One of our favorite spots to visit in Arizona is a place called Fossil Creek. There are a few reasons why we love it so much; it’s a little adventure to get there, the water is gorgeous and its got scenery to match. We came upon this gem by word of mouth living in Prescott, AZ. It’s a popular place for Prescott locals to go that’s not too far for a day adventure and to go for a little swim in the crystal clear waters. We’ve been a few times now and we can’t wait to go again and explore more of the area!
Getting to Fossil Creek is an adventure in itself. It is approximately an hour and forty-five minutes from Prescott, and half of the travel time is spent off-road, going through windy, bumpy roads. The road can be accessed by non four-wheel drive vehicles, but we wouldn’t recommend it if you think the roads could be muddy from recent weather. Then, you might get stuck and it’s a little far from help. This is a trip you need to plan for in advance. You can go there and park anytime of the year, except from April to November, you need to go to the website and buy a permit to park. They limit the number of people visiting the area by making people get reservations to park. This place was so busy in the past that it was like a zoo. There were too many people and it got out of hand. People were littering and taking advantage. So, now, you must have a permit. You can usually get them close to when you want to go, like the day before, or even the day of, but if you want to see the waterfalls at Fossil Creek, you need to plan ahead at least a week prior during peak months. Parking is $10 per vehicle. This permit cannot be bought on premises and must be purchased online at www.recreation.gov
You can choose from an array of areas to park and explore. We have our favorite spot, but it’s a secret. One of our favorite places is only a short walk from where you park and has an open area for lounging right next to a flowing river with a deep swim hole. Lush greenery and trees surround the area and some boulders are along the rivers edge. The water is unbelievably clear. We spotted several native Arizona species of fish hanging in the large pool. The water has a clean sandy bottom and there is absolutely no murkiness. It almost looks tropical.
In another area we found a large swim hole with boulders all around. You can jump from several of the larger taller boulders into the deep areas. This area was my favorite spots because of all of the fun we had jumping from the large rocks into clear water pools. With a close eye, we even felt comfortable to have our little swimmers enjoy in all of the fun jumping in the water and swimming in the pools. While the swimming is fun at this spot, we did enjoy other areas that had more shade for lounging.
We recommend you make the most out of a weekend there, stay the night in your camper or tent near Childs Power Plant. Be forewarned the road down to Childs Plant get pretty rutted and rocky, so you might want to not attempt doing this in a 2 wheel drive vehicle. We did see some down there, but we did not see them come up out of it. We did a midnight hike to the Verde Hot Spring that was once part of a swanky hotel back in the day. It burned down in 1962, but some concrete paves the edge of the hot pool of water and there are some concrete structures that are covered in artistic graffiti. We didn’t get to take many pictures because it was so dark. Going to the hot spring while camping was definitely the highlight of staying in that area, although the free dispersed camping has some nice spots right near the rivers edge.
We look forward to the many good times we will enjoy here in the future. It is worth coming back. We’ve also only explored a quarter of this place. We’ve heard that the waterfalls are amazing and draw quite a crowd; it’s the most desired place to park and explore in Fossil Creek. We highly recommend this area if have the chance to visit it on a hot summer day. We have yet to visit this place in other seasons but we imagine the hiking would be fun in the fall and winter with the cooler temperatures.
