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A Coalition of Non-motorized Trail Users
Creating Trails & Save Outdoor Spaces
As an organization we are concerned not only with building and maintaining sustainable trails, we are partners in creating safe outdoor spaces for our citizens and visitors to enjoy. As the municipalities grow, so does the traffic on our trail systems. YTA has a goal of increasing community awareness of trail etiquette, trail safety, user education, and continuing our practice of maintaining our trails at a sustainable standard.
You
Donate
As a very small entity with limited resources (but hard working volunteers) we need financial help in reaching these goals. So much of what needs to be done, requires marketing, publicity, and publications.
We Write
Grants
Our goal is to turn every dollar you donate into more funds by researching and writing grants for projects to continue the endless work to maintain and improve our trail systems.
Support
Trails
For example, in 2018, we received a grant for $12,824 for connectivity improvements to the Peavine Trail from Prescott to Chino Valley and $6,000 to provide a kiosk in the Dexter Neighborhood Community Garden.
Our major donors & supporters
We would like to thank these individuals and organizations for sharing our vision of protecting and preserving trails in our area.
Jill Anderson
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David Fero
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Dave Fizzell
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Susie Hehlen
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Ann Hendrickson and William Otto
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Susan Lucas
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Joyce Mackin
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Jan Mallon
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Jim Pessin
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Bryon and Sally Prinzmetal
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Nigel Reynolds
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George Sheets
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Bill Stafford
Proud Founders of
Prescott Circle Trail
The Prescott Circle Trail is a network of our best non-motorized trails that combine to make a 54 mile loop around Prescott. The PCT is jointly managed by the City of Prescott (25 miles) and Prescott National Forest (29 miles). The trail comes as close as three miles to downtown Prescott and is easily accessible with 15 trailheads along its length. A lap of the PCT has about 6000 feet of elevation gain and can be enjoyed as an adventurous one or two day trip or a multi-day trip over a period of days, weeks or months. Three of Prescott’s four seasons – spring, summer, and fall – offer superb conditions on the PCT.
Yavapai Trails Facebook
Current News & Events
Prescott trail usage tops 1 million for first time -- For years, Prescott’s trails have been a bit of a hidden treasure, attracting a steady, but manageable, level of annual growth.
That changed in spring 2020, however, when the COVID-19 pandemic brought a flood quarantine-weary users to the city’s trails.
Starting in about April 2020 and running through October, city officials were reporting that in some cases, individual trails were seeing double or triple the users of the year before.
In a recent year-end report, the Prescott Recreation Services Department reported that those numbers helped to propel trail use in Prescott to a new annual high.
Overall for 2020, Prescott’s trail use topped the 1 million mark for the first time — ending the year at about 1.1 million users. That compares with about 880,000 uses in 2019.
In a message for the department’s newsletter, Trails and Natural Parklands Coordinator Chris Hosking noted that some trails showed 30% to 90% increases for the year.
“2020 was a weird and challenging year, for sure,” Hosking wrote. “But one good fact is people felt safe outdoors, and our increased numbers show that.”
Popular routes like the Watson Lake trails near the Highway 89 overlook grew in popularity by almost 80% over the past year, going from 68,132 uses in 2019 to 121,847 in 2020.
Also showing dramatic growth was the Peavine Trail, which went from 59,020 in 2019 to 90,272 in 2020 (53%), and the Willow Lake trails, which grew in usage from 70,001 to 118,300 in 2020 (69%).
Read more at www.dcourier.com/news/2021/mar/04/prescott-trail-usage-tops-1-million-first-time/
Just a heads up on work scheduled to occur in the Lynx area including 305 trail near Eagle Ridge CG. Goals Include: improve visibility of trail
users (on the 305) and vehicles travelling the access road (safety), improve vegetation health and vigor, improve fire resistance/defensibility of recreation facilities, while being considerate of scenic integrity. Fire crew performing the work will make sure they have people watching trails and roads.
Please forward to your respective groups if you have not already done so.
WORK COMMENCES ON FRIDAY FEBRUARY 26, 2021
Trail Closures on the Bradshaw Ranger District Due to Thinning Operations along HWY89 – White Spar Road
Prescott, AZ, February 5th, 2021– Beginning on Monday, February 8th a contractor will begin using heavy equipment to thin trees on 135 acres of Prescott National Forest land on the Bradshaw Ranger District. The Schoolhouse Stewardship Project is located south of the City of Prescott on both sides of Highway 89-White Spar Road, along Jack Pine Road and Ponderosa Park Road. Thinning operations will initially start in the area north of the community of Ponderosa Park. Map (227 KB PDF)
Thinning operations are dependent on weather and soil conditions, but visitors can expect equipment to be in the area for the next 1-2 months. A section of the project is located adjacent to the Prescott Circle Trail. As the contractor moves through the area, portions of the Circle Trail and other system trails will be periodically closed, and trail users will be re-routed to other system trails. In addition, the White Spar Trailhead, located by the White Spar Campground may be closed during a portion of this time.
As the operator moves through the project area, numerous signs will be posted to make trail users aware of thinning operations, the status of trail closures as well as alternate routes. Measures will be taken to protect the surface of trails and impacts will be remedied by the contractor and the Forest Service as needed. In addition, there will be increased truck traffic along Highway 89-White Spar Road and Ponderosa Park Road.
