On Walkabout At: The Granite Dells In Prescott, Arizona

Basic Information

• Name: Granite Dells
• Where: Prescott, Arizona
• Cost: Free or $2.00 for parking
• More Information: Granite-Dells.com

Narrative

Another interesting feature I checked out during my trip to Prescott, Arizona were the Granite Dells located to the northeast of the city off of Highway 89:

View Larger Map

The Granite Dells are to Prescott what the Garden of the Gods are to my home town of Colorado Springs.  These unusual rock formations are dated back to being about 1.4 billion years old and over time the soil above them was eroded until they were eventually uncovered:

The Granite Dells became even more scenic when in the early 1900’s Granite Creek and Willow Creek that flow through the Dells were dammed for irrigation purposes:

This damming created a place where people could hike, rock climb, and boat all in the same location:

Much of the Dells used to be private land, but in 1998 the City of Prescott bought most of the Dells and turned it into a park.  So today the Granite Dells has become one of the most popular parks in the city:

Back in the 1990’s when I used to live in Prescott the Dells becoming city park land was a very big deal back then because of the possibility of trespassing on private property:

Not all of the Granite Dells is owned by the city because there are still tracts of homes and private property located around and within the Dells, but now people know exactly what is private and public land when hiking and climbing around these beautiful rock formations just outside the city:

The Granite Dells reminds me a lot of the Hueco Tanks rock formation outside of El Paso, Texas, but submerged in a lake:

Conclusion

If visiting Prescott it is definitely worth at least taking a drive through the Granite Dells on Highway 89 and taking a few pictures of these unusual rocks.  For those with more time there are plenty of boating, hiking, and climbing opportunities within the Dells.  Watson Lake Park can be used to access many of these opportunities however there is a $2.00 fee to park there which is a small price to pay to access such a beautiful part of the city.