BACK ROAD ADVENTURE

Williamson Valley Road

Peak after peak, creek after creek, this high-country route packs a lot of scenery into its 70 miles from Prescott to Seligman.

WILLIAMSON VALLEY ROAD begins on the outskirts of Prescott and ends at its junction with Route 66 at Seligman, winding through a big stretch of handsome country where the Central Arizona highlands shade off into the Colorado Plateau. The names of some of its landmarks suggest the country's wild beauty. Near the road's start, for instance, stands Granite Mountain, which reveals a face that instantly explains why its Yavapai name means “mountain lion lying down.” Fortyodd miles beyond is Turkey Canyon, home to the wild birds that gave it its moniker. Farther along is the Big Chino Wash, whose name evokes the wide-open spaces through which a slender stream passes on its way to the Verde River. Peak after peak, creek after creek, Williamson Valley Road packs a lot of scenery into its 70 miles. Travelers have plenty of time to take it all in, too. Paved for the first third of the journey north from Prescott, the road eventually turns into a sometimes jarring but mostly well-graded swath of dirt, gravel and rock that demands a leisurely pace. A few miles beyond where the pavement ends, below the aptly named Indian Hill, a small one-lane bridge crosses a creek that, on this rainy day, was flowing smoothly but not swiftly, its banks lined with walnut and cottonwood trees. I paused to admire the scenery and take a few photographs. Indian Hill makes a fine landmark to fix the beginning of the more adventurous middle stretch of this back road more adventurous because, for the next 25 miles, the road rises and drops through low but rugged mountains into narrow canyons and washes, never precipitously, but still roller-coasterish enough that travelers are advised to keep their speed to 25 mph. The hill, which rises to an eleva-

Elevation of 5,781 feet, hosts ruins that date back hundreds of years, remnants of fortifications and watchtowers left behind by the little-studied Prescott Culture, a Native American people who settled in this area more than a thousand years ago.

About 2 miles beyond that one-lane bridge, Williamson Valley Road crosses over Walnut Creek, a small but scenic watercourse lined with walnut trees. Just beyond, Forest Service Road 95 meets the road, and a short jog to the west along it leads to the old Walnut Creek Ranger Station, a cluster of ranch-style buildings that once housed firefighters and forest rangers working in Prescott National Forest. The station has since been decommissioned, and Prescott's Sharlot Hall Museum, in concert with Northern Arizona University, Yavapai College and Prescott College, is converting it into a regional environmental-education center. Leaving Walnut Creek and back on Williamson Valley Road, I meandered along

route finder

streambeds and up and down the flanks of the Juniper Mountains, making my way into increasingly steep country that rises to meet 6,827-foot-tall Red Mountain. The name, again, is apt, because the roadcut takes on a deep reddish-orange hue as it passes over veins of iron oxide, finally arriving at an abandoned hematite mine.

After getting some Mars-red dust on my boots as a keepsake, I continued driving onward to the northern end of the Juniper Mountains, where the dense forest gives way to a treeless plain that stretches across the horizon. This is classic open-range country, where cows have the right of way, so you'll want to keep an eye out for wandering livestock, as well as pronghorns, mule deer, elk, javelinas and mountain lions.

At the end of the dusty, bumpy, but unfailingly picturesque trail, awaits the little town of Seligman, a living memorial to the glory days of Route 66. I munched on onion rings, eyed the dirt road behind me, turned around, and headed south down Williamson Valley Road back toward Prescott, confident the sequel would be as good as the original.Vehicle Requirements: Passenger car is acceptable, although portions of the road are bumpy, and suited to a high-clearance vehicle. Travel Advisory: Check your tires, including your spare. Cell phone coverage is spotty in the mountains through which the road passes. Warning: Back-road travel can be hazardous, so be aware of weather and road conditions. Carry plenty of water. Don't travel alone, and let someone know where you're going and when you plan to return. Information: Prescott National Forest, 928-443-8000 or www. fs.fed.us/r3/prescott; Sharlot Hall Museum, 928-445-3122 or sharlot.org; Seligman Chamber of Commerce, seligmanarizona.org.

travel tips