Arizona Trailblazers Hiking Club
Groom Creek Loop Day Hike
| when |
Trip Report :
April 24, 2021
|
| |
Trip Report :
April 20, 2019
|
| |
Trip Report :
May 13, 2017
|
| |
Trip Report :
April 23, 2016
|
| |
Trip Report :
October 13, 2012
|
| |
Trip Report :
October 10, 2009
|
| |
Trip Report :
October 13, 2007
|
| |
Trip Report :
October 7, 2006
|
| |
Trip Report :
September 20, 2003
|
| |
Trip Report :
December, 2002
|
| |
Trip Report :
June 20, 1998
|
| where |
Prescott |
| the hike |
Walk off your doldrums in the cool forest of the Bradshaw Mountains as
we follow the trail up South Spruce Ridge to the lookout tower.
Starting in a granite-based ponderosa forest, the trail steadily
climbs 1,400 feet up to Spruce Mountain, then loops back down to
the trailhead. Pines make up the predominant feature, but enough
stands of Gambel oak exist to have inspired the town of Groom
Creek’s original name of Oakdale. A large forest of oaks on the
trail’s south edge weaves a cozy thicket with crooked, spindly
trunks. Along South Spruce Ridge, a sprinkling of white fir follows the
trail; their frosty blue-green needles practically beam through
the green cover.
A very scenic trail, it passes through stands of ponderosa pine and
white fir. On the ridge, where trees do not obstruct the view, you
can get panoramic views of the Prescott area, Crown King, Mingus,
and on a clear day, the San Francisco Peaks.
The Groom Creek Loop is described in Ganci, Dave, Arizona Day Hikes
(5th. ed.), Sierra Club Books, San Francisco, CA, 1995, pages 173-176,
with a map on page 174.
|
| distance |
9 miles |
| time |
6-7 hours |
| EC |
+-1600' elevation change |
| elevations |
6331' (Wolf Creek) to 7696' (Spruce Mountain Lookout Tower) |
| type |
loop |
| starting at |
| Groom Creek Trailhead |
34° 27.850' N, 112° 25.431' W [NAD27]
|
|
| on trail |
100% — Groom Creek Trail #307 |
| rating |
"B"
Rate yourself as a hiker. |
| dogs? |
no |
| cost |
Carpooling is allowed as long as everyone wears a mask.
Sharing gas expenses with the driver. The club also allows voluntary contributions
of $5 per non-member. |
| weather |
Prescott |
| meet |
7:00 AM at I-17 and Carefree highway MacDonald’s. Park against the wall.
|
| drive |
| • |
Take I-17 north to Exit 262. |
| • |
Drive west on AZ 69 to Prescott. |
| • |
At Mount Vernon Avenue (which turns into Forest Road 52, the Senator Highway),
turn left.
|
| • |
Go 6.5 miles south to the trailhead. |
|