Over at www.AboutPrescottArizona.com I frequently hear from folks planning to visit or who have just moved to Prescott, and who are looking for places to hike or rent kayaks. There isn’t a forum in which they can interact on that site, so I occasionally give their inquiries a second wind here.

Today I heard from Lynn after he had stopped over at the Prescott site, in search of some local hiking information:

Hi,

I recently moved here. I am a happily married man of 64. I enjoy hiking and do not know any hikers here yet. I have not hiked recently so am looking for something easy with someone with like interest. Both of your favorite Prescott hikes sound simple enough and close enough for cell reception if I ventured out alone. I generally enjoy company while hiking. Is there a book of local hikes?

Lynn

I replied:

Hi Lynn,

Welcome to town. It’s so nice to hear from you.

I often hike alone (but always with my dog) and feel that the trails you referenced are well traveled enough and close enough in that it’s ok to go solo. Now, of course I’ll probably take some flak on that advice, since it is considered very unwise to hike alone at any time.

And, yes, I do get cell reception in those areas, but it (reception) can be very spotty around town as you may have noticed.

At the library you can find some books on local trails, but I’d like to recommend you stop in at the Hike Shack, 210 S. Montezuma St., 928-443-8565. The owner’s name is Dave Ganci and I called to let him know you might be in. You’ll find that the folks at the Hike Shack will be able to recommend some more places to hike and while you’re there, you can pick up the best area trails book, by Ron Smith, now in its third edition.

Here are some other links (that weren’t on my site before, but that I have just added) that might help you out in meeting up with fellow hikers:

Prescott Hiking Club
www.prescotthikingclub.com/

Prescott Outings Club
www.geocities.com/prescottoutingsclub/club_information.html

Yavapai Trails Association
www.yavapaitrailsassociation.org/

Good luck to you and maybe I will see you out there!

Katie

Feel free to chime in if you want to share other hiking ideas.