Yavapai Campground

Yavapai Campground is within the Granite Basin Recreation Area at an elevation of 5,600 feet, seven miles northwest of downtown Prescott. The main attractions are mild weather, cool ponderosa pine forest and Granite Basin Lake, with activities including fishing for largemouth bass, channel catfish and sunfish, canoeing, hiking, mountain biking, horseback riding and bird watching. Rising to the northwest is the prominent Granite Mountain Wilderness Area, and several connector and loop trails are close to the campground, most allowing multiple modes of travel. The campground is available year-round and is enjoyed by people of all age groups and diverse backgrounds. Campsites are designed for RV, trailer or tent camping. Most campsites are compact and each has a degree of privacy and solitude. There are 19 single occupancy campsites and two double occupancy campsites. Campsites 4, 16 and 21 are walk-in only and cannot be reserved. Each campsite has a picnic table, steel fire ring and established tent pad, and four accessible campsites have small pedestal fire grills. All campsite driveways are back-in with asphalt surfaces; some allow a camp unit and an extra vehicle quite easily, but others do not. Campsites 3 and 4 are limited to a trailer length of 15 feet maximum or an RV length of 25 feet maximum; campsite 10 can accommodate a trailer of 10 feet maximum, a cab-over camper, or an RV up to 25 feet; campsite 9 has 50 amp available. Services include two composting restrooms, trash dumpsters and water faucets. There is no dump station in the campground. The campground was designed to be integrated within the natural setting of granite rock outcrops and a variety of ponderosa pine, limber pine, oak, manzanita, shrubs and grasses. Access to Granite Mountain Wilderness and Granite Basin Lake can be made either by several interlocking hiking trails or by driving a short distance. Within a short distance, in the Granite Basin Recreation Area, there are several day use areas and Granite Basin Lake, where visitors enjoy fishing, bird-watching, backpacking, hiking, horseback riding, mountain biking, picnicking, camping and just plain relaxing. Immediately rising north of Granite Basin Lake is Granite Mountain at 6,874 feet, its rugged topography and mixed vegetation enveloped by the Granite Mountain Wilderness Area. Alto Pit OHV Campground and Day-Use Area is just a 15 minute drive to the southwest, and rising prominently to the south is Thumb Butte, which at 6,515 feet is one of the most popular destinations in the Prescott National Forest.