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HONEYBUCKET LOOP
Prescott National Forest.
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| View of Granite Mountain from Honeybucket trail |
At its core, the Honeybucket Loop is a mashup of old forest roads and adopted social paths tied into a hiking trail.
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| The loop is well signed throughout its 4.6-mile course |
At its heart, its arguably one of the prettiest little strolls in Prescott National Forest. The route delivers generous servings of mountain vistas, shady forests, interesting geology and late summer wildflowers. It’s a true sweet spot among the dozens of trails that weave through the woodlands around Prescott’s Thumb Butte.
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| Western dayflowers bloom August - September |
The loop is a perennial offering on the Highlands Center for Natural History annual Hiking Spree event. The Hiking Spree challenges hikers to complete 8 out of 10 selected treks over the course of 3 months for a chance to be entered into a prize raffle and purchase a commemorative medallion upon completion.
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| Thumb Butte peeks through pines on Honeybucket |
From a slightly out-there trailhead off Thumb Butte Loop Road just 6 miles west of Downtown Prescott, the circuit begins with a 1-mile walk on the Honeybucket trail #333.
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| Western yarrow blooms June - September |
Weaving among granite outcroppings and stands of ponderosa pines, this warmup section is ablaze in late summer wildflower color.
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| A boulder passage on Honeybucket trail |
Fleabane, goldenrod, tansyleaf aster, western dayflowers, brickellbush, yarrow, thistle and groundsel add sprinkles of yellow, blue, purple and white in sunny spots.
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| Prescott Circle Trail Connector has big views |
First peeks at iconic Granite Mountain (7,295 feet) emerge at about the half-mile point where the trail bends northward picking its way through thick scrub and massive alligator juniper trees. The loop portion of the circuit departs from the Thumb Butte Bypass Trail #326 junction.
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| View of Granite Mountain from Thumb Butte Bypass |
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| Alligator juniper on the Thumb Butte Bypass |
From the junction, continue hiking on Trail #333 as it makes a mild descent toward Butte Creek through a more open terrain with see-forever views of the Sierra Prieta mountain range.
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| Fleabane decorate the loop May - October |
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| Trailhead is a dirt pull off on Thumb Butte Loop Road |
The trail traverses green gullies and drainages before meeting up with the Prescott Circle Trail Connector Trail #322. Go left at the junction and follow this 0.7-mile segment while watching for fleeting glimpses of Thumb Butte ( 6,514 feet) and the Williamson Valley that peer out between breaks in tree cover. The last arc of the loop starts at a major intersection where the circuit heads left on the Thumb Butte Bypass Trail #326.
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| The circuit crosses ravines and drainages |
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| Arizona thistle blooms May - October |
This 0.6-mile segment follows an old dirt two-track that makes a gradual climb beneath a pine-oak-juniper canopy with fields of hip-high grasses tangled with blooming shrubs lapping at the ankles. More peeks at Granite Mountain and Thumb Butte punctuate the skyline before the trail reconnects with the Honeybucket trail for a rewind back to the trailhead. While it’s short and just moderate in its physical demands, the Honeybucket loop never scrimps on visual richness, making it a fine choice for appreciating the flora and mountain terrain of Prescott forests.
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| Wildflowers blanket a section of Honeybucket trail |
LENGTH: 4.6 mile loop
RATING: moderate
ELEVATION: 6,094 – 6,400 feet (703 feet of accumulated elevation change)
GETTING THERE:
From Courthouse Plaza in downtown Prescott, go west on Gurley Street , which turns into Thumb Butte Road. Continue 5.2 miles, passing the Thumb Butte and White Rock trailheads, to Thumb Butte Loop Road (Forest Road 373) on the left. Follow FR 373 for 1.6 miles to the turn off for Forest Road 51 on the left where there’s a dirt parking apron at a Trail 333 sign.
Thumb Butte Loop Road is washboard rough with some potholes but is passible by most carefully-driven vehicles. The road is not maintained in winter.
INFO:
https://highlandscenter.org/hiking-spree/
https://highlandscenter.org/wp-content/uploads/Honeybucket.pdf
