Address: 1375 S Walker Rd, Prescott, AZ 86303
Hours: Monday-Sunday (8 AM-4 PM)
Overview
The Highlands Center for Natural History describes itself as a classroom without walls. This beautiful nature center, located just down the street from Lynx Lake, offers the community a great opportunity to get outside and to get a little more in touch with nature. With educational programs, hiking trails, and a botanic garden, the Highlands Center is a great spot to spend an afternoon.
The Highlands Center is particularly great for birding and for children. At the far end of the parking lot is a small but incredible children’s “forest play” area.
It is similiar to the one at the Nature Community Center. The theme here is allowing kids to play imaginatively using natural objects. A bench is lined with buckets filled with objects such as bones, seashells and wood scraps for kids to play, build and discover with.
A small sand pit marks the main area for kids to explore these objects. Additionally, there is a neat spider web climber/canopy and a cool tunnel, which smaller kids will enjoy crawling through.
A small trail winds from the “forest play” area through a small botanical garden and up towards the Highlands Center. Along the way, visitors will encounter native plants and numerous metal animal sculptures. The grounds are very pretty and worth the short walk. The actual Nature Center itself hosts a variety of educational programs for children. For a full list please visit their website.
Scout’s Story
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.
Scout’s Day at the Highlands Center for Natural History
My wife and I were incredibly excited to get outside with Scout and enjoy the fall weather in Prescott. Our plan was to head towards Lynx Lake and check out the “forest play” area at the Highlands Center. We started our day at the Nature Center by walking through the Botanical Garden. While not overly impressive, the walk is peaceful and the ponderosa pines that line the area are very pretty. The entire walk takes less than five minutes and ends at the far end of the parking lot at the “forest play” area.
The “forest play” area has a cool entrance in which Scout ran through before crawling through the small tunnel.
Scout did this while cackling, more times than I could count. Eventually, we gathered Scout’s attention and directed her to the sand pit where she played with the wood scraps and sea shells.
We had a great time, and although I don’t see spending a ton of time here, an hour or so will be more than enough to really allow the kids to enjoy the play area. This makes for a great stop for those on their way to Lynx Lake.
Getting to the Highlands Center for Natural History
1375 S Walker Rd, Prescott, AZ 86303
Notes, Questions and Thoughts
Is this a fee area?
- No. There are no fees to park at or visit the Highlands Center for Natural History.
Are dogs allowed at the Highlands Center for Natural History?
- No, dogs are not allowed. According to their website, this is due to the sensitive nature of many of the plants that are located here.
Are there restrooms at the Highlands Center for Natural History?
- Yes. Restrooms are located at the top of the nature center outside of the main building.
