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. 

Cradled among desert hills, wineries and dewy green zones along Oak Creek, site has two formal trails that loop among the property’s rare and varied habitats.

Running through the watery mid-section of the Black Canyon Trail, the K-Mine Segment appeals to those who enjoy rock hopping over creeks and drainages. 

Chasing winter waterfalls is sort of an unofficial rite of passage for Arizona hikers.

Officially the closest Arizona Trail entry point to the Valley, the dirt pullout at Bushnell Tanks on State Route 87 half way between Fountain Hills and Payson, provides access to Arizona’s geological transition zone—a swath of mountain ranges and long valleys created over eons of volcanic activity, seismic uplifts and intermittent sea water deposits.

When hiked from the Jim Thompson trailhead that’s located just a short drive from Uptown Sedona, this heavenly trek that slices through forests at the southern edge of the Red Rock Secret Canyon Wilderness, gets you in-and-out of the good stuff pronto.

This isolated North Valley mound attracts a steady stream of hikers, bikers and dog walkers.

If this new system of four trails were a dog, it would be a Jack Russell Terrier---compact, feisty and righteously entertaining.

The double loop Kovach Family Nature Trail at the base of the McDowell Mountains skirts the scoured course of Lost Dog Wash with a level path that’s suitable for everybody.