North Shore Trail - Goldwater Lake, Prescott | Rimsurfer Arizona Hiking Trails

Arizona Hiking Trails

North Shore Trail | Goldwater Lake

North Shore Trail | Goldwater Lake | City of Prescott | Parks and Recreation

Map and Directions

Rimsurfer Trail Rating and Hike Review

CITY OF PRESCOTT
PARKS AND RECREATION
Goldwater Lake
North Shore Trail
TRAILHEADS (TH)
Goldwater Lake Parking area
ACCESS POINTS
Goldwater Lake Parking area
Trail use: moderate
Trail difficulty: easy
Trail length: short
(about a quarter mile one way)
Estimated hiking time: 30 minutes +
Season of Use: year round, (subject to weather conditions)
Elevation change: n/a

221 photos

More trail info:
City of Prescott: Parks and Recreation - Goldwater Lake - MAP

Things to be aware of: Fee parking. Know and obey city park rules, dogs must be on leash, no littering, picnic sites, restrooms, children’s playground area, boating, fishing, beach area.

Regional area of Goldwater Lake Park - North Shore Trail is under the City of Prescott, Arizona Parks and Recreation supervision.

My trail rating: 1

My Trail Review:

Goldwater Lake is a fun family park to enjoy the whole day at. From picnics, boating, fishing to short hiking trails, there is lots to do and all are well designed and maintained. There is plenty of paved parking, restrooms, pavillions, new clean park benches located thoughout the park with relaxing scenic views, and the short trails are easy to follow and well marked while offering great views of the lake and surrounding pine forest areas.

Overall Goldwater Lake is top of the line Prescott area outdoors city hiking. Great views, quiet peaceful rest areas, excellent amenities and all just a few miles outside of downtown Prescott.

January 2009
This is a very short city park type lakeside hiking trail. No real elevation changes, lots of shade along the way and some great views of the lake and surrounding area.

You can find this trail from the parking area by walking down to the lake from the right side of the parking lot area (facing the lake). You will find it just before your reach the lake on your right. North Shore Trail works its way around the north side of the lake and ends when it reaches the dam, which is signed and blocked for your safety.

This is a fun little trail for everyone in the family that can get out and walk a half mile round trip at a leisurely pace. There is very little altitude gain or hill climbing. The trail is reasonably flat with some rocky areas near the waters edge. There are several scenic view park benches along the way too. The park and trail are surrounded by beautiful tall Ponderoza pine trees.

The sun was up high and the air warm by the time we got to this trail today. I pulled my coat off my coat to cool off some and Teddy decided the lake water was cold and refeshing to slurp a few sips !!??## (Note: However, it is not recommend that humans or house pets drink from any natural water sources in forest service areas).

I followed the trail up around the north side of the lake to where it ends just before the dam. There were several ducks and a few geese on this side of the lake today. It went up to about 60 degrees with sunny and clear skies. On the way in to the park entrance we spotted a herd of deer eating grass and got a couple good shots of them before they started to move off. You can find those in the beginning area of the photo gallery.

Enjoy the Hike!
Max and Teddy

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MAP AND DIRECTION TIPS
From downtown Prescott go east on Gurley Street to Mount Vernon Street (becomes Senator Hwy), turn right (south) and go about 4 miles to the signed entrance of Goldwater Lake Road, turn right and drive on the blacktop road to the park entrance fee booth then onto the designated parking area. All trails and the lake are accessible from this parking area.

This RimSurfer Arizona hiking trail photo gallery review features the City of Prescott, Parks and Recreation, Goldwater Lake, North Shore Trail.

North Shore Trail | Goldwater Lake | City of Prescott | RimSurfer Arizona Hiking Trails