Address: 1981 Williamson Valley Rd, Prescott, AZ 86305
Hours: Monday-Sunday (7 AM-Sunset)
Overview
The Community Nature Center is such a fabulous place to let kids immerse themselves in nature play while offering a different take on outdoor play from the typical parks and playgrounds. The first things visitors will notice upon visiting is a children’s play area immediately to the right.
However, this is absolutely not your typical play area. The play area has been outfitted with natural loose parts for creative play and a sand pit as well as a bench area that is lined with different buckets, containing everything from rocks, to wooden blocks, to chopped wood, a cupcake baking tray, and sticks and pine cones. A sink is also present as well as pans.
The Community Nature Center isn’t just for kids though. 1.5 miles of trails lead to separate areas here, including a pond, a great lookout of the surrounding area which includes a sundial to stand on to tell you what time of the day it is.
The trails also pass by an old log cabin and granite boulders that Prescott has become so well known for. Overall, this is a great area for families to get out and enjoy the nature of Prescott, while teaching their kids in a fun way about the benefits of being outside and enjoying nature.
The really cool thing about Prescott is that it has two nature areas like this for kids. The other is very similiar and just as neat. It is the Highlands Center for Natural History and is located just before Lynx Lake.
History of the Community Nature Center
The Community Nature Center was originally part of the Prescott Unified School District. In 1974, the district established this 18 acre space to encourage outdoor learning for students & community members. What better place to have an area like this than the gorgeous outdoor haven of Prescott. Eventually, the City of Prescott purchased the Community Nature Center in 2006 as an Open Space Preserve. while there is only a little over a mile worth of the trails, there is lots of wildlife here and birding is very popular. The granite boulders that Prescott has become so famous for are also prevalent along the trails here.
Scout’s Story and Day at the Community Nature Center
Our daughter, Scout, is now a ways into being 2 years old and is exhibiting all of the normal signs of toddler hood. Scout has an endless amount of energy and getting her outside daily to release that energy in a positive way has become a huge goal for us.
Scout was diagnosed with stage 4 cancer at only 15 months old. After nearly a year of treatment, fighting and multiple procedures, Scout finally underwent a 10 hour tumor resection surgery and recently reached a huge milestone in here battle by being placed into remission the day after her 2nd birthday. Having spent a few days in the Phoenix area before making our way to Scout’s grandparents house in Prescott, this was our families first time traveling out of our home state since Scout had been diagnosed over a year ago. This trip was important to us, and we were excited to get out of town and see Scout’s grandparents.
After eating breakfast with grandma and grandpa, we were excited that they wanted to come with us to the Community Nature Center. We had such a great time here watching Scout play and get dirty. The Community Nature Center is right up Scout’s alley and was the perfect place to let her play. She played in the sand pit for a bit and with some of the wooden blocks before grabbing the cupcake tray and heading over to the log cabin with it.
Along with grandma, grandpa and my wife, we followed Scout and sat with her at the log cabin and watched as she filled the cupcake tray with sand and water, making mud cupcakes and stirring them with whatever sticks she could find. This was truly a great morning for us.
Getting to the Community Nature Center
Notes, Questions and Thoughts
Is this a fee area?
- No. There are no fees to park nor visit the Community Nature Center.
Are dogs allowed?
- Yes, dogs are allowed but must be leashed.
