Tucked into a ravine between industrial parks and subdivisions five miles downstream from Lynx Lake in Prescott Valley, Fain Lake offers a diverse menu of outdoor recreation opportunities. The lake is the center piece of a 100-acre park that’s named for the Fain family—one of the original settlers in the area—who donated the land to the Town of Prescott Valley in 1997. The tiny oasis located less than a mile off busy State Route 69 provides easy access to fishing, gold panning, picnicking and hiking while embracing its multi-faceted heritage and natural resources with educational components. The mineral-rich, creek-side property has been explored, hunted, mined and homesteaded since prehistoric times.
The discovery of gold in the nearby Bradshaw Mountains in the mid 1800s brought on a boom of mining activity and several historic artifacts and buildings from this profitable era are preserved in and around the park. Noteworthy among the many points of interest is a collection of defunct mining equipment on display along the Lynx Creek Loop Trail. Relics including rusty gears, cogs, jacks and a magnificently-restored stamp mill—a kind of crushing machine used in the processing of ore— are outfitted with signs that explain their function in the laborious pursuit of extracting gold from rock and water. The hills above the 3-acre lake are outfitted with a convoluted system of loopy trails. Two primary routes—the Lynx Creek Loop and the Cavalry Trail combine for a 1.6-mile circumference tour while the Canyon, Chapel, Overlook and Shoreline trails provide scenic detours. The trails wind among scrubby highlands, slender canyons, leafy backwaters behind the lake’s dam, calm shorelines, a created waterfall and stony grottos along Lynx Creek. Although the trails are well-marked, seasonal flooding and washouts can make certain areas inaccessible, but the system’s interconnected layout makes it easy to circumvent the sporadic obstacles. The popular community fishing lake is stocked regularly with rainbow trout (except in July and August) by Arizona Game and Fish Department. A fishing dock, bridge, dam observation platform, picnic ramadas, restrooms and a barrier-free lakeside path round out the family-friendly amenities of this compact gem.
LENGTH: 3.6 miles total
RATING: easy – moderate
ELEVATION: 4,954 – 5,133 feet
GETTING THERE:
- 2215 N. 5th Street, Prescott Valley.
- From State Route 69 in Prescott Valley, go 0.1-mile south on Prescott East Highway to 2nd Street.
- Turn left and go 0.1-mile to 5th Street,
- turn right and continue 0.4 mile downhill to the park
FACILITIES: restrooms, picnic tables
HOURS:
- 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. October – March
- 5 a.m. to 10 p.m. April – September.
FEE: none
