Yavapai County, Arizona
One of Arizona's original four counties, stretching from the high ponderosa pine forests of Prescott to the spectacular red rock formations of Sedona and the vineyards of the Verde Valley wine trail.
Yavapai County is one of Arizona's four original counties, established on December 21, 1864, when the Arizona Territory was created. Named after the Yavapai people — the indigenous inhabitants of the region who have lived in central Arizona for millennia — the county covers 8,128 square miles of spectacularly diverse terrain. Prescott, the county seat, served as the first capital of the Arizona Territory and remains a charming Victorian-era city at 5,368 feet elevation, surrounded by ponderosa pine forests and granite boulders known as the "Dells."
Yavapai County contains some of Arizona's most celebrated landscapes. Sedona, in the northeastern portion of the county, is world-famous for its towering red sandstone formations — Cathedral Rock, Bell Rock, Oak Creek Canyon, and dozens of other iconic formations draw millions of visitors annually. The Verde Valley, running through the center of the county along the Verde River, supports Arizona's most established wine region, with numerous wineries and tasting rooms in and around Cottonwood and Clarkdale. Jerome, a former copper boomtown perched dramatically on Cleopatra Hill overlooking the Verde Valley, has reinvented itself as one of Arizona's most unique arts and tourism communities. And Tuzigoot and Montezuma Castle national monuments preserve the spectacular cliff dwellings and hilltop pueblos of the ancestral Sinagua people.
County Information
Demographics & Economy
Photos
Major Attractions
Prescott's Whiskey Row and Courthouse Plaza
Prescott's historic downtown is one of the most charming in Arizona, centered on Courthouse Plaza — a shaded green square surrounding the Yavapai County Courthouse. Gurley Street's "Whiskey Row" is a legendary block of historic saloons and bars that have operated since the frontier era, when Prescott was the rough-and-tumble capital of the Arizona Territory. Today the row is lined with restaurants, bars, and shops, and the surrounding blocks feature Victorian-era architecture, boutiques, art galleries, and the excellent Sharlot Hall Museum, which preserves artifacts and buildings from the territorial period. Prescott hosts numerous festivals throughout the year, including the World's Oldest Rodeo held annually since 1888.
Location: Downtown Prescott
Features: Historic saloons and restaurants, Sharlot Hall Museum, Courthouse Plaza, Victorian architecture, festivals and rodeo
Sedona Red Rock Country
Sedona is one of the most photographed and visited landscapes in the United States, drawing over three million visitors per year to its towering crimson sandstone formations. Cathedral Rock, Bell Rock, Courthouse Butte, and Oak Creek Canyon are among the most iconic formations, and the surrounding area offers world-class hiking, mountain biking, Jeep tours, helicopter rides, and vortex experiences (Sedona has a vibrant spiritual tourism industry built around purported energy vortexes in the red rocks). Oak Creek Canyon, winding north from Sedona toward Flagstaff, is one of Arizona's most beautiful drives, with red canyon walls, clear swimming holes at Slide Rock State Park, and forest service campgrounds.
Location: Sedona, northeastern Yavapai County
Features: Red rock formations, hiking and biking trails, Jeep tours, vortex sites, Oak Creek Canyon, Slide Rock State Park, upscale dining and arts galleries
Jerome Ghost Town and Art Community
Jerome clings dramatically to the steep slopes of Cleopatra Hill, overlooking the entire Verde Valley from an elevation of 5,000 feet. Once a booming copper mining town with a population of 15,000 and a reputation for wildness that earned it the nickname "Wickedest Town in the West," Jerome went bust in 1953 and was nearly abandoned. Beginning in the 1960s, artists and counterculture figures began moving in, and the town has since reinvented itself as one of Arizona's most distinctive communities, with dozens of galleries, eclectic restaurants, wine tasting rooms, and a museum documenting the town's extraordinary mining history. Jerome State Historic Park preserves the former mansion of mining magnate "Rawhide Jimmy" Douglas.
Location: Jerome, central Yavapai County above the Verde Valley
Features: Historic downtown, art galleries, wine tasting, Jerome State Historic Park, Mine Museum, dramatic valley views
Tuzigoot and Montezuma Castle National Monuments
Two remarkable national monuments in the Verde Valley preserve the legacy of the Sinagua people, who thrived in this region from approximately 1100 to 1425 CE. Tuzigoot National Monument is a hilltop pueblo with 110 rooms that once housed a community of around 225 people, overlooking Tavasci Marsh and the Verde River. Montezuma Castle National Monument, misnamed by early settlers who thought it was of Aztec origin, preserves a five-story cliff dwelling built into a limestone alcove 100 feet above Beaver Creek — one of the best-preserved cliff dwellings in North America. Montezuma Well, a detached unit of the monument, is a limestone sinkhole filled with warm spring water and surrounded by ancient irrigation canals.
