Best Jerome AZ day trip itinerary: Galleries, restaurants and ghosts
An old mining town clings to the side of a mountain. It is a lost land of concrete bones, a skeleton from a different age. Once hailed as “the wickedest town in the West,” it set aside its rowdy ways. Today, Jerome is Arizona’s best day trip.
With a fairy tale setting, otherworldly views and an artistic vision, Jerome offers an easy escape from the mundane. The real world gets left far behind. This is a place that requires little effort, yet you feel like you’re on vacation. It starts with a winding, curving scenic drive.
Visitors arrive via State Route 89A, the only paved road through the community. 89A snakes across the broad back of Mingus Mountain from Prescott and descends to the floor of the Verde Valley. It’s a thrill ride approaching from either direction — beloved by bikers, loathed by carsick-prone kids. At the end of the journey, Jerome offers respite. Unclench the steering wheel and relax.
Here's how to spend a day in Jerome AZ.
What happened in Jerome Arizona?
Mineral wealth was no secret on these mountain slopes. Ancient cultures dug amid the colorful rocks of Jerome for pigment and jewelry. Prospectors filed the first mining claims in 1876, later selling out to the United Verde Copper Company backed by New York financier Eugene Jerome. His money secured naming rights for the fledgling camp.
The rugged terrain made everything more complicated, from hauling in equipment to transporting ore. In 1888, William Clark bought the mine and used his vast fortune to build a narrow-gauge railway. The United Verde became the largest producing copper mine in the Arizona Territory.
Packed with saloons, brothels and gambling halls, Jerome earned a reputation as a wild and wooly place. By the 1920s, 15,000 people crowded into the “Billion Dollar Mining Camp” but it was a town wreathed in death. Disease was rampant. Smelter fumes smothered vegetation, leaving hillsides barren. Blasting in the mines buckled foundations and sent buildings sliding down the slopes in an avalanche of brick and concrete.
World War II marked a final copper boomlet and when the mines closed for good in 1953, the citizens scattered. All except a few dozen hardy souls who formed the historical society and began patching the scars of this tumbledown town.
During the 1960s, Jerome experienced a counterculture renaissance, a polite way of saying hippies moved in. They snapped up real estate on the cheap, opened businesses and injected Jerome with the relaxed carefree vibe still prevalent.
How do I spend my day in Jerome AZ?
Today you’ll find a town stacked like chips at a high-stakes poker game. Jerome is built on the steep slope of Cleopatra Hill with 1,500 vertical feet of elevation change from one end of town to the other.
Narrow streets are layered in a tight series of switchbacks and lined by tall angular buildings, stilted houses wrapped in porches and picturesque ruins. Stairways form tendons holding the community together. Everything seems uphill in Jerome. Wear comfortable shoes.
Historic buildings that survived multiple calamities have been reborn as shops, galleries, wine tasting rooms and restaurants. Sample them at your leisure.
Or don’t.
One thing that makes Jerome such a perfect getaway is the lack of pressure to have a specific experience. There are no schedules to keep. Everything is compact so there’s no rushing around to visit different attractions or viewpoints. The blueprint for all Jerome visitors is a simple one. Park the car, then wander around. No hurry, no agenda. Residents will tell you that Jerome operates on Mountain Stranded Time.
What shops are in Jerome AZ?
As an arts community, Jerome offers a smorgasbord of styles and creative energy. Most artists live in town or nearby. The Jerome Artists Cooperative (502 Main St., 928-639-4276, www.jeromecoop.com) contains a wide range of work by more than two dozen locals who also operate the gallery. You’ll find practically every medium imaginable from painting to pottery to woodworking to photography.
Raku Gallery (250 Hull Ave., 928-639-0239, www.rakugallery.com) is another longstanding showcase for a wide range of artists with a contemporary flavor. This is a good spot for décor pieces.
Firefly at 208 Main St. features handcrafted items, both functional and decorative, inspired by nature (928-639-3473, www.fireflyjerome.com).
