History, Fishing, and Fall at Fain Lake Park

Knew I had a couple hours to kill waiting for Jim at his eye doctor so googled parks in Prescott Valley and found Fain Lake Park not too far away.  A little off the beaten path, by no more than maybe two miles from SR69 at the end of 5th St.

White lines are my route

Not at all crowded, this small 100 acre park has a three acre reservoir stocked for fishing, offers trails, history, and during my October visit brilliant Autumn colors.

I headed straight to the lake and onto the fishing dock, where nobody was fishing.  Turned out to be a great place to scope out the lay of the park.  Definitely seeing the yellows of Autumn.

Plus the dock provided a view of a waterfall which might be from human constructs of leftover mining equipment.

I went to the left towards an overlook beyond the actual dam.  Of course, this is a reservoir not a real lake.  More evidence of the mining down stream still high above and out of sight of Lynx Creek in the canyon below.

Also out of sight, except for a steep pitched roof on the left, the Barlow-Massicks house also known as the “Castle”.  I learned more about this after my visit as the road to the house, and on the map, is marked private residence, and I’m not usually prone to trespass.  Thomas Gibson Barlow-Massicks built the three-story home in the 1890s and had many mining claims in the area.

Saw the Chapel trail disappearing uphill but wanted to walk around the lake so with my limited time turned around.  Crossed the long bridge stopping to chat with a few fishermen.  Most of the people seen here were spread along the shoreline fishing, and seemingly catching.  The Arizona Game and Fish Department stocks the lake with catfish and trout.  A fisherman told me Bass made it to the reservoir down the creek from Lynx Lake.

On my way to the next bridge I see a collection of rusty mining equipment including a stamp mill.

Early miners found gold in the adjacent Bradshaw Mountains and followed Lynx Creek.  Ultimately, a variety of sophisticated gold mining efforts were implemented included extensive hydraulic and dredging operations.  Records show in excess of $100 million worth of gold was removed from the immediate vicinity.  The most notable gold mining effort was made by Thomas Gibson Barlow-Massicks.

As I continued towards the bridge a family picnicking nearby told me they’d seen a King snake here.  It had hidden when they tried to pet it.  What is wrong with people?  Fortunately I saw it on my return.

The original inhabitants of the area dates as far back as 200 BC.  Known today as the “Prescott Traditional People” they lived along the south side of Lynx Creek between 1050 and 1300 AD and left behind a ruin of more than 30 rooms.  This site was discovered by the white gold seekers on property owned by G. S. Fitzmaurice and now called the Fitzmaurice Ruins.  I didn’t know this while there so have something else to return to for more explorations.

Finally made it onto the bridge for a long view of Fain Lake.  And a closer view straight down.

But before continuing around the lake I was distracted by the sound of faster moving water upstream so backtracked and began to follow the Lynx Creek Loop trail into the boulders.

I could have sat here for a long time just listening to the magical flow of water.  Not something I experience often in Arizona.

Time to continue along the Shoreline trail and enjoy the Autumn colors along with this interesting building on the hillside.  I learned later, the Chapel of the Valley was built in 2002 by the Fain family who were also responsible for building Prescott Valley and Fain Park.  According to this article it’s available for special events and open for tours on Sundays.

Fain Lake Park first opened to the public in 1997, the land being donated from the Fain family to the citizens of Prescott Valley.  But the park is not yet completed.  The eastern half of the park, when opened, will include a replica 1890s gold town (Massicks), the Fitzmaurice Ruin archeology site, the restored Barlow-Massicks Victorian house and a regional museum.

Way more things to explore than I had time for with many reasons to return to Fain Lake Park.  Yet, I’d been hoping for some fall colors and the willows and poplars didn’t disappoint wearing their crowns of gold.