"This was not ideal, but the PCT was connected." In the City of Prescott's November 2026 Recreation Services newsletter, City Trails Supervisor Chris Hosking used that line to describe the Prescott Circle Trail as it stood for years. The loop around the city was technically closed. But about a mile of it ran along Williamson Valley Road and through the Ho Kay Gan subdivision on streets, not trail. That pavement is now behind the loop. A new two-mile section called the Full Circle Trail runs from the Longview Trail at Williamson Valley Road and Pioneer Parkway up to Prescott National Forest Trail 341 in Granite Basin.
If you live in American Ranch, which its water district describes as off Williamson Valley Road, north of Prescott, you'll know this corridor as your daily drive. It was also the one place where Prescott's best-known trail turned into a road walk. Today, Thursday, November 19, the city celebrates the fix.
The mile that ran on pavement
The Circle Trail has been called finished before. The Yavapai Trails Association began working out alignments with the city, county, state and Forest Service in the 1990s. Its Circle Trail page describes a 54-mile route completed by late 2014. What linked that route in the northwest, though, was a road connection through the Ho-Kai-Gan subdivision to the Katahn Trail. Hosking wrote in the city's October 2026 newsletter that the arrangement "was not ideal because the trail connection followed roads rather than a dedicated trail."
Closing that gap took most of two decades. Here is the timeline Hosking laid out across the city's October and November newsletters:
- 2006. Hosking arrives in Prescott. The city's application to the state for easements for the Badger, Sundog and Longview trails has stalled. A conversation with Mayor Kuykendall about fast-tracking approval gets permission granted.
- 2010. Hosking first lays out the area as a desired location for the Circle Trail.
- 2012. The future alignment across Stringfield Ranch is walked as a placeholder.
- 2015 to 2017. Hosking and the Over the Hill Gang volunteers build the Badger, Sundog and Longview trails. The Forest Service and the Prescott Mountain Bike Alliance finish the Ranch trail.
- 2017. A small gathering marks the connection, with early Circle Trail visionaries Jan Alfano of the Yavapai Trails Association and Eric Smith of the City of Prescott.
- 2024. Development begins on Stringfield Ranch, and trail agreements are made.
- By May 2026. Work begins on the final two-mile segment, named the Full Circle Trail.
Note the gap between steps 3 and 6. The route was sketched in 2012, but the land wasn't ready. The Daily Courier reported that the 700-acre Stringfield Ranch project sits just west of the Pioneer Parkway and Williamson Valley Road intersection. ABC15 reported in 2023 that the property borders Prescott National Forest. That border is where the trail needed to go. The city's October newsletter says the Stringfield Ranch development "provided the opportunity for the new trail to finally be designed."
What the two new miles connect
The Full Circle Trail was built by hand and by machine. Hosking cut the tread and removed large rocks and roots, and the Over the Hill Gang volunteers shaped and finished it. In the city's October newsletter he wrote that it "offers some of the best views along the PCT and provides a great connection from Williamson Valley Road to Granite Basin."
Traced from the Pioneer Parkway side, the pieces fit together like this:
| Piece | Where it runs | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Longview Trail | Ends at Williamson Valley Road and Pioneer Parkway; built 2015 to 2017 | City of Prescott |
| Full Circle Trail | Two miles from the end of Longview, across Williamson Valley Road and uphill to Trail 341 | City of Prescott |
| Hokaygon Trail, #341 | About 3.5 miles; both ends meet Willow Trail #347; open to hikers, horseback riders and mountain bikers | Prescott National Forest |
| Willow Trail, #347 | Gives access to the Granite Basin trail system, including West Lake Trail #351 toward Granite Basin Lake | Prescott National Forest |
The old road connection went through the Ho-Kai-Gan subdivision, and the new trail ends at the Forest Service's Hokaygon Trail, #341. So the loop still passes through Hokaygon country. It now gets there on dirt instead of asphalt.
The Prescott National Forest trails page lists Trail 341 as open to hikers, horseback riders and mountain bicyclists. The city describes the Circle Trail as a whole as non-motorized.
Starting from the Williamson Valley side
People have already been walking the new section. The city's October 2026 Trekabout schedule listed an Over the Hill Gang hike on October 15 called the "NEW Stringfield Trail," rated Level 3. The group started and finished at the new Pioneer Parkway Trailhead parking and went out and back on the Longview Trail. Then they crossed Williamson Valley Road to pick up where the Longview segment ends, and from there the route climbs.
For anyone starting from the corridor, the useful details are:
- Parking. Take Pioneer Parkway east 0.4 miles from Williamson Valley Road and park at the scenic overlook parking area. The city's Prescott Circle Trail page lists Circle Trail parking as free.
- The crossing. The hike route crosses Williamson Valley Road between the end of Longview and the start of the climb.
- Granite Basin fees. The Forest Service's Granite Basin brochure lists $5 day-use fees at the Cayuse, Wekuvde, Playa, Metate and Boat Launch sites. The Williamson Valley, Little Granite Mountain and Willow trailheads are listed as free.
- Passes. The Prescott National Forest passes page lists a $5 day pass and a $40 annual pass, with Wednesdays fee-free at day-use sites.
That fee table is why the new link matters on the Williamson Valley side. You can now park free on Pioneer Parkway and reach the Forest Service trail system on foot, by bike or on horseback, without the road walk. If you're planning to end at Metate or the boat launch, the brochure's fee table still applies.
Thursday at the Longview Trailhead
The city's November events roundup lists the Circle Trail ribbon cutting for today:
- 11 a.m. Ceremony at the Longview Trailhead on Pioneer Parkway
- 11:30 a.m. Group hike for anyone who wants to join
The ceremony honors the work of the city's Recreation Services Trails Team and the Over the Hill Gang volunteers. According to the November newsletter, it also marks a second milestone: Prescott's designation as a Trail Town by the International Mountain Bicycling Association. IMBA named Prescott one of its inaugural 2026 Trail Towns on March 31. The city announced the designation on April 3.
The parking for the ceremony is the same scenic overlook lot the Over the Hill Gang used in October. Once the speeches are done, the group hike heads out on the new trail itself.
A 58-mile loop with one less asterisk
The city's November newsletter now calls the Circle Trail a 58-mile collection of trails around downtown. That's longer than the 54 miles the Yavapai Trails Association listed for the earlier version. Hosking also calls it the backbone of 450 miles of trails. It ties together Peavine, Watson and Willow Lakes, the Dells, Pioneer Park, Granite Mountain, Spence Basin, Thumb Butte, Copper Basin, Mt. Francis, Bean Peaks, Goldwater Lakes, Ranch, Badger and Sundog. Three of those names, Badger, Sundog and Ranch, are the trails from the 2015 push that used to meet the rest of the loop by way of that mile along Williamson Valley Road. With the Full Circle Trail done, that mile is now trail.
The trail crew isn't finished. In the October newsletter, Hosking wrote that he hopes to "showcase the Granite Dells more and create some reroutes through future development."
I love hearing how neighbors along the Williamson Valley corridor use trails like this one, and I'm always glad to share what I know about life off this road, whether you're settled in for good or starting to think about your next chapter. When you're ready to see where your home stands, Cheryl Fernandez is here to help. Request Your Personalized Home Valuation.
