My favorite outdoor recreation these days has to be paddling around in one of my kayaks. I bring my camera and a journal, a bottle of water and some fruit and cheese, and I feel I have died and gone to heaven.

Prescott lakes are ideal for quiet water kayaking. Take your pick of Goldwater Lake, Granite Basin Lake, Lynx Lake, Willow Lake and Watson Lake. All five are easily accessed via well defined parking spaces, and all are but a few minute’s drive from town. Each presents a unique experience on the lake as well. These lakes are well suited for beginners. At present, none of the lakes allow swimming, so don’t take any planned dunks. (Friend Susy Whann pictured at left, on Watson Lake in May, 2007)

Kayak rentals are available on weekends at Watson and Goldwater Lakes during warm months. Think about this: if you don’t have a rig that can haul a boat that you have borrowed, you’re better off renting. Several area shops have occasional “Demo Days,” in which specific boat companies let you tryout their lineup.

You’ll see lots of different setups for hauling canoes and kayaks around town on rooftops. Mainly you need to make sure you are secure in your tiedowns and that you mount the boat so that you don’t damage it. With the winds in our area, getting your craft secured quickly is sometimes a matter of extreme safety.

When I moved up from a 9-footer to a 12-footer, my pickup truck didn’t work as well, so I have invested in Yakima mounts that clamp onto the side rails of the truck bed. Then I have a set of saddles and a set of rollers into which my boat sets nicely. Considering the kayak is in place about eight feet up in the air, you have to have some personal altitude to be able to use this particular setup.

If you’re after river kayaking, Prescott doesn’t have any, but if you want to travel a little further, try the Verde River over in the Verde Valley. I’m trying to entice friend and author Bob Williams to give us a little more on that subject, so stay tuned. Meanwhile, pick up Bob’s book “A Floater’s Guide to the Verde River”… just Google the title, or check back here soon to see if we have something from Bob!

Goldwater Lake

Directions: Take S. Mount Vernon (becomes Senator Highway) a few miles south of town and you’ll find the turn off.

This is a small lake with lots of plant life, so this makes the going slow at times. It’s a very peaceful lake for beginners. You’ll see people fishing, families picnicking at the playground area, maybe an eagle if you’re lucky. Someone told me you can see beautiful sunsets out there late in the day.

Granite Basin Lake

Directions: Take Irons Springs Road northwest of town for about 5 miles. You’ll see signs for Granite Basin Recreation area on the right.

Now this is a VERY small, shallow lake–to me it’s more of a pond than a lake. I haven’t tried it myself for kayaking, as it seems I would no sooner get going than I would have to turn around and come back. Might be a nice outing with children? Beautiful setting, though, with many wonderful trails, a nice creek to explore, heavily wooded setting, tucked right up next to Granite Mountain itself.

Lynx Lake (pictured right)

Directions: Take Hwy 69 East of Prescott, about 4 miles. Turn right at Walker Road ( you’ll see Costco). Take Walker Road back several miles and you’ll see various access points to the lake.

A kayak rental concession is available here during the summer months. It’s one of our larger lakes. You’ll see lots of birds and people fishing on the water.

Watson Lake

Directions: Take Hwy. 89 north out of Prescott. Turn right at the stoplight at junction of Hwy 89 and Willow Lake Road. Follow the signs to the kayak and sailboat launch area.
This is the lake I head out to most. I love exploring the coves and, at the south end, the Watson Woods area. If you pack a lunch, you can get out of your boat and eat and explore for awhile on foot. Abundant birds, frogs, turtles. Kayaks are available here in the summer months. This is a “no-wake” lake, so you’ll always experience calm waters.

Willow Lake (see cormorant flying above Willow Lake at right)

Directions: Take Willow Creek Road north from Prescott a few miles, past the car dealership area. Turn right at the entrance to Heritage Park. Turn right again, right away, on the blacktop road that leads to Heritage Park Zoo. Follow the blacktop as it bears left and winds around for a ways behind the softball diamond, eventually leading you back to an area where you’ll see ramadas, a pier and the boat launch area.

I LOVE this lake. It couldn’t be explored until 2005 when the boat launch area was completed. Now it’s surrounded by beautiful trails and features an interesting peninsula area. Recently there has been a huge algal bloom and the lake bottom is very shallow to begin with, so going is slow in some areas that are particularly heavy with that green stuff. Water fowl galore, lovely coves - it’s delightful. An added benefit of the shallows is that you rarely will encounter motorized craft.

Contact the Prescott Paddle Club to learn more about paddling activities in the Prescott area.

If you have a great paddling experience in Prescott, let me know In fact, if you want to write a review of a specific lake, send it to me and I may print it in Prescott Gems or mention it in my blog, Loosely Speaking.

Note from ktcosmos:

Before my recent overhaul and update to this site, I posted a few posts on kayaking on another blog I publish. Be sure to also check out:
Kayaking with Dogs

Kayaking as a Metaphor for Blogging

Meanwhile, maybe I’ll see you on the water! Happy paddling!