The Desert's Most Famous Yacht Club: A Quick Stop in Cleator, Arizona
July 11th, 2017
Arizona has a way of switching landscapes on you the moment you look down and then look back up.
This drive began among saguaros before climbing into the remnants of a wildfire, where scorched hillsides and black scars still marked the mountains. A few miles later, I was winding along old mining roads through a pine forest that felt a world away from the Sonoran Desert.
Then I arrived in Cleator.
At first glance, Cleator looks like one of Arizona's many old mining settlements. A handful of weathered buildings, a general store, and mountains rising in every direction. The kind of place you could drive through in less than a minute if you weren't paying attention.
Then you notice the boats.
Lots of boats.
Boats parked in the dirt. Boats sitting beside old wooden buildings. Jet skis baking in the Arizona sun.
Somehow, there's a yacht club in the middle of the mountains.
Welcome to the Cleator Yacht Club.
Before reaching town, I pulled over near a small trickle of water crossing the desert floor. While wandering around the wash, I stumbled upon the remains of a bird resting beside the stream. Its skull was perfectly intact. Naturally, I considered adding it to my growing collection of desert curiosities. I set it down for a moment while exploring the area but when I turned back, it was gone.
I searched around the wash for several minutes and never found it again. Maybe a desert creature grabbed it. Maybe I overlooked it. Or maybe the desert simply decided it wanted it back. Strange.
A few miles later, I was standing in front of a yacht club surrounded by boats nowhere near an ocean, lake, or river.
Arizona is mischievous that way.
As I traipsed into Cleator, the old buildings and mountain backdrop immediately grabbed my attention. The town carries that familiar Arizona mining-country character with weathered wood, rusted metal, handmade signs, and the feeling that everything has a story behind it.
What surprised me most wasn't the bar itself.
It was everything around it.
Across the property were vintage relics, old signs, scattered treasures, desert art, and enough oddities to keep me dilly dallying a tad longer than I intended. I found myself exploring the yard, taking in the mountain views, and admiring all the random pieces of desert history scattered around the property.
I became so distracted exploring that I completely forgot to photograph the front and interior of the bar.
Those deserve justice, so I'll have to return for an update.
The contrast is what makes this place so memorable. You're standing in the rugged Bradshaw Mountains, surrounded by old mining history and desert peaks, yet somehow you've stumbled upon a yacht club.
As far as the history, the bar was already an Old West fixture of the old mining town before it became known as "Cleator Bar & Yacht Club.” From what I gathered at the bar, the concept possibly began as a joke being that the nearest ocean is almost five hours away.
Only in Arizona.
If you're traveling between Phoenix and Crown King or exploring the backroads of central Arizona, Cleator is worth a stop. Not because there's a long list of attractions, but because places like this are becoming rare.
Places that are strange for the sake of being strange. Places that remind you Arizona remains a land of forgotten mining camps, curious roadside oddities, and Wild West stories hidden down old dusty roads.
…And where else are you going to find a yacht club in the middle of the mountains?
Know Before You Go
✦ Location: Cleator, Arizona, in the Bradshaw Mountains between Phoenix and Crown King.
✦ Best For: Road trippers, Arizona history enthusiasts, photographers, and anyone who appreciates unusual roadside attractions.
✦ Road Conditions: Accessible by paved road from Interstate 17 via Bumble Bee Road.
✦ Services: Limited. Bring water and fuel if continuing deeper into the mountains.
