Groom Creek Horse Camp
Prescott, Arizona
June 5-9, 2017
Although this is only our second road trip,
we were thrilled with this Horse Camp.
The corrals are 16x16,
not huge, but roomy enough for 2 horses who are already buddies!
And room enough to add your own portable pen.
For those of you looking at the Campground Site Map,
we were at #33. Close but not too close to the vault toilets and potable water
(although all of the sites are fairly close to these amenities)
And not too close to the Group Campsite.
The Campsites are enormous,
so parking our 40' trailer wasn't a problem at all.
Nice picnic table and fire pit as well.
There is a nice assortment of riding opportunities.
2 main trails start directly from the Campground,
and then have forks and loops of
varying lengths to accommodate your mood or ability.
We did the 9.5 mile Groom Creek Loop the first day, clockwise.
It climbs to the top of Spruce Mountain where there is a Fire Lookout Tower
and wonderful views of the surrounding area.
Most of the trail is soft dirt,
but there are a few rocky sections that aren't really a problem at all.
It's a good climb of about 1,100 feet.
That's Granite Mountain in the distance.
We found a lovely spot for our picnic.
This trail is so lovely in the cool pines!
Heading back down, the descent wasn't too steep,
but there were a few places where the bank to our left had a good drop off.
Nothing a sure-footed horse will have any problem with though!
The next day we went into Prescott,
but did have time for a short ride around the Campground in the afternoon.
There is an inner short loop, and an official 2.5 mile Horse Camp Loop that isn't marked very well.
We ended up doing a shorter loop and then backtracking
to give us almost that distance anyway!
Look for an open gate on the northwest end of the inner loop heading down a hill ...that's the loop!
Or ask one of the Campground Custodians,
they were extremely helpful, should have asked them first ourselves!
Day #3 we did the 6 mile Wolf Creek Loop.
At the bottom is the Hassayampa River.
OK...so it doesn't look much like a river here,
but it becomes more of a river as it flows into Wickenburg.
It begins just a few miles from here, hence the water was very fresh and tasty!
Golden Columbine
Buddies at Lunch, waiting patiently for their carrots!
Full Moon in the Pines on our last evening...
Here's the link to this Campground:
https://www.fs.usda.gov/recarea/prescott/recreation/horseriding-camping/recarea/?recid=67177&actid=30
