RIGHT OUTSIDE OUR DOOR
Whiskey Row
Whiskey Row is the 100 block of South Montezuma Street, facing the Yavapai County Courthouse. You can walk it end to end in about two minutes. What makes it worth the trip is the density: Arizona's oldest saloon, a real honky tonk, a dueling piano bar and a balcony over the courthouse square, all within a couple hundred feet.
On July 14, 1900, a fire took roughly four and a half blocks of downtown in about four hours. The Row was rebuilt in brick and stone, and almost everything standing went up between 1900 and 1905, this hotel included.
THE BARS ON THE BLOCK
The Palace Restaurant & Saloon
Opened 1877 and Arizona's oldest continuously operating saloon. The hand-carved Brunswick bar that patrons carried into the street during the 1900 fire is still in the room.
120 S Montezuma St · (928) 541-1996 · Website
Jersey Lilly Saloon
Upstairs in the Palace building, with a balcony over the Courthouse Square. The best seat in Prescott during a parade.
116 S Montezuma St · (928) 541-7854 · Website
Matt's Saloon
One of Prescott's last true honky tonks, with a big oak dance floor and live country. Buck Owens and Waylon Jennings played this room in the sixties.
112 S Montezuma St · (928) 771-8878 · Website
Whiskey & Ivory
A dueling piano bar. Two players, your requests, and plenty of competition.
112 S Montezuma St · (928) 236-7177 · Website
Black Vulture Saloon
Opens earliest and closes latest on the block.
144 S Montezuma St · (928) 445-1244 · Website
Back Alley Wine Bar
The quiet option, steps from our door, when you want a glass of wine rather than a saloon.
156 S Montezuma St · Website
Bird Cage Saloon
A historic dive at the Goodwin Street end of the Row, rebuilt here after the 2012 fire took its original building.
160 S Montezuma St · (928) 778-9921 · Website
Two things visitors get wrong: Superstition Meadery is on Gurley Street and The Raven Cafe is two blocks over on Cortez. Both are worth your time. Neither is on Whiskey Row.
DOWNTOWN
Museums, food and drink
Courthouse Plaza
Seventeen acres of lawn and elm trees directly across from the Row, and the center of town. Nearly every Prescott event happens here.
120 S Cortez St
Sharlot Hall Museum
Territorial Arizona across a campus of original buildings, including the 1864 Governor's Mansion. The best history in town.
415 W Gurley St · (928) 445-3122 · Website
Elks Theatre
A restored opera house a block east of the plaza that still hosts live music, shows and film.
117 E Gurley St · (928) 777-1370 · Tickets
Superstition Meadery
Award-winning mead and cider in a tasting room on Gurley Street.
120 W Gurley St · (928) 458-4256 · Website
The Raven Cafe
A cafe by day and a music venue at night, two blocks from the Row.
142 N Cortez St · (928) 717-0009 · Website
Bill's Pizza
A block off the plaza. There is a line most evenings and it is worth it.
107 S Cortez St · (928) 443-0800 · Website
Phippen Museum
Western art with a view, about 7 miles north on Highway 89.
4701 Highway 89 N · (928) 778-1385 · Website
Prescott Farmers Market
Every Saturday morning year-round, a short drive from downtown in the Dignity Health lot on Iron Springs Road.
900 Iron Springs Rd · (928) 713-1227 · Hours
OUTDOORS
Lakes and trails
Prescott National Forest wraps around town on every side. These are the ones you can do without planning your whole day around them. City lakes charge $5 for parking.
Watson Lake & the Granite Dells
Ten minutes north. Rounded granite boulders around green water, trails along the shore and kayak rentals in season. If you do one outdoor thing, do this.
3101 Watson Lake Park Rd · (928) 777-1121 · City page
Thumb Butte
The landmark you can see from the plaza, ten minutes west. A two-mile loop with the climb front-loaded. $5 day pass.
Thumb Butte Rd · (928) 443-8000 · Forest Service
Granite Basin & Granite Mountain
Twenty minutes northwest. More serious hiking, with a small lake at the bottom. $5 day pass.
Granite Basin Rd · (928) 443-8000 · Forest Service
Goldwater Lake
About ten minutes south, with picnic ramadas and pedal boats in season.
2900 S Goldwater Lake Rd · (928) 777-1121 · City page
Lynx Lake
Southeast of town. Quiet, forested and good for a canoe. $5 day pass.
Walker Rd off Highway 69 · (928) 777-2200 · Forest Service
Peavine Trail
A flat rail-trail through the Granite Dells. Easy, wide and good with kids or a dog. Reach it from Watson Lake.
Trailhead off Sundog Ranch Rd
Willow Lake
Right next to Watson Lake, with wide views and easy shoreline walking.
1497 Heritage Park Rd · (928) 777-1121 · City page
DAY TRIPS
Three trips, all under an hour and a half
Jerome
Under an hour over Mingus Mountain. A copper-mining town on a hillside at 5,000 feet, full of galleries and tasting rooms.
Visitor Center, 310 Hull Ave · (928) 634-2900 · Website
Verde Canyon Railroad
About an hour away in Clarkdale. A four-hour ride through a canyon with no road access. Book ahead.
300 N Broadway, Clarkdale · (800) 293-7245 · Tickets
Sedona
About an hour and fifteen. Red rock that needs no introduction. Go on a weekday if you can.
Visitor Center, 331 Forest Rd · (928) 282-7890 · Website
THE YEAR IN PRESCOTT
Events worth planning around
Late April
The Whiskey Off-Road mountain bike race closes Montezuma Street for a weekend.
Late June
The Prescott Bluegrass Festival, free, on the plaza.
Around July 4
Prescott Frontier Days and the World's Oldest Rodeo, running since 1888. The parade comes through downtown on the Fourth. The busiest week of the year, and rooms go early.
Summer
Free concerts on the plaza.
Late November to mid January
Arizona's Christmas City, starting with the Holiday Light Parade.
Early December
The Christmas Parade in the afternoon and the Courthouse Lighting that evening. The biggest night on the plaza all year.
Mid December
Acker Night, when hundreds of musicians play in downtown businesses in a single evening.
New Year's Eve
The Whiskey Row Boot Drop. A lit boot comes down from the Palace flagpole, with fireworks after.
PARKING
The rule that catches people out
Park in the free Garage on Granite at 135 South Granite Street, one block west of the plaza and about a two minute walk to the Row. Do not circle the plaza looking for a space.
There are no parking meters downtown and street parking is free with posted limits. If you are leaving a car overnight, the garage is the easiest option.
WHERE TO STAY
Already on the Row
The Grand Highland Hotel is at 154 South Montezuma, in the middle of Whiskey Row. That matters on Boot Drop and Courthouse Lighting nights, when you are already there.
Want to be a little removed? Our sister properties are close by:
Photos from Wikimedia Commons: Whiskey Row and Jersey Lilly by Scottb211 (CC BY 2.0); Palace by Alan Levine (CC BY-SA 2.0); Brunswick bar and Elks Theatre by Marine 69-71 (CC BY-SA 4.0); Courthouse by Upstateherd (CC BY-SA 4.0); Governor's Mansion by Doncram (CC BY-SA 3.0); Watson Lake by David Quigley (CC BY 2.0); Thumb Butte, Granite Mountain, Goldwater Lake and Lynx Lake by Benjamin Cody (CC BY-SA 3.0); Jerome by Finetooth (CC BY-SA 3.0); Verde Canyon Railroad by Seasider53 (CC BY 4.0); Cathedral Rock by Terrydarc (CC BY-SA 3.0).