Step into Nellie Bly (136 Main St., 928-634-0255, www.nbscopes.com) and you’re inside the world’s largest kaleidoscope gallery. They carry some cute toy scopes, but most are handmade by more than 90 artists ranging in style, size and price.
Don’t miss the Jerome Art Center, a collection of studios and shops housed in the old Jerome High School (887 Hampshire Ave., 928-592-7589, www.jeromeartcenter.com). Here you can meet the artists at work. The complex sits downhill from the main part of town along a hogback ridge and has its own parking lot.
Besides the galleries, plenty of specialty shops lure visitors off the sidewalks. Rickeldoris Candy & Popcorn moved to a bigger location at 367 Main St. (928-639-1340) and expanded its selection of delectable and nostalgic treats.
The holidays are always in the air at Copper Canyon Christmas, The Christmas Store (111 Jerome Ave., 928-821-6400, www.mooeychristmas.com). They carry more than 2,000 items to celebrate Christmas, Halloween and more.
Top Jerome AZ restaurants
For wonderful views paired with excellent food, try the Haunted Hamburger (410 Clark St., 928-634-0554, thehauntedhamburger.com) where they serve tender burgers, sandwiches and salads on a covered deck.
Bobby D’s BBQ (119 Jerome Ave., 928-634-6235, www.bobbydsbbqjerome.com) proves hard to resist with the aroma of slow-cooked meats from its smoker wafting down the street.
The Asylum (200 Hill St., 928-639-3197, www.asyluminjerome.com) offers fine dining and an excellent wine list in a romantic setting.
One of the newer additions to Jerome’s dining scene is the Clinkscale (309 Main St., 928-634-6225, www.theclinkscale.com) with an elevated menu of modern American cuisine and a bar offering chef-crafted cocktails. Upstairs are six elegant hotel rooms because Jerome doesn’t have to be just a day trip.
Jerome AZ hotels
If you decide to extend your visit, you’ll have plenty of options, and the chance for a paranormal experience.
The Connor Hotel offers a dozen historic rooms with some artistic flourishes above the famed Spirit Room saloon. 160 Main St., 928-634-5006, www.connorhotel.com.
Overlooking the town is the Jerome Grand Hotel (200 Hill St., 928-634-8200, www.jeromegrandhotel.net), which once served as the United Verde Hospital. The Grand is Jerome’s only full-service hotel, where rooms and hallways are filled with antiques and ghosts, so there’s something for everyone.
Jerome State Historic Park
If you want to learn more about the town’s fabled past, start at Jerome State Historic Park, where the centerpiece is the sprawling mansion built by Jimmy “Rawhide” Douglas in 1916. Douglas owned the Little Daisy Mine, Jerome’s second richest.
Now a museum, it features photographs, artifacts, minerals, original furnishings and an intriguing 3-D model of the town and underground tunnels. Around the grounds are mining equipment and picnic tables. $7, $4 for ages 7-13. 100 Douglas Road. 928-634-5381, www.azstateparks.com.
Jerome Mine Museum
The Mine Museum in the center of town is maintained by the Jerome Historical Society and chock full of artifacts including mining equipment, gambling paraphernalia and a lawman’s pistol used in some bloody shootouts. Museum admission is $2; you can browse the gift shop for free. 407 Clark St., 928-634-1066, www.jeromehistoricalsociety.com.
Best time to go to Jerome AZ
At 5,000 feet in elevation, Jerome makes a great destination any time of year.
A fun way to experience the town is during the monthly Jerome Art & Wine Walk (www.jeromechamber.com). It happens the first Saturday of each month. There’s free parking and shuttle service for the event, which takes place from 5-8 p.m.
Shops stay open into the evening and there’s live music, food and wine. Plus, you get to witness the distant red rocks of Sedona glowing in the sunset. Shadows lengthen through the streets, and twilight falls ever so softly on this town that teeters on the brink yet somehow always manages to hang on.
Find the reporter at www.rogernaylor.com. Or follow him on Facebook at www.facebook.com/RogerNaylorinAZ or Twitter @AZRogerNaylor.
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Arizona's best day trip: Ultimate guide to Jerome AZ
