"It's humbling to celebrate 30 years as a nonprofit while beginning another 30 years of partnership with Prescott National Forest," Executive Director Sarah Vincent told Prescott eNews this month.
The Highlands Center for Natural History at 1375 S. Walker Road can feel as fixed as Lynx Lake. Its trails, gardens, and amphitheater sit on Prescott National Forest land, though, and the Center operates there under a special-use permit. On Thursday, November 19, the Center throws a free public birthday party, and the main event of the evening is the signing of a renewed permit with the Forest Service.
So the party works two ways. It thanks people for 30 years, and it secures the land for the next stretch. Everything else on the November calendar is a look at what that agreement protects.
A nonprofit on federal land
The Center runs an 80-acre campus in the Lynx Lake area of Prescott National Forest under its special-use permit. The Center's own history dates the Forest Service's pre-decision to grant the site, from Walker Road to Lynx Creek, to 1998. That came two years after the organization formed. The Center started first and found its permanent ground second.
Its roots go back further than 1996. The Highlands Center took over the mission of the Community Nature Center, which began in 1973 on Prescott Unified School District land and programming. The Center's own history credits that earlier program to the vision of PUSD superintendent Dr. Ken Walker, with Dr. Henry Dahlberg as project director. The Center also names Tom Benson as one of its founders. Vincent told Prescott eNews that some founders, now in their 90s, still volunteer and lead walks.
The Forest Service is just as warm about it. "We look forward to the next 30 years as the Highlands Center continues to expand their capacity to provide connection to nature in our community," Prescott National Forest District Ranger Jason Williams said in the same Prescott eNews report.
What the permit protects on an ordinary weekday
Here's what the arrangement gives everyone else in town. The trails and the James Family Discovery Gardens are open seven days a week. From October through March they're open 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., with no admission or parking fee.
A few miles away, the Forest Service's Granite Basin page lists a $5 per vehicle day-use fee, free on Wednesdays, with gates that close at 5 p.m. starting December 1. At the Highlands Center on Walker Road, you can walk in any afternoon this winter without paying and stay until 6.
The free grounds include:
- About three miles of trails, including the ¾-mile Stretch-Pebble Loop and the 1.5-mile Highlands Trail Loop
- The five-acre James Family Discovery Gardens
- The James Learning Center and the Kiwanis Amphitheater
Leashed dogs are welcome on the trails but not in the Discovery Gardens. The whole site is smoke-free and vape-free.
November, the last month of the first 30 years
The fall calendar leads up to the anniversary. Read in order, it covers what the Center does all year: hands-on crafts, a nationally known speaker, an art series, and a free program for families.
Saturday, November 7: Fall Wreath Making. Three sessions run on site, from 9 to 11 a.m., noon to 2 p.m., and 3 to 5 p.m. Each person gets a grapevine wreath base plus decorations and natural materials foraged locally. Adults pay $30 for members or $35 for nonmembers. Ages 13 and under pay $15 or $20.
Monday, November 16: David Allen Sibley. One of the country's best-known birders and bird illustrators gives a presentation, Q&A, and book signing at 5 p.m. at the Center itself. Tickets are $35 for members and $45 for nonmembers. VIP tickets are $65 and $75. Registration is through the Sibley event page, and it's worth checking availability there before you plan your evening around it.
November 16, 18 and 20: Plein Air Painting Workshop. Cathy Krieger leads a three-part outdoor painting series from 9 a.m. to noon on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. The full series costs $95 for members or $110 for nonmembers. Painting landscapes outdoors on forest land is a good fit for a week about the forest partnership.
Thursday, November 19: The 30th Birthday Party. Details below.
Saturday, November 21: Discovery Saturdays. The month ends with the Center's free program. Learning stations are set up in the Discovery Gardens from 9 a.m. to noon.
The party, and how to get there
The birthday celebration runs from 4 to 7 p.m. on Thursday, November 19. It's free and open to the public. The Center promises free food and drinks, a chance to meet the staff, time to explore the grounds, and the permit signing itself. Prescott eNews adds music and stories to the evening and says advance registration is encouraged.
Parking is the one detail that will catch people out. There is no general parking at the Center that evening. Guests park in the designated lots near the Costco gas station and ride a free shuttle to Walker Road and back.
Prescott eNews reports that VIP and accessible parking will be available on site. VIP tickets cost $300 and include food and drinks, a staff meet-and-greet, and access to the grounds. You can sign up for either option through the birthday party page.
The party ends around dusk, and Discovery Gardens hours run to 6 p.m. this time of year. If you want to see the gardens in daylight, come on the earlier side.
What the next 30 years already look like
The renewed permit is the paperwork. The construction is already underway. On September 27, 2026, the Center broke ground on Susie Percy Badger's Rest, a planned 1,100-square-foot off-grid indoor classroom, according to the Daily Courier. Completion is expected in 2027. Indoor space matters for a campus whose main features are trails, gardens, and an open-air amphitheater.
The staff is changing too. Sarah Vincent leads as Executive Director, and Maria Icenogle became Deputy Director in July 2026. With a new classroom on the way, a new deputy in place, and a renewed permit set to be signed in public on November 19, the 30-year-old nonprofit heads into its next chapter on secure footing.
You can see all of it on November 19: the founders who still lead walks, the trail loops you can use for free, and the agreement that keeps them that way. After that, the Stretch-Pebble Loop is open from 8 a.m. every day all winter.
Part of knowing Prescott well is knowing which local places have years of support behind them. At Josh Day Real Estate, we follow these stories because they shape daily life here long after any move. If you're curious what your home is worth in a town with places like this nearby, start with a free home valuation.
