Seniors Enjoy Historic Wickenburg

Welcome to Wickenburg, a town of 6,500 residents primarily located in Maricopa County, Arizona, with a portion in neighboring Yavapai County. Senior travelers will find the town 60 minutes northwest of Phoenix.

The Wickenburg area with much of the Southwest became part of the United States by the 1848 treaty that ended the Mexican-American War. A German named Henry Wickenburg was one of the first prospectors. His efforts were rewarded with the discovery of the Vulture Mine, from which more than $30 million worth of gold has been dug.

Ranchers and farmers soon built homes along the fertile plain of the Hassayampa River (a Yavapai term meaning “river that runs upside down”).  Together with miners, they founded the town of Wickenburg in 1863.

This is one loaded site so bring up the links at the top that provide a nice overview of the town. Find the Travel Guide and flip through the pages and then view the Photo Gallery of Wickenburg, a town full of western history. I enjoyed reading the names of the various sites and restaurants in town.

 Seniors Visit The Western Museum

Wickenburg’s Desert Caballeros Western Museum is renowned for “Cowgirl Up,” the country’s most important annual showcase for female artists of the West. Several tours are available that are well worth your time as they provide an insight that you might miss on your own, especially the many older historic homes.

The local Wickenburg Chamber of Commerce promotes the town with  annual events  that pack the town: a Bluegrass Festival, A Cowboy Poetry Gathering, the annual Christmas Parade of Lights and the Gold Rush Days featuring a Senior Pro Rodeo.

The National Senior Pro Rodeo Association circuit is designed for cowhands aged 40 and older. One can expect familiar rodeo events like barrel racing, roping and bull and bronc riding.

Seniors Enjoy The West’s Most Western Town

It is said that Wickenburg, Arizona is arguably The West’s Most Western Town, where the air is clean and the cowboy lifestyle endures. Senior visitors will discover everything from a dude ranch, great golf, horseback riding and art & culture with the annual festivals.

Arizona Leisure notes that like so many Arizona towns, the rich mining history of Wickenburg, Arizona is a testament to the hardy resolve of the gold rush dreamers who flocked to the area in the 1800s, searching for their share of the greatest riches ever known.

What sets Wickenburg apart however from other early Arizona mining camps is its location near the lush and fertile Hassayampa River, giving the region a storied reputation both as a gold mine mecca and agricultural promise land.

My wife and I drive through Wickenburg on our way to Las Vegas and have stopped to enjoy some fine southwest food. It’s a neat town for a visit all year long. -jeb