Hassayampa River Preserve

We have been to the Hassayampa River Preserve in Wickenburg twice in the last two years with friends.  We typically go in the spring, while it's warm but not yet hot.  All of the trees there provide nice shade.

You enter the visitor's center to pay your admission.  The visitor's center has lots of stuff to look at, including some very nice displays about the history of and the wildlife in the preserve.  The staff does provide a fun scavenger hunt for the kids to do while they're on the trails, if you want to partake in that.  After that, you hit the trails.  As you can see, there's a big map of the trail system, complete with photos.

Most of them are flat, easy to navigate with little kids - although it's nice to have big brothers who are willing to carry little sisters when they get tired!

The kids never got tired of looking at bugs, sticks, rocks...all the usual fun things nature has to offer.

There was one steep trail, that leads to a breathtaking view of the preserve and surrounding Wickenburg.

Both of the 4-year-olds with us that day made it up and down, with varying levels of assistance.  It is a little more treacherous of a trail than the others.  I have slipped on gravel both times I've hiked it.  Meanwhile, the kids beat me to the bottom.

The last place we go to is the pond.  It's a favorite.

It was a favorite the year before, too....

We highly recommend the Hassaympa River Preserve as a field trip for families or groups of friends.

Date Creek Ranch

My family took a day trip out to Date Creek Ranch today for their grassfed-beef BBQ and apple picking.  Date Creek Ranch is located about 15 miles north of Wickenburg.

We started the day off with lunch.  The portions were huge!  We had left-overs.  And, YUM.  It was delicious.

 We then headed out to the orchards, with a wheelbarrow and some apple pickers.  I'd never used an apple picker before!  The day was HOT, so it wasn't as comfortable or as much fun as it could've been, but you've got to pick when the fruit is ripe! 

My kids had so much fun with those apple pickers!  They loved the "hunt" for the perfect apple.  Date Creek lets you snack on apples while you're out picking, too.  Be aware that the bees like snacking on fallen apples too!  There were lots of bees, so we did watch our footing, but none of them bothered us at all.  Many of the apples are hard and small, but I think they'll make perfect apple pie filling and I'm going to try my hand at homemade canned applesauce too.  At $1 per pound for organic apples, you just couldn't go wrong!

Besides the orchards, Date Creek also has cattle and pigs.  My littlest liked the pigs!  She wanted to play with them, but they were snoozing.

I'm sure my kids will talk about apple picking for months, and will be asking us when we can go back and do it again!