Wickenburg Travel Guide
COMPARE PRICES on all Wickenburg Hotels
Compare prices and availability on major travel sites with one click
COMPARE PRICES on all Flights to Wickenburg
Compare prices and availability on major travel sites with one click
53 miles NW of Phoenix; 61 miles S of Prescott; 128 miles SE of Kingman
Once known as the dude-ranch capital of the world, the town of Wickenburg, located in the desert northwest of Phoenix, attracted celebrities and families from all over the country. Those were the days when the West had only just stopped being wild, and spending the winter in Arizona was an adventure, not just a chance to escape winter weather. Today, although the area has only a handful of dude (or guest) ranches still in business, Wickenburg clings to its Wild West image. The dude ranches that remain range from rustic to luxurious, but a chance to ride the range is still the area's main attraction.
Wickenburg lies at the northern edge of the Sonoran Desert on the banks of the Hassayampa River, one of the last free-flowing rivers in the Arizona desert. The town was founded in 1863 by Prussian gold prospector Henry Wickenburg, who discovered what would eventually become the most profitable gold and silver mine in Arizona: the Vulture Mine. The mine closed in 1942 and is now operated as a tourist attraction.
When the dude ranches flourished back in the 1920s and 1930s, Wickenburg realized that visitors wanted a taste of the Wild West, so the town gave the tenderfoots what they wanted -- trail rides, hayrides, cookouts, the works. Wickenburg has even preserved one of its downtown streets much as it may have looked in 1900. If you've come to Arizona searching for the West the way it used to be, Wickenburg is a good place to look. Just don't expect staged shootouts in the streets -- this ain't Tombstone.
