Arizona, A Day Trip to Jerome!

While in Prescott, I wanted to visit the old mining town which is literally built on the side of a mountain, Jerome. It is only about 34 miles from Prescott, but you must cross over the switchbacks of Mingus Mountain to get there. 

Mingus Mountain is in the Black Hills mountain range, it is within the Prescott National Forest traversed by State Route 89A. From the mountain, there are views of the Verde Valley, Sycamore Canyon Wilderness and the towns of Cottonwood, Jerome, and

Clarkdale. As a side note, Mingus Mountain is also the premier flying site of the Arizona Hang Gliding and Paragliding Association. According to local history, the naming of the mountain has various versions. One source attributes the name to William Mingus, a pioneer prospector who lived and worked on Mingus Mountain in the 1870s. Another source believes that Mingus Mountain was named for Joseph and Jacob Mingus, two brothers who settled in the area in the 1880s and later operated a sawmill business near the base of the mountain.

As you drive north on State Route 89, you can see the mountain in the distance and as you get closer, you can see some of the roads that traverse across the mountain. At the bottom, there is a sign that clearly indicates that

nothing over 50 feet long is allowed. We started the climb and quickly ran into a line of slow moving traffic. It was going to be a long climb over the summit at this pace! We quickly discovered that we ran into a crew painting the lines on the road. After about 10 minutes of slow moving, they painting crew find a place to pull over and traffic got moving again. It sure did not take long for the traffic to spread out. Traveling up the mountain on the south side, there were several spots to pull off to let traffic pass. We pulled off a few times to let traffic clear behind us. Unlike climbing to the rim on Route 17, we did not need to turn off the A/C to avoid overheating … because the jeep has no A/C!

The Mingus Mountain lies between the Sonoran low desert and the higher Colorado plateau to the north. At the summit of State Route 89A, the elevation is about 7,800 feet. Running on the downside of the mountain, the hairpin turns were as equally as severe. 

But the lower side of the road opened up to a beautiful view of Verde Valley. Before you see the signs for Jerome,you can see remnants of old buildings and mining operations. Many times as we traveled on SR 89A, you could see the road you would eventually be on, from your current location on the road. We climbed back up a bit, to enter Jerome. 

Jerome’s elevation is just over 5,200 feet. All of the town of Jerome has beautiful views of the Verde Valley.

The roads in Jerome are very narrow and the houses and businesses are right there at the edge of the road. On our first run through town, we drove all the way through the town and stopped at the Jerome Historic State Park. At one point, the road narrows so much that it had to be turned into a one way street separated by businesses.

The Jerome Historic State Park features the Douglas Mansion. The mansion was built in 1916 by the Douglas family, an influential mining entrepreneurial family. The Douglas Mansion has been a landmark in Jerome since 1916, when it was built on the hill just above the Little Daisy Mine. It was designed as a hotel for mining officials and investors as well as for his family. It featured a wine cellar, billiard room, marble shower, steam heat, and one of the first central vacuum systems. A unique fact is the house was constructed of adobe bricks that were made on the site. The house is the largest adobe structure in Arizona. 

The Douglas family also built the Little Daisy Hotel near the mine as a dormitory for the miners. The concrete structure still stands and was recently remodeled into a private residence. It is a huge building for a private residence! 

While touring the mansion, you can see the mining history of the Jerome area and the Douglas family history. It exhibits of mining artifacts and minerals. We even saw diamonds from the Herikmer Diamond Mines in Central New York State! 

There are photographs, measuring tools, old electrical components and a video presentation narrated by a ghost! There was an old scale manufactured in Buffalo New York. It is intriguing that you can travel across the country and find items from your hometown back yard!

On the outside of the mansion, besides the panoramic view of the Verde Valley and Jerome, there are additional mining artifacts.

There mixed reviews on the Gold King Mine and Ghost Town, but we had to see for ourselves!

We drove past the fire hall and toward the Mine & Ghost town. 

Many reviews said it was a must see and others said it was a junk yard. The cost to tour is $5 per person. We followed the signs out of town and realized that in our opinion, it was a junk yard. 

We did not need to spend $5 each to tour a junk yard! So, we skipped it!

We went to Jerome early in the day to avoid some of the heat, so it was too early for lunch … but the names of a few of the establishments were very unique! The Haunted Hamburger, the Asylum Restaurant, too bad that the Belgian Jenny's Bordello Pizzeria is closed. We might have stopped for a slice! During the 60s and 70s, Jerome say its share of hippies arrive. Some came and moved on, they were not welcomed with open arms. However, many stayed and opened shops and are a big part of the tourist trade in Jerome today.

We headed back over the Mingus Mountain, the same way we came in on State Route 89A. I would not recommend taking an RV into Jerome, but as a day trip in a vehicle it is a must do! Arrive later and enjoy lunch or dinner!