Groom Creek Schoolhouse

Built in 1902, this historic schoolhouse and adjacent picnic area in Arizona's Prescott National Forest is available for day use by groups of up to 60 people. The facility offers a picturesque, quiet setting with indoor and outdoor areas for weddings, reunions, luncheons and group meetings. The schoolhouse served about 10 to 15 children in the early 1900s and was an active school until 1952. It is now listed on the National Register of Historic Places and is used for administrative and training purposes. Groups gather in the outdoor picnic area during nice weather, or head indoors into the two-room schoolhouse if the weather turns. A leisurely walk through the forest on the accessible, paved Groom Creek Nature Trail provides a nice afternoon respite, and Prescott National Forest has miles of hiking, mountain biking and horseback riding trails for visitors wishing to explore further. The schoolhouse building has two rooms with new tables and chairs for indoor use. The outdoor picnic area is accessible and equipped with 10 picnic tables, vault toilets, an amphitheater with limited access, and parking for 12 vehicles or two buses. No drinking water is available at this site; guests must bring their own. The group area is set in a ponderosa pine ecosystem, dominated by pines and mixed with juniper trees, Gambel oaks and native grasses. A multitude of colorful wildflowers bloom in the spring and during the summer monsoon season, and afternoon thunderstorms are possible from late June through mid-September. The forest is home to a wide variety of wildlife; visitors may spot deer, mountain lions, bobcats, coyotes, foxes, rabbits, lizards, snakes and birds. Upper Wolf Creek Campground is just around the corner if you want to camp overnight, and restaurants, shopping, historic sites and many amenities are nearby in the historic town of Prescott.