J.S. Acker Park:
How Prescott Was
Before Prescott Was
TREASURE HUNTS
ACKER PARK main entrance
Start at the main entrance to Acker Park, at the south end of paved Virginia Ave.
PINYON SITE
Cross the bridge. Stay right onto the Ridge Trail. Walk about 50 yards and look for a telephone pole on the right, where the telephone lines cross the trail. Turn left and go uphill. Look for a cluster of oak trees. One of them holds the treasure.
CREEK SITE
Start at the main entrance to Acker Park, at the south end of Virginia St. Cross the bridge and walk up the Ridge Trail. Walk past post # 2. In about 100 yards, look for a large cairn (pile of rocks) on the right side of the trail. Walk down the path toward the creek. The cairns will show you the way. The treasure is hiding downstream a short distance, behind a wood rat nest under an oak tree,
HILLTOP SITE
Start at the main entrance to Acker Park, at the south end of Virginia St. Cross the bridge and turn left on the Hilltop Trail. Follow the trail up to the top until you get to a flat area with a building on top. Go left and walk up the log steps to the hilltop. The solar panel points the way to a large Juniper tree. The treasure is hanging around here.
PICNIC SITE
Start at the main entrance to Acker Park, at the south end of paved Virginia St.
Turn right before the bridge on the trail through the picnic area. Stay left at trail junctions. At the first picnic table on the left, follow the beaten path down to the streambed. Walk up the stream bed about 100 feet. A big juniper tree on the bank is holding the treasure.
GRAMA GRASS SITE
Start at the main entrance to Acker Park, at the south end of paved Virginia St. Cross the bridge and turn left on the Hilltop Trail until you get to the flat area on top. The treasure is hidden in the grass below one of the picnic benches on the flat area.
ACKER PARK south entrance
Start at the south entrance to Acker Park, at the end of Autumn Breeze St.
BLUEBIRD SITE
Walk North straight ahead on the Ridge Trail. At the first junction turn left. Pass the picnic table. Go right at the junction. Walk downhill to post #4. There are bluebird houses on both sides of the trail. The treasure is by one of them.
ROBIN SITE
Walk North down the Ridge Trail. At the first trail junction continue to go straight. Look for signpost # 6. Walk to the right to a green Juniper tree with dead branches coming out of the top. The treasure is hiding nearby.
BIG JUNIPER SITE
Walk straight ahead on the Ridge Trail. At the first junction turn left. Turn left again at the next junction and follow the trail that has interpretive signs. Look for the third exhibit. A large juniper tree is guarding the treasure.
NORTH WATSON WOODS RIPARIAN PRESERVE -
Peavine Trail Head. Start at the Peavine Trailhead. on Sundog Ranch Road.
MAVERICK SITE
Follow the paved trail past the picnic tables. Walk up to the Peavine Trail and go down the steps leading down into the forest. Turn left at the trail junction and follow the trail to the highway bridge. Just past the bridge, turn right on the footpath. Go past two dead trees and keep walking to the plaque mounted on a rock. The treasure is holed up here.
FLOODPLAIN SITE
Follow the paved trail past the picnic tables. Walk up to the Peavine Trail and look for steps leading down into the forest. Turn left at the trail junction and follow the trail to the highway bridge. Continue on the road about ¼ mile until you find a large culvert. The treasure is hiding near the culvert.
COTTONWOOD NORTH SITE
Follow the paved trail past the picnic tables. Walk up to the Peavine Trail and look for steps leading down into the forest. Turn right at the trail junction. Continue walking until you see a giant cottonwood tree. (There’s a sign there). The cottonwood is guarding the treasure.
WILLOW SITE
Follow the paved trail past the picnic tables. Walk up to the Peavine Trail and look for steps leading down into the forest. Go down the trail and into the forest. At the trail junction go straight ahead. Follow the trail as it bends to the right. Continue walking through the willow thicket. Look for a small metal sign with a yellow sticker on it. The treasure is hiding in the willows behind you.
SOUTH WATSON WOODS RIPARIAN PRESERVE -
South Watson Woods trail head. Start at the south trail head of the Watson Woods Riparian Area at the southeast corner of the US 89 and Rosser St. intersection.
MORNING GLORY SITE
Walk south (right) on the trail and into the forest. Follow the trail as it drops into the steam bed and goes up the other side. Follow the trail along Granite Creek until you see a sign about Southwest Rivers. Continue walking and look for a large red willow tree on the left.
COTTONWOOD SOUTH SITE
Follow the road with the red gate to the north. Look for a wellhead. Walk down to the well and keep going straight on the trail. After you enter the cottonwood grove, look for the “Gallery Forest’ sign. A group of three cottonwoods is hiding the treasure.
SUNFLOWER SITE
Start at the south trail head of the Watson Woods Riparian Area at the southeast corner of the US 89 and Rosser St. intersection. Walk through the gate on the left and follow the road until you get to Granite Creek. If passable, rock-hop across the creek. It may be dry in the spring and early summer. Don’t try to cross if it's full of water. Follow the trail to a T-junction. The treasure is guarded by a large cottonwood tree.
PRESCOTT NATIONAL FOREST:
Start at Highland Center: The Highlands Center for Natural History is on Walker Road (turn at COSTCO). The Highlands Center is located two miles north on the left
SQUIRREL SITE
Walk in front of the visitor center and down the ramp to the covered ramada. Take the hiking trail that starts at the lower left side of the ramada. Turn right at the trail junction. Continue straight until you get to the junction with trail # 305. Go straight ahead and then make a quick left. Walk past a bench and look for large dead trees on the ground, upslope from the trail. One of them is hiding the treasure.
OAK SITE
Walk in front of the visitor center and down the ramp to the covered ramada. Take the hiking trail that starts at the lower left side of the ramada. Turn right at the trail junction. Continue straight until you get to the junction with trail # 305. Turn right on # 305. Walk downhill to sign # 11 and into a meadow. The treasure is hiding behind a nearby oak tree.
MOUNTAIN LION SITE
Walk in front of the visitor center and down the ramp to the covered ramada. Take the hiking trail that starts at the lower left side of the ramada. Turn right at the trail junction. Continue straight until you get to the junction with trail # 305. Turn right on # 305. Continue walking downhill until you get to a meadow. Cross the meadow and look for a box high up on a pole. Who lives here? Turn left on Trail 442. Look for a short, round wooden pole. The treasure is hiding in nearby rocks.
LYNX CREEK SITE
Walk in front of the visitor center and down the ramp to the covered ramada. Take the hiking trail that starts at the lower left side of the ramada. Turn right at the trail junction. Continue straight until you get to the junction with trail # 305. Turn right on # 305. Continue walking downhill until you get to a meadow. Turn left on Trail 442.
Follow the trail toward Lynx Creek. Look for a display and bench on the right. Sit down and take a rest. The treasure is resting nearby.
COMMUNITY NATURE CENTER
Drive west on Iron Springs Road and turn right onto Williamson Valley Road. In about1/4 mile turn right into the entrance of Granite Mountain Middle school and park in the lot on the left.
RAVEN SITE
Go through the gate and turn left at the trail junction. At the next junction, turn right onto the gravel trail. Follow the trail until you can figure out what time it is. The treasure is hiding in the rocks at 11:00.
PINYON PINE SITE
Go through the gate and turn left at the next two trail junctions. Follow the trail to the top of the ridge and turn left. The treasure is hiding below a dead pine tree on your right.
MANZANITA SITE
Go through the gate and follow the trail to the left. Walk through a large group of manzanita shrubs (red bark with bright green leaves). The treasure is hiding in the rocks behind the last manzanita on the left.
YAVAPAI COLLEGE
SCULPTURE GARDEN SITE
The sculpture garden is adjacent to the Performing Arts Center. Enter the sculpture garden and walk down the trail. Look for a dancing frog. Keep following the trail until you see the Permian Corridor sculpture. Walk through the corridor and continue downhill until you find the Deodora Cypress tree. The treasure is hiding under one of its branches.
UPPER GOLDWATER LAKE
( $3 per car entrance fee; free on Wednesday)
Drive south on Senator Highway (Mt. Vernon Ave.) for about 3 miles. The entrance to Goldwater Lakes will be on your right. It’s easy to drive past the entrance as the only sign is away from the road several feet. Drive through the main parking lot and turn right toward “south facilities” and follow it to the end at the Lakeview Ramada.
LAKEVIEW SITE
Look for a beaten path to the right of the restroom. Walk down the path and turn right. The treasure is hidden in a pile of rocks with two tree stumps in front of them.
LOWER GOLDWATER SITE
Take the wide trail below the ramada. Cross a small creek and stay to the right. You will come to a trail junction with a black and white rock. Turn right at the trail junction and walk about 250 steps. Look for a dead tree laying next to the trail, with holes in it. The treasure is hiding in a long dead branch on the slope above you.
BENCH SITE
Take the one-way exit road (to your right as you face the lake). When the road turns right, take the trail on your left that leads down to the lake. Look for stairs going up to a bench. The treasure is hiding behind a big stump on your left.
GRANITE CREEK PARK
From Gurney St. or Sheldon St. drive south on Pleasant St. Turn left onto 6th Street until you get to the park entrance on the left.
STORY BOOK SITE
Locate the Storybook trail along the north side of the park. Walk to sign # 7. The treasure is hiding behind you in a small bushy tree.
GIANT COTTONWOOD SITE;
Walk over to the trail bike area and look for the biggest tree around. Walk along the dirt trail along the fence towards the road. Look for a second giant tree. It’s holding the treasure.
PICNIC SITE
From the Storybook trail, walk under the highway and across a wooden bridge. Go into the picnic area on your right. The treasure is hiding under one of the stone benches with no table.
PEAVINE TRAIL
To get to the Peavine Trailhead, drive north on highway 89 toward Chino Valley. Turn right onto the Prescott Lakes Parkway. After crossing the bridge, turn left onto Sundog Ranch Road, by the Humane Society. The parking area is on your left.
BLACKBIRD SITE
Walk north (right) on the Peavine Trail. Look for an exhibit about water birds. Turn left on the dirt trail and follow it to a black bench. The treasure is hiding in a bush near the lakeshore.
RAILROAD SITE
Walk north on the Peavine Trail. In about ¾ mile, look for a white sign that says ‘S.F., P. & P. Ry’. A granite boulder is guarding the treasure.
GRANITE DELLS SITE
Walk north on the Peavine Trail. In about one mile the trail goes through a cut in the granite rocks. Look for a green footbridge on your right. Follow the Trail until the trail crosses a wash. The treasure is hiding near the trees.