Late summer’s lingering heat turns desert dwellers into pilgrims, desperate for springs of that elusive flowing water. Cottonwood happily offers it not only in spring form, but through lakes, a river, ponds, and by turning barrels of it into wine.
The small city also matches the fare to the grapes. Inside the private Caduceus Cellars Ventura Room, Chef Rhyin Secakuku builds the pairing meal around what grows nearby and some of the items he forages himself. After years of cooking around the country, he returned to Arizona.
“Everything I’d looked for was waiting for me at home,” he said.
Twenty minutes away, the 68-degree spring water runs clear through the trout ponds at Page Springs and alongside a cottonwood-lined trail. Arizona Game and Fish Public Affairs Director Michael Colaianni compares its clarity to a Hawaiian waterfall. Those two stops reveal what makes Cottonwood a must-visit, where the Verde Valley is never far from what visitors eat or where they walk.
Old Town Cottonwood
A little under two hours from Phoenix, Old Town’s walkable center follows North Main Street between North Seventh and North Cactus streets, where tasting rooms lie lazily beside locally owned restaurants and shops. A mule team cut the road through the brush in 1908, and nearly three dozen buildings from the 1920s and 1930s give Old Town its Prohibition-era character and a place on the National Register of Historic Places. Where a spring still flows, people gather, and in Cottonwood’s case, feast and drink in style.
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Start the morning at Crèma Craft Kitchen & Bar for coffee and breakfast before the water day begins. Brunch allows enough breathing room to settle in before the short drive toward Cornville.
From Old Town, it’s about 20 minutes to Page Springs Fish Hatchery, where the property’s mostly flat 1.2-mile nature trail follows the south bank of Oak Creek. Common black hawks and wood ducks nest nearby, hummingbird feeders are cleaned and refilled every two days, and otters or beavers may move through the corridor. Allow an hour, or closer to 90 minutes for a slow walk.
Around the corner, Bubbling Ponds Hatchery is a separate parcel with its own approximately 1.5-mile Blackhawk Trail. The loop circles open ponds used for native and warm-water fish, with viewing decks and benches along the route. It is open from dawn to dusk, allowing for flexible meandering.
Travelers who would rather stay close to town can begin at the beautiful Dead Horse Ranch State Park instead, well worth a full morning or afternoon. Three lagoons make an easy birding stop, while the quarter-mile Canopy Trail loops beneath Fremont cottonwoods and is ADA accessible