At present, operations will focus in the area around Ponderosa Park. Trail 382 which will be closed to maintain public safety. As work progresses up to Jack Pine Road a portion of Trail 9415, which makes up part of the Prescott Circle Trail, will be closed to maintain public safety.
Prescott National Forest personnel will also ensure that agency approved events will experience only minimal interruptions. Until mechanical operations are concluded, Forest Managers recommend that visitors take advantage of recreational opportunities on the north side of Copper Basin Road, Spence Basin, Granite Basin Recreation Area, or the Lynx Lake Recreation area.
The intent of the project is to improve the health and resiliency of fire-adapted ecosystems while reducing hazardous fuels that pose a threat to life and property in the Wildland-Urban Interface.
Stay up to date on Prescott National Forest news by checking the Prescott NF website and following us on Facebook and Twitter.
It's really going to be messed up with the ground being so wet. Those big machines do lots of damage
Trail #347 has been posted to alert MTB users to "slow down" or lose the privilege of using this trail. This is a heavily used multi-purpose trail that has recently experienced user conflict. Severe brushing of blind corners has been mitigated. Let's all be more careful. This is a beautiful trail to be enjoyed by all. Let's respect the right of way. Happy trails.
I recently moved 2 miles North of the WV trailhead for this trail and ride here a couple days a week, always mid-week and I've seen a grand total of TWO other bike riders and they were together....a guy who appeared to be teaching his beginner girlfriend how to ride. I run across multiple horse riders EVERY ride and always pull off the trail for them. Every single one of them has thanked me for pulling over and a few have added that they appreciate me having a bell. I'm guessing that if there is conflict it is usually on weekends. I think I counted 15-20 horse trailers out there last Saturday. Consequently, I don't ride there on weekends. It would be pretty simple to have it be "no bikes" on weekends to alleviate most of the issues.
So basically the people that don’t want mountain bikers can just complain about mountain bikers and get there way.
If conflict is so ubiquitous that closure is truly being considered, I don’t get why U.S. Forest Service - Prescott National Forest just wouldn’t consider alternate day use on such a highly trafficked, popular flowy trail instead, particularly when it’s an essential part of a loop. Or build a parallel bike-only or horse-only trail to preserve the loop option for both user groups. I guarantee a complete ban would cause more problems than it would solve through poaching - that’s just reality, particularly when it abuts Wilderness area where bikes aren’t allowed anyway. It happens in CA all over the place when trails are completely and permanently closed to one user group. Complete bans are counterproductive, ineffective, and almost never enforceable long term due to lack of resources. There are more effective and more practical solutions.
Yavapai Trails Association thank you for your work on trails that many of us enjoy. I noticed the recent trail work on #347 when I rode it on January 7th. Most Prescott area trails users coexist peacefully on the trails while enjoying our particular hobbies. Like others, my trail use has consisted of hiking, equestrian, jogging, geocaching and mountain biking. It's great when we can get on the trail, enjoy our sport, and return back home safely. Mountain biking and hiking are my current passions. Over the past 4 years of mountain biking, most trail encounters with other users have been friendly. My close calls and one collision have been with other mountain bikers, one jogger and one hiker (both wearing earbuds). Yes, I use a TimberBell, practice trail etiquette, and prefer not cause pain nor be in pain. Is it possible to share links to the incident reports that have caused this trail to be considered restricted to mountain biking? It would be interesting to learn the exact nature of the situations that have caused this level of drama on trail #347. While speed and control is mentioned as a factor, it is completely subjective. Thank you.
Too bad..it’s probably just a few bad apples that ruin it for everyone..
Prescott Circle Trail Challenge™
Have you completed it yet?
Now why not get out and hike it, ride it or bike it yourself! www.yavapai-trails.org/prescott-circle-trail/
You asked. We listened. Chino Valley 4S parking lot now has equestrian boulders in place. Plenty of trailer parking. Please share, please enjoy!
Hello YTA Members with a CableOne.net email account from Sparklight.
We've heard: "Sparklight will discontinue offering residential email service in your area. As a result, your email accounts provided by Sparklight (name@cableone.net) will need to be transitioned to a new email provider ... . Customers with an existing Sparklight email address (name@cableone.net)" may be discontinued as early as December 9, 2020 but no later than end of 2021. support.sparklight.com/hc/en-us/articles/360053681314-Sparklight-Email-Retirement
YTA wants to continue to stay in touch with you, so please let us know if you have a different email address or as soon as you get a replacement email address. Just shoot us an email at yavapai.trails@gmail.com from your new account and tell us who you are and that this is from your new email account for membership contact purposes!
Thanks and good luck!
The Arizona Trail Association has a new Trail Skills Institute Video Series. The videos were produced in partnership with Flagline Trails, American Conservation Experience (ACE) and Arizona Conservation Corps (AZCC).
www.youtube.com/watch?v=WIil87zsEl0&feature=youtu.beClick is the first of three videos currently available: Why We Build Trails? The other two videos cover Desert Brushing Techniques and Evaluating Erosion.
