Crown King, Arizona located in the Ponderosa Pines of the Bradshaw Mountains can be best described as an inhabited ghost town. At approximately 5900 ft. in elevation, it’s a close get-away from the summer heat of Phoenix and home to many a summer cabin along with a handful of fulltime residents. Driving to Crown King is a step back into the history of Arizona from about 1875 through the early twentieth century. The best time to make this trip is in the summer, late spring and early fall. The trip can be made in late fall, early spring and winter but be prepared for wet, icy or snowy conditions at these times of year in the higher altitudes.

Heading north from Phoenix on I-17, you will pass the Pioneer Living History Museum, Anthem, New River and mile-upon-mile of Saguaro cacti as you climb higher into the northern reaches of the Sonoran Desert. Passing the redundantly named Table Mesa Road, you will continue north to Black Canyon City and then begin, but not complete, the steep climb up the escarpment from the Sonoran Desert to the high desert of central Arizona and the foothills of the Bradshaw Mountains. About 3.5 miles north of Black Canyon City take the Bumble Bee / Crown King Exit and turn left (west). This is where your step back in time begins. Here, very quickly the pavement ends and you hit the washboard of an Arizona dirt road that is passable in a passenger car, but expect a few loose screws when you get home.

First up is a wide spot in the road known as Bumble Bee. Originally a U.S. Cavalry outpost in 1863, it later became a stop on the Prescott-Phoenix Stage. How the town got it’s name is up for some debate. I tend to lean toward the disturbing of a bee hive by prospectors rather than the story of military attachments claiming that Indians in the area were as thick as bumblebees.

Bumble Bee is a great first stop on this backroad trip. On the right, straight across from the crumbling townsite built in the 1930′s as a tourist attraction, is the Trading Post. The Trading Post is housed in the old Bumble Bee school and serves a great hamburger, cold beer and stories. Among the decor, you’ll find at the counter gold nuggets recently found in the area and housed under glass. Behind the counter you’ll find a body willing to talk about them, but don’t expect to get the exact location of where the nuggets were found. This is gold country after all.

Heading out on the road to Crown King from Bumble Bee you’ll travel the washboard across the desert and be taken by the stark beauty. Mountain’s rise all around on the near horizon topped with tall pines and yet you’re surrounded by desert. At this point you know that the pine forest is only a switchback or three up the 4000 ft. mountains around you.

About 9 miles from Bumble Bee you’ll pass through Cleator. If Bumble Bee is a wide spot in the road, then Cleator is a pull out. Cleator lies at the base of the Bradshaw Mountains and was a train stop for the gold ore coming from the Crowned King. Remaining in Cleator are shacks, town buildings and the one building that still is inhabitated (the saloon of course) on certain hours on certain days and it is blind-ass luck for you if it is open and if it is open you need to spend a bit of time there. Cleator was the center of the gold ore moving beyond the Bradshaw Mining District. Named after James Cleator who acquired the town ca. 1905, the town is still owned by the Cleator family. Cleator is also the beginning or terminus of the Impossible Railroad depending on which way you’re headed, and from this point forward you are driving in the tracks of the Impossible Railroad all the way to Crown King.

Frank Murphy began construction of the Impossible Railroad from Cleator to Crown King in 1895. Disbelievers said the railroad couldn’t be built because of the steep terrain and called the venture impossible. By 1904, the narrow gauge railroad was complete and today you will travel over the rail-road bed to Crown King.

Leaving Cleator, you’ll drive across the desert and then begin climbing up into the Bradshaws. Along with the mine tailings and shafts you’ll see to your left and right you will also notice that as you make your way up the road, that you are in a series of switchbacks. These switchbacks, each about a mile, allowed the train engineer to push and pull his train up the mountain, or if headed the opposite way, to be pushed and pulled down the mountain.

Right outside Crown King the road narrows to one lane around an outcrop in the mountain. Once past that, the town of Crown King awaits your exploration.

Crown King formed around the Crowned King Gold Mine from which the town gets it’s name. The first claim in the Crown King area was filed in July 1875. Crown King was officially established when a Post Office was opened June 29, 1888. Currently, Crown King’s downtown boasts a General Store and Saloon (moved from the ghost town of Oro Belle, just down the road). There are also many original buildings in the area but don’t go poking your nose where it doesn’t belong as most are occupied.

A great bit of Crown King’s history can be found in Crown King’s cemetery. The cemetery is a bit hard to find and even with directions it is easy to get lost. The cemetery is located in a nice stand of Ponderosa Pine and provides a great history lesson and an excellent spot for lunch. For directions to the cemetery, inquire within the store.