Another Arizonan Beauty
Rating: 6/10
Getting there: About 2 hours from Tempe. Take 17 N to 69 west to Prescott. Hwy 69 goes right through town. About 5 miles east of town, at Walker Road (there is a stop light) turn south (left), toward Lynx Lake. Continue about 2.5 miles to the Campground entrance.
Elevation: 6000’
photos: nice and flat (thanks to that retaining wall) with lovely vistas
What I liked the most: It’s beautiful in that Arizona forest way. It’s got ponderosas, it’s a higher elevation (so it’s cool), and views of the lake from many sites. The sites are well spaced, for the most part. In addition to having trails that go to the lake, Lyns Lake Campground also has a trail that crisscrosses it and may connect to Hilltop campground as well. Despite these attributes, Lynx Lake is a pretty standard campground for Arizona, nothing special or remarkable to set it apart–but keep in mind that the “standard” in Arizona is pretty high.
photo below: site #19 has a monkey bar–I mean, railing. If your kid is big enough not to fall through that gap, your safety concerns are over!
Shortcomings: Lynx Lake Campground is carved out of a hillside, so when camping with little ones, there is quite a bit of steep terrain to be aware of. Also, some of the sites are built up to be flat and so have retaining walls with 1-2 foot ledges. The flatness is great and the ledge is sorta cool, but that combined with the steep hillside means little kids would require a lot of supervision to make sure they don’t fall and keep rolling… (this risk varies a lot site to site, of course) Also, the campground is far from the lake (“lakeside” is a relative term). And, the final blow, no swimming in the lake, which is a big downer to a water-baby like me.
Amenities: 36 sites, pit toilets, faucet, fire rings, picnic tables, camp host; Within 5 minutes to Lynx Lake General Store: camping and fishing basics (such as ice cream and soda pop).
Prescott is about 10-15 minutes away, with all the supplies and modern amenities you may need.
Hikes and Excursions: HIKE: Every loop has a trail leading down to the lake. It’s about a 10 minute walk to the lake for an adult. The trails are manageable with little kids, depending on how far you go. There is quite a bit downhill, and therefore uphill — not always easy for little legs. But most older (5 yo +) could handle it, and little ones may need help as it can be rocky, in addition to the hilly-ness. It’s great to have trails down to the lake, but 15 minutes for the downhill direction is too far away from water, in my book. (Of course, my book includes two 40+ pound twins). Even so, the top end (closest to campground) is sweet and mild, then it gets a bit steep as you descend to the lake. So, you could just do part of it and that would be fun too.
LAKE: Now if you want to drive, in 2 minutes you get to the lake. But you can’t swim, only fishing is allowed. The shore is rocky and uninviting anyway (for swimmers). It’s a dammed lake, so not intended for swimming, apparently. You can fish and/or launch your boat. There were several people doing that and enjoying the shore with a folding chair, ice chest and fishing pole in use.
photo: ramada over #19, a double site
Interesting things about Lynx Lake Campground: many of the double sites have a permanent ramada—a roof, over the picnic tables (usu.2- 4 tables), which can be helpful. I, myself, prefer less of the “built” environment when I go camping, so this does not appeal to me, but I can see how many would like it. Also, the D loop and site #4 have a (what I am calling) lantern hook. It’s a metal tube (like from a fence) that is curved over at the top with a hook at the end to hang a lantern (or whatever you please) . That was cool! There’s always something that needs to be hung when camping. See if you can score one of the lantern hook sites! (I couldn’t get a photo of a lantern hook because all those sites were occupied— the campers probably thought I was stalking them so I didn’t have the guts to whip out my camera!)
Best sites: #25 has the balcony effect, complete with beautiful view—great for adults and older kids, not so great with little ones. Loop C, #10 and 12 both have a nice view of the lake.
Site #30, #16 seemed nice also. If you’re in a group, loop H has a few sites that are really well situated for a group–#33-35 are in a triangular pattern. When I was there a group was occupying those sites and they has a volleyball net strung up. It seemed to work really well for group activity and interaction.
Loops—not one that really stands out for me. G seemed a bit more isolated and remote (which is a positive in my book), but they all mostly appealed to me equally.
photo: trail leading to Lake from loop E
Notes on occupancy: It’s a popular place and so you may not be able to waltz in and get your favorite spot. For example, in mid October on a Sunday morning, it was almost completely full. One double site was vacant. Every other one was taken. No reservations are accepted at Lynx Lake Campground.
More info on Lynx Lake: http://www.fs.fed.us/r3/prescott/recreation/fishing/lynxlake.shtml
For another detailed narrative on Lynx Lake, go to http://www.have-fun-in-the-southwest.com/Lynx-Lake-Camping-Prescott-Arizona.html