Location: Verde Valley
Features: Sinagua cliff dwellings, hilltop pueblo ruins, visitor centers, hiking trails, Montezuma Well sinkhole
Verde Valley Wine Trail
The Verde Valley has emerged as Arizona's premier wine region, with a cluster of wineries, tasting rooms, and vineyards centered around Cottonwood and Clarkdale. The region's combination of high elevation (around 3,300 feet), volcanic soils, and warm days with cool nights creates ideal conditions for producing distinctive Arizona wines. The Verde Valley Wine Trail connects over a dozen wineries including Page Spring Cellars, Alcantara Vineyards, and others. The town of Clarkdale's historic downtown has become a hub for wine tasting, and the Verde Canyon Railroad offers a scenic excursion through otherwise inaccessible canyon country alongside the Verde River.
Location: Cottonwood, Clarkdale, and surrounding Verde Valley
Features: Wine tasting rooms, vineyard tours, local food pairings, Verde Canyon Railroad, Verde River access
Frequently Asked Questions
Yavapai County is known for an extraordinary range of attractions and characteristics:
- Sedona's world-famous red rock formations, drawing millions of visitors annually for hiking, photography, and spiritual retreats
- Prescott, the former Arizona Territorial Capital, with its Victorian-era architecture and the legendary Whiskey Row
- The World's Oldest Rodeo, held in Prescott since 1888
- Jerome, the "Wickedest Town in the West" turned arts community perched on a mountainside
- Tuzigoot and Montezuma Castle national monuments, preserving spectacular Sinagua cliff dwellings
- The Verde Valley wine trail, Arizona's most established wine region
- Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Prescott, one of the world's foremost aviation universities
- Watson Lake, with its stunning granite dells landscape near Prescott
- The Verde Canyon Railroad, offering scenic excursions through remote canyon wilderness
Sedona has developed a significant spiritual tourism industry based on the belief that certain locations in the red rocks have concentrations of energy, known as vortexes (or vortices). The four most well-known vortex sites are:
- Airport Mesa: Considered an upflow vortex, associated with feelings of empowerment and the masculine energy of the earth. Accessible via a short hike near Sedona Airport.
- Cathedral Rock: Often described as an inflow vortex associated with feminine energy, nurturing, and emotional healing. One of Sedona's most photographed formations.
- Bell Rock: An upflow vortex said to make meditation and spiritual pursuits easier. Bell Rock and adjacent Courthouse Butte are popular for hiking.
- Boynton Canyon: Considered a balanced or combination vortex with both upflow and inflow energies. The hike into Boynton Canyon is also excellent for its scenery.
Whether or not one believes in the metaphysical claims, these sites are beautiful natural areas that offer excellent hiking and opportunities for quiet contemplation. Guided vortex tours are widely available in Sedona.
Yavapai County's varied elevations mean different communities have different peak seasons:
- Spring (March-May): Excellent for Sedona, with wildflowers, comfortable temperatures (60s-80s°F), and clear skies. Prescott can still have cool or cold nights but is beautiful with blooming wildflowers and fresh ponderosa pine air.
- Summer (June-September): Sedona can be hot (90s-100°F), though this is offset by the monsoonal thunderstorms that arrive in July and create spectacular cloud formations over the red rocks. Prescott at 5,400 feet stays comfortable (70s-80s°F), making it a popular summer escape from Phoenix. This is peak season for Prescott.
- Fall (October-November): One of the best seasons for all of Yavapai County. Comfortable temperatures, potential for excellent fall color in Oak Creek Canyon's riparian zone, and reduced crowds in Sedona.
- Winter (December-February): Prescott receives occasional snowfall that makes the granite dells and pine forests magical. Sedona is mild and less crowded. Whiskey Row and the Courthouse Plaza area in Prescott are particularly charming during the holiday season.
Prescott has a rich and somewhat complex history as a territorial capital:
- When President Abraham Lincoln signed the Organic Act creating the Arizona Territory in 1863, Prescott was selected as the first territorial capital partly due to its location near promising gold and silver mining areas and its distance from Confederate sympathizers in Tucson.
- The first territorial governor, John Gurley (who died before taking office), was succeeded by John Goodwin, who established the first capital at Prescott's Fort Whipple site in 1864.
- The capital moved to Tucson in 1867 when southern Arizona interests gained political power.
- Prescott regained the capital designation in 1877 after Tucson's political fortunes ebbed.
- The capital was moved permanently to Phoenix in 1889, following Phoenix's rise as the dominant population and economic center of the territory.
- The Sharlot Hall Museum in downtown Prescott preserves Governor's Mansion, the oldest standing government building in Arizona, and offers excellent exhibits on the territorial period.
Major Communities
Prescott
County seat and former territorial capital, population ~45,000, elevation 5,368 ft
Prescott Valley
Population ~47,000, the county's largest town, adjacent to Prescott
Sedona
Population ~10,000, world-famous red rock tourism destination
Cottonwood
Population ~12,000, Verde Valley commercial center and wine country hub
Jerome
Population ~450, historic copper mining ghost town turned arts community
Chino Valley
Population ~12,000, agricultural community north of Prescott