Watson Lake Park

This lake is beautiful with very unique rock formations. We were backpacking the Prescott Circle Trail
so didn’t park, but there were lots of trails and wildlife – endless photo ops!

I’ve hiked here twice in the last year. Every time I’m blown away by the amazing look of this lake! I feel like I’m in a postcard. Kudos to the park service (or other group?) that makes these trails. Just look for the white dots and follow the trail. No easy-​mode paved trails here! Mind you this isn’t for the faint of heart! These trails have some serious climbing happening. Don’t forget your backpack for water & sunscreen! You frequently see all kinds of wildlife — rabbits, lizards (cool to those of us who don’t live here), snakes (careful!), & all kinds of birds. Today we even saw a squirrel yelling perched atop a rock outcropping! I come for the trails. I see that there are also camping spots, but honestly, there isn’t much to them so it’s good if you enjoy camping to some degree, I’m sure.
Just pay at the self-​service gate and you’re on your way! I can’t recommend this place more!

One word… AMAZING!!. Explores sedona, Grand Canyon and the dells all less than 48 hours. This stop was a random pinterest find headed back to Phoenix worth every mile.# must see

Beautiful! Beautiful! Beautiful! This is my go-​to place for kayaking. This lake is what started my obsession with kayaking. Had to get my own. I can kayak for hours and simply get lost in the little coves. Have seen eagles flying around. Great place to bring a picnic lunch. I have hiked the trails around the lakes also. One of my favorite hikes. Rent a kayak for the day at the dock if you don’t have one. Start your kayak obsession like me!!!

Beautiful park, nice size, not too large. Incredible scenery. Hiking trails were easy and family friendly. The lake was perfect for kayaking.

This park offers a great scenic view of both the surrounding hills and the rocks that cover the perimeter of the lake. There are numerous walking/​hiking paths and kayak rental. Parking is $ 2 admission however covers you for other Prescott parks for the day as well so it’s quite the steal. I’ll be back again in the spring/​summer for some kayaking (imo it was way too cold for it on Christmas Eve but I did see a couple kayakers out).

Prescott is a pretty cool town. There are lots of cool outdoor activities available like rock climbing, mt. biking, kayaking. Lets talk about the rock climbing. That is why I’m at Watson Lake. The scenery of Watson Lake resembles Joshua Tree National Park but only if JTNP was under water. Extra cool points for that factor. The scenery is amazing. The rock climbing isn’t nearly up to the caliber of Jtree but the beautiful scenery more than makes up for it.
There are kayakers weaving through the rock formations below. What a cool way to explore this lake! Come during early morning or sunset hours for the most amazing views and best photos. Speaking of photo’s, I noticed a lot of people who parked in the parking lot, walked a few steps, and were having full on photo shoots with their smart phones, an amusing scene to watch. How can you blame them? This gorgeous spot is definitely social media worthy. I do recommend taking more than just two steps onto the site and having a nice stroll on the meandering trail the park services created.

Scenic, easy access, great place to stretch your legs. Have to be out of there by sunset though.

Drove up here from Phoenix, and it’s worth the hour and half drive. I think the lake is just so neat looking with the rock formations considering none of the rocks in the Prescott area really look like that except for this one little spot. I didn’t hike all the way around the Lake, but I see that the trail does take you the whole length around, so next time I think that is what I’ll be doing :3 I also thought it was cool that there’s a launch site for if you wanted to take your paddle boat or kayak and do that as well. The park/​grounds/​everything is kept nicely, there are plenty of benches, tables and places to sit! It looks like it’s a good spot for families, someone just trying to walk their pet or if you want to take pictures of nature itself. There is a 2.00 dollar entry fee but if I remember correctly it gets you into the other parks in the area and obviously they use that money towards what it’s supposed to go towards which is the park and lake itself because everything is clean and well kept :)

This review is for the Peavine Trail only! My parents live about 5 minutes from the trail and I run on it every time I visit them. It is a beautiful experience! The trail is wide and made of fine gravel, so there is a minimal trip hazard. As you walk, run, cycle or horseback ride, you are treated to spectacular vistas of towering red rocks, idyllic streams and clear blue sky overhead. It is so peaceful and serene!

«A photographers dream out here!» is what I saw on one of the photo caption here.
My chance to visit finally came yesteday (it was 95 °F and hot).
Based on some colors I saw for pictures listed here and other website, I decided to read up on the book about understanding exposure before my visit. I think what I learned in the book helped, and I tested with different exposure during my 3 – 4 hours stay there. Rocks and water were photogenic.
Entrance fee to the park was $ 2 but it covers three parks in Prescott. I decided to drive to all three of them. All of them are kept nicely with clean bathroom. I appreciate they maintain parks so clean. They have plenty of ramada area for party and picnics. They also have kayak rental place and several of them were enjoying cool water.
Hiking around is mostly easy, I saw several small children and older generations enjoying the beautiful landscape. They marked trails with white dots and easy to follow.
I was there for photo shooting and kept walking around to find the perfect spot. Hiking boots I had was very helpful climbing some of the area. I was carrying about 30 pounds of gear with me (I used them all) but didn’t have any issues climbing or jumping from rocks to rocks.
Unfortunately some wind didn’t let me take some images I was hoping to get but wind kept me cool from time to time. I would like to come back during different weather/​time, I am sure the park will produce different colors each time.

We love this lake and the hiking trails! Haven’t kayaked there yet but one of these days we will

A very neat place to visit, kayak/​canoe, hike and play frisbee golf. Don’t miss this place!!! Frisbee golfers meet at 4pm on Saturdays and 2pm on Wednesdays, all are welcome and there typically is a group of 15 peeps playing.

This review is for RV camping at the lake.
This is a great local lake for us and we had never thought about camping here. Our two nine year old nieces are staying with us for the summer and we needed somewhere close to camp. Watson Lake fit the bill perfectly. We stayed four days and had a great time. There is plenty to entertain children; big playground with lights that stay on until 10pm, large grass area to run and play, the lake for kayaking and plenty of hiking trails.
Half the campsites have to be reserved online, the other half are first come first serve. The reserved ones provide plenty of shade but no views. The sites are large enough for full size RV’s. Some of the first come, first serve site offer a nice views of the playground, the boulders and a peak of the lake. The others have views of Granite Mtn. which provides great sunset photo ops. During the summer months the campsites open at noon on Thursday so arrive early to get a good site.
Most of the first come first serve sites will fit all sizes of RV’s but maneuvering through the camp area can be challenging. Because of this, it’s mostly tenters that use the sites. I picked a site that fit our 30ft TT and three vehicles (see pics) really well but there is only a couple of sites that have that much space.
No electric hooks up so you’ll have to run a generator. I had to do this a couple of times and felt guilty because there were tenters close by our site.
The camping area is very clean as well as the showers. The only downside to the camping area is that it’s close to a busy road and you can hear the traffic.
Overall it was a good camping location with plenty to do for the kids.

This is a great little park. The lake is nice for kayaking or canoeing, no swimming is allowed however. The hiking trails around the lake are great fun and provide beautiful views of the lake. The picnic areas are nice and there is a big field by the parking area to play in.

Wow we loved this lake! It’s beautiful and has a great trail to hike! My husband, myself, our 10 year old son and our 14 year old daughter loved it! We had a great hike and got awesome pictures! And it only costed us $ 2 to go in… this is a must see if your close! Enjoy and take a camera!

The is a really great park with excellent facilities. It makes the $ 2 parking fee feel like a bargain. I have never tried kayaking there but my husband and I have been a couple times just to hike around the lake and take in the scenery. It really is awe inspiring, especially now that the water levels are much higher than they have been the last couple of years. It is really cool to see this calm cool body of water surrounded by huge multi colored boulders.
They have plenty of areas for picnicking. There is even a huge ramada where my husband’s cousin held his wedding. It was really cool and different. They have some gorgeous pictures!

Simply amazing. The views from higher parking lot are awe inspiring. We ran in to a group of people just coming back from a hike around the lake. He told us it’s about five miles and includes some climbing over rocks and boulders. Some day when we are here again, I would like to go on the hike. The lake is a no wake anywhere lake which means most people are on kayaks. Saw a few canoes with trolling motors. Lots of people bring their dogs to play in the water. I didn’t see anyone swimming but I don’t know why. We didn’t have much time to spend here but I can’t wait to come back the next time we are in Prescott.

I honestly can’t think of a prettier lake I’ve ever been to. It is so worth the drive, which is about 1.5 to 2 hours from Phoenix. You arrive, pay a $ 2.00 fee to park, and can spend the day flying kites with the kids, picnicking, kayaking, hiking, camping or my favorite, finding yourself a nice quiet little spot, and spend a few hours fishing, just taking in the beautiful scenery which consists of bright clear blue sky, white fluffy clouds, smooth large boulders and a calm, blue water. We will be back soon, very soon!

Pros: picturesque, lots of parking, easy to find
Cons: Wrongly marked and confusing trails. Wanted to hike the Watson Loop Trail. Ended up hiking every single trail here; not purposely! The signage says «Follow the white dots.» We did, to our detriment. My friends and I are experience hikers. We should have known better than to blindly trust trail markings. In our defense, we didn’t have a lot of time to plan for this trip.