Prescott Day Trip
Prescott sits at a mile high about 90 minutes southwest of Sedona, a former Arizona territorial capital with a leafy courthouse square, the saloons of Whiskey Row, and the surreal granite boulders of the Dells ringing Watson Lake. It's the most "old-Arizona" of the easy Sedona day trips.
What it is
Prescott was Arizona's first territorial capital and still feels like a Victorian Western town — a central courthouse plaza shaded by elms, lined by the brick storefronts and saloons of Whiskey Row, the most famous of which is the Palace, the oldest frontier bar in the state. The setting is high chaparral and pine rather than red rock, and the climate is mild year-round.
What to do
Walk the courthouse square and Whiskey Row, browse the antique shops and the Sharlot Hall Museum, then drive ten minutes north to Watson Lake in the Granite Dells — a maze of rounded granite boulders rising straight out of the water, with easy trails and kayak rentals. The Peavine Trail follows an old railbed through the Dells if you want a longer walk.
Getting there & good to know
From Sedona, take AZ-89A through Cottonwood and over Mingus Mountain past Jerome (a great combined loop), or the faster I-17 to AZ-69 route. Both run about 1.5 hours. Parking around the plaza is easy on weekdays, tighter on summer weekends. Bring water shoes if you plan to scramble the Dells.
