Hualapai Mountain Park Beckons For Summer Cooldown

By Becky Maxedon

As the thermometer continues to climb in Lake Havasu City, it’s comforting to know that a little more than an hour’s drive can render cool, mountain comfort in a peaceful, beautiful place.

Hualapai Mountain Park is located 12 miles southeast of Kingman and provides the perfect summer getaway for a day, a few days, a week or more.

RiverScene Magazine’s Lonnie Stevenson recently visited Hualapai Mountain Park and spoke with assistant park superintendent Brennan Cassidy and was given a tour, which can be seen in a video at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LOqkISLtWbk

Hualapai Mountain Park is the oldest park in Mohave County. The park’s early history can be traced back to the 1800s.

“It was started in 1939 by the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) during the work on Davis Dam,” Cassidy said.

The Hualapai Mountain Park Master Plan provides an historical background to how the Hualapai Mountain Park first began. The first difference was a change of the spelling of Hualpai to Hualapai by the U.S. Geological Survey.

The plan tells the story of Charles Metcalf, a 43 year resident of Kingman, who was considered the father of Hualapai Mountain Park. According to the Master Plan’s background, Metcalf first visited the area of Hualapai Mountain Park in 1897. He writes that he spent summers in the beautiful scenery and cooling breezes of the highest altitude of this section of Arizona.

Hualapai Mountain Park Kingman Arizona RiverScene Magazine

Jillian Danielson/RiverScene

Metcalf noted that he read an old newspaper article stating how President McKinley would favor every community having a section of government land for recreation purposes. Based on President McKinley’s suggestions, in 1929, Metcalf wrote Arizona Sen. Carl T. Haden with the interest of selecting Section 20 as a desirable purpose for a park.

Section 29, directly south of Section 20, was also a popular spot and was called the “scenic heart of the park in the 1937 Master Plan. Section 29 was originally deeded to the Kingman Country Club by the Santa Fe Railroad Co. On Oct. 19, 1929, Section 29 was deeded over to Mohave County from the Kingman Country Club.

During the 1930s, the Depression-era CCC, part of President Roosevelt’s New Deal Program, set up camps in the Hualapai Mountain area to build roads, cabins, restrooms, kitchen buildings, water systems and other improvements.

Once considered a candidate for National Monument status, then rejected as a potential Arizona state park, Hualapai Mountain was turned over to Mohave County in 1939 for public park, recreational and other municipal purposes, by Patent from the General Land Office, signed by Franklin D. Roosevelt.

There are many amenities available to park visitors.

“There is camping, cabins to rent, hiking, a recreation center with a pavilion for weddings and other events, long-term RV rentals for up to six months and more,” Cassidy said.

Among the cabins, Cassidy said there are five of the original stone cabins.

A cabin within the Hualapai Mountain Park. Jillian Danielson/RiverScene

There are more than 50 campsites as well as an 18-hole disc golf course.

Events that happen throughout the year include 5 and 10K runs in the spring and fall.

“We do the Sasquatch Run that is basically a grown-up scavenger hunt,” Cassidy said.

Cassidy recommends when visiting the park to hike or recreate, remember to stay hydrated, wear the correct shoes and bring a fully charged phone.

Fire restrictions are currently in place and only propane fuel is allowed. Generators are allowed in camping areas and may run up until 10 p.m. Cassidy said pets must be controlled and cautioned that there are some elk that can be aggressive with dogs.

A small stone bridge within the Hualapai Mountain Park. Jillian Danielson/RiverScene

Park Fees follow. In addition, Cassidy said there are military and first-responder rates available.

Day Use
$10 day/vehicle *
Sunrise to Sunset

Dry Camping
$30 night/vehicle *

RV Camping
$40 per night
By Reservation only
Open seasonally from
May 1 to Oct. 31

Snow Day
$10 per person over age 12

Annual Resident Day Use Pass
$60
$30 – 62+
Day Use = Sunrise to Sunset

^* Fees based on 4 person vehicle occupancy
^** Holiday and special event rates may apply

For more information and for cabin rental fees, visit https://mohaveparks.gov and go to Hualapai Mountain Park. To view the RiverScene video go to https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LOqkISLtWbkh