free ice cream is the best!
Sunday, Prescott Trip Day 3
Today’s itinerary included The Heritage Zoo and Granite Dells for more hiking.
We found a special deal using a Groupon for The Heritage Zoo which made it very affordable. The Heritage Zoo is more like a zoological sanctuary than an actual zoo since they don’t breed animals, and the vast majority of the animals were rescued from the wild or people who tried to have them as pets.
We saw all sorts of animals including an albino rattlesnake, a brown bear, a llama, a fox, alligators and an emu. A few highlights of our day included:
- Watching the tiger feeding time and learning how they hide her food so she can “hunt”
- Howling at the coyotes and getting them to howl back LIKE CRAZY
- Petting and brushing goats in the petting zoo
- Petting a skink
The Heritage Zoo had a good selection of animals but was still on the small side. In about three hours we were able to see everything once and a few animals twice. For our little group, this worked out perfectly as a morning trip before lunch.
After a quick lunch at the Antelope Hills Golf Course, we headed back out for our final excursion of the weekend. The Granite Dells are these AWESOME rock formations that you can hike through along a pretty little stream. Since we had a decent amount of rain, it made for a good amount of flowing water and a perfect place to dip little feet.
After spending so many weeks in the Phoenix heat, it was such a nice weekend to be spend time outside picnicking, hiking, and seeing some animals.
We are excited for our trip next year (maybe sooner!) and to try out some other hikes and adventures. Have you been to Prescott, AZ? What are your favorite things to do with kids?
