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| Hiking | 9.23 Miles |
1,301 AEG |
| | Hiking | 9.23 Miles | 4 Hrs 15 Mns | | 2.20 mph |
| 1,301 ft AEG | 3 Mns Break | | | |
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| no partners | | This is an out-and-back hike on most of Box Culvert Trail #620 and Trail #621 in the Prescott National Forest west of Prescott, AZ. To avoid driving down eroded dirt roads, the route starts on the eastbound side of Irons Springs Road where there is room for 2-3 vehicles to park. About 50 yards further west, there is room for 2-3 more vehicles to park on the westbound side of Irons Springs Road. There is a trail from the parking area down to the south end of the box culvert under Irons Springs Road that gives Trail #620 its name. It was not difficult to drop down to the trail from the angled concrete wall at the end of the barbed-wire fence, nor was it difficult to climb back over the wall at the end of the hike.
After passing under the box culvert, Trail #620 winds up the side of the cut for 0.8 mile until it reaches a road along power lines used by off-highway vehicles that Trails #619, #620 and #621 generally follow. On much of Trail 621, side-by-side vehicles are banned, but all other motorized vehicles up to single-rider ATVs are permitted on these trails. However, the only other trail users I saw in the early hours of June 7, 2025 were two dirt bike riders just before I turned off the dirt road to return to Irons Springs Road. Normally I prefer to hike on single-track trails and avoid as much motorized noise as possible, but it was worth the chance encounter with the dirt bikers, the pickup that drove into Contreras Trailhead as I was passing through and the tire noise from Irons Springs Road, to see the amazing amount and variety of flowers that gives this hike its name. Upon reaching the dirt road, my reaction was that I was walking in a desert botanical garden.
Like much of the Prescott National Forest west of Prescott, the scenery is full of rock formations and bushes--desert holly, manzanita and skunkbush sumac--with just a few junipers and oak trees, classic high chaparral. Due to rainfall in May and the first week of June (a new record of 0.74 inches was set at the Prescott Airport on June 4) there were flowers galore along much of the dirt road and at the start of the climb up from the box culvert. I made a few short detours from my planned route to capture some of the accompanying photos. I'm planning to go back next week with my DSLR to see if some of the plants are still in bloom. In the wildflowers section, I have listed the species in decreasing abundance of flowers. There were many prickly pear and common mullein, but only one of each was in bloom. |
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Wildflowers Observation Substantial
Southwestern mock verain, Palmer's penstemon, Southwestern pricklypoppy, Apache plume, desert four o'clock, New Mexico thistle, cowpen & oxeye daisies, silverleaf nightshade, hoary mustard, plains blackfoot, filaree, coyote or manyflower tobacco, desert penstemon, needleleaf dogweed, miniature woollystar, yellow sweet clover, sacred datura, century plant, globemallow, prickly pear and common mullein |
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