Historic Tour of Jerome from Sedona: Mining Town & Verde Valley

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Free cancellationExcellent quality

1/6

Duration4h 30m

GroupUp to 14

LanguagesEN

PickupAt your hotel

Ride up Mingus Mountain into a town that once shipped a billion dollars in copper.

This 4½-hour guided tour departs from your Sedona hotel and travels through the Verde Valley to Jerome, a National Historic Landmark and former mining town, with stops in Cottonwood and Clarkdale along the way. Your guide drives you from the base of Jerome to the top, pointing out the Sliding Jail, the Audrey Headframe, former brothel sites and other historic locations most visitors miss. The tour includes hotel pickup and drop-off, bottled water, and 90 minutes of free time for lunch or shopping with discount coupons; you arrange and pay for food separately.

The Experience

What makes Jerome worth the drive from Sedona? The town sits 1,800 feet up Mingus Mountain and once shipped more copper than almost anywhere else in the country—enough to earn it the nickname "The Wickedest Town in the West." Your guide picks you up at your hotel in Sedona, Cottonwood or Jerome in a climate-controlled van and narrates the Verde Valley's history as you travel. The route passes through Cottonwood, which was called the "Bootleg Capital of Arizona" during Prohibition, and Clarkdale, a company town built by Senator William A. Clark, who owned the largest copper mine in Jerome. Both towns sit lower in the valley; Jerome itself crowns the mountain.

Once in Jerome, your guide drives you through the whole town—top to bottom and back alleys included—stopping at sites most visitors never find: the Sliding Jail, the Audrey Headframe, the Little Daisy Mine (owned by Jimmy "Rawhide" Douglas), and the former brothel district. The guide narrates the stories and legends tied to each place. You get 90 minutes on your own to walk around, eat lunch (discount coupons come with the tour), or browse the shops. Sturdy shoes help because the streets are uneven, and a jacket is worth bringing since the elevation is high.

The van is air-conditioned and the pace is set by the guide, so you listen and look rather than navigate or read plaques yourself. Bottled water is included. The whole tour runs 4½ hours from pickup to drop-off at your hotel.

What’s included

Hotel pickup and drop-off from Sedona, Cottonwood or Jerome.
transport in an air-conditioned minivan.
live guide commentary in English throughout the Verde Valley and Jerome.
bottled water.
90 minutes of free time in Jerome for lunch or shopping.
discount lunch coupons.
local taxes.

Good to know

Easy physical levelPublic transport nearbyInfants must sit on laps

Operated by Tours of Jerome

Is this one for you?At 4½ hours, this tour fits into a morning or early afternoon without consuming your whole day, leaving time for other Sedona activities before or after. The fixed schedule and included pickup mean you don't arrange transport or timing yourself; the guide handles the narration and the route, so you listen and absorb rather than navigate.