Our Rainy October Weekend in Prescott: Donuts, a Car Show, the Zoo, and Halloween Yards

✓ Fact-checked October 2026 · How we check

We finally made it up the mountain for a weekend in mid-October, and of course it was the gray, drizzly one. We had about one real day to explore between a Friday-night arrival and a Sunday drive home, and the forecast never cooperated. Here’s the thing, though: Prescott on a cool, rainy fall weekend is still a great Prescott weekend. This is exactly what we did, where we ate, and what we’d tell a friend to steal for their own trip, with every photo taken by us along the way.

When	Friday, October 16 through Sunday, October 18, 2026
Weather	Cool, cloudy, and on-and-off rain
Who	The two of us and our youngest
Best bite	The giant apple fritter at Outlaw Donuts
Biggest surprise	Javelina strolling past our rental’s back fence

Friday night: skeletons in the historic neighborhoods

We rolled into town Friday evening, and that night we took a walk through one of the historic neighborhoods near downtown. Prescott’s old Victorian houses were made for Halloween, and some of these yards are all-out productions: giant skeletons looming over the porches, rows of scarecrows, ghostly figures projected onto sheets, spider webs strung between the trees, and joke tombstones with puns that had us laughing in the dark. It cost nothing and was the perfect way to start a fall weekend. Just remember these are private homes, so enjoy them from the sidewalk.

For more ways to do October here, see our guide to Halloween in Prescott.

Saturday morning: deer, a donut the size of a plate, and a car show

Saturday started with a small herd of mule deer wandering down the street in front of us like they owned the place, which in Prescott they more or less do. Then it was straight to breakfast.

Outlaw Donuts on West Goodwin Street, a few blocks from the Courthouse Plaza, might be our new favorite donut shop. The giant apple fritter is the star: it was filling enough to be a meal by itself, and delicious. Liz had a raspberry-filled bear claw with a fantastic filling, our youngest went with a classic pink frosted donut, and we grabbed hot vanilla lattes to go. It’s closed Mondays, so plan around that.

From there we walked over to the Courthouse Plaza and found the Route 66 Centennial Auto Show in full swing, with classic cars lined up along the downtown streets, including right down Whiskey Row in front of the saloons. Chrome fins in front of Matt’s Saloon on a gray morning is about as Prescott as it gets. We also took a lap of the plaza, where the walkway up to the Rough Rider statue and the courthouse was lined with flags.

One thing that confuses visitors: across Gurley Street, the big yellow Lone Spur Cafe sign is still up, but the Lone Spur closed, and the restaurant inside is now Cowboy Kitchen. Our breakfast guide explains.

Saturday afternoon: javelina, granite, and the first fall color

Back at our rental around lunchtime, we looked out to find a pair of javelina rooting around just outside the back fence. They’re common around Prescott, they travel in groups, and they’d much rather be left alone, so we watched from the porch. Our rental also came with a view of Thumb Butte, which looked moody and great under the clouds. Later we found a pile of lichen-covered granite boulders under the pines, the kind of scenery you run into almost anywhere around here.

Later we drove out Willow Creek Road past Heritage Park and the Embry-Riddle campus, then headed back downtown to Granite Creek Park, a few blocks from the plaza. The giant old cottonwoods there were still mostly green on October 17, with the first yellow leaves just starting to show. We posted it to our Fall Color Report, and if you’re planning a leaf trip, late October into early November is usually when the creekside cottonwoods in town hit their peak. The park also has a playground and restrooms, handy with kids along.

Saturday dinner: Casa Sanchez

For dinner we went to Casa Sanchez on West Gurley Street. Big portions, quick service, and exactly what you want on a cold, damp evening. Order the bacon-wrapped shrimp and the albóndigas (meatball) soup, and tell them Prescott Insider sent you.

Insider’s Secret: Another favorite of ours is Park Plaza Liquor & Deli, right next to Outlaw Donuts on West Goodwin. It looks like a liquor store, but there’s a full restaurant and bar inside with two dog-friendly patios, and the dry-rubbed buffalo wings are a contender for the best in town. Most visitors drive right past it.

Sunday: the zoo’s Halloween scavenger hunt

We’re annual members at Heritage Park Zoo, so Sunday morning we stopped in before the drive home. In October the zoo was running a daytime trick-or-treat scavenger hunt: you carry a card around, read a fact on a sign at each animal on the list (the gray fox, macaw, gopher snake, screech owl, hissing cockroach, mule deer, goat, and bald eagle), and mark whether it’s a trick or a treat. Turn the finished card in at the front desk, and kids pick a prize from the treasure chest. We also got up close with the gray fox, a blue-and-gold macaw, and a black vulture, and he climbed the giant lizard sculpture and posed by the painted peacock wall.

What we learned about a rainy Prescott weekend

• Don’t cancel for clouds. October rain here tends to come and go, and gray skies make the downtown brick, the Halloween yards, and the fall trees look even better.
• Bring real layers. At a mile high, a rainy October day is jacket weather, and evenings get cold fast.
• Keep a few indoor-friendly stops in your pocket. Breakfast spots, the shops and galleries around the plaza, museums, and a long dinner fill a wet afternoon easily.
• Watch for wildlife everywhere. We saw deer and javelina without leaving the neighborhood. Give them space, and keep dogs leashed.
• Check what’s on. Prescott packs a lot into its weekends. A quick look at our this weekend in Prescott page before you go can turn up something like the car show we found downtown.

Steal our itinerary

• Friday evening: dinner downtown, then a walk through the historic neighborhoods (in October, for the Halloween yards).
• Saturday morning: breakfast at Outlaw Donuts, then the Courthouse Plaza and Whiskey Row on foot.
• Saturday afternoon: a lake, a trail, or a park; Granite Creek Park is a few blocks from the plaza, and Watson Lake and Thumb Butte are about 15 minutes away.
• Saturday dinner: Casa Sanchez or Park Plaza Liquor & Deli.
• Sunday morning: Heritage Park Zoo, or a walk at Willow Lake next door, before the drive home.

Planning your own trip? Start with our guides to visiting Prescott, where to stay, and the best things to do in Prescott. And if you see us around town on one of our weekends, say hi!