Sunday Picnic at Granite Basin Lake

Granite Basin Lake and Granite Mountain

The natural landscape around Prescott, Arizona is diverse and Granite Mountain is one place that holds it’s own unique qualities. Granite Mountain looks like a sleeping dragon from a distance. However, up close, it looks like a castle of granite boulders strewn in odd angles. Granite Basin Lake is a small man-made lake at the base of Granite Mountain, stocked with fish and haloed in cattails and rimmed with lily pads. For this Sunday trip, we loaded up the kids, backpacks, and dinner for an afternoon of exploration. My two-year old son was in his glory digging in the sandy crushed granite beach and soaking himself in the muddy waters from recent monsoon summer rains. Soon, my four month old daughter awoke from her nap and we loaded up the backpacks to explore the other side of the lake. Everything was lush and green! The lily pads were blooming, wildflowers dotted the grassy meadows near the intake of the lake. We gave my son cattails to drum my head with from the backpack. So, we let him out and hoped he wouldn’t rush into the water unawares. The grassy trail was so thick in spots, we didn’t have to worry about my sons escape, because he tunneled through, not seeing the lake at all. Back to the granite beach, we flung a blanket out for our 4 month old to kick and ogle the birds flying above. These kind of lazy Sundays remind us of the importance of family and the need to be out in nature to appreciate it’s beauty; both the big Granite Mountain and this small Granite Basin Lake teeming with life.