Granite Mountain Trail is a 7.9 mile moderately trafficked out and back trail located near Prescott, Arizona that features a great forest setting and is rated as moderate. The trail is primarily used for hiking and is accessible year-round. Dogs are also able to use this trail but must be kept on leash.
dogs on leash
hiking
forest
views
First mile is lovely but pretty barren after that due to a previous forest fire. I'd skip
It if you had only one day to hike in Prescott
beautiful trail would recommend doing this trail in January still cold but beautiful.
Had a blast!
Geat day to the top! Got warm on our decent. Wish we could start at dawn but gates don't open til 6 am, but the hike up was mostly shaded and very enjoyable. Passed a few other hikers and well behaved dogs. The view was hazy but still breathtaking as we ate a snack before our decent.
Just to clarify: this is not the Granite Mountain Hotshots Memorial Trail, as some other reviews had previously alluded. Go to the memorial park website for details on that separate trail. This is a lovely and scenic hike up Granite Mountain itself. Flat and shady for the first few miles then steeper and exposed but rewarding at the top for your hard work!
Isabela B.
Absolutely loved this trail!
Great hike and a peaceful memorial for the 19 hotshots that died there. You start out climbing up on the trail, which is narrow. Very windy, with beautiful wildflowers and charred trees left from the fire. Once you get to the observation deck, you can climb down to the memorial, which is worth it. Not too busy for a Saturday. Well marked trail and great views!
Stonewaller60 S.
Great trail with a pleasant walk though ponderosas then a good pump climb with southern exposure through a burn area to top out. there's also a class 4 climb to get the peak, however you don't need to do it to get the amazing views of Prescott and surroundings. It took me about 5 hours for the hike with a fairly long break at the top. I drank about .5 to .75 gallons of water leaving the trail head at 11 am on a unusually warm early March day. I'm out of shape as well. Happy Trails!
Love this trail, have done it three times. Only sad think is some of the trees near the top burned during a fire a few years ago, and I had hiked it before that, but still is a gorgeous hike. It is strenuous for me, as I'm a little out of shape hiking wise. First times I did it(years ago) with a heavy pack as training, but if you're used to rocky switchbacks this hike won't be hard for you. That's the middle section of the hike, before that and after that is pretty easy. At the top, if you rock scramble a little way further there's like a perfect chair like shaped space to sit and relax before starting back down.
Nicholas T.
Good hard hike. Trail is super wait. In the low ground is very wet an muddy. Streams crossing and going down the trail. High ground there's a lot of snow and ice. I could only make it to the saddle due to snow. It was as high as hip deep(I'm 6'4"). And no one has cleared the path higher than the saddle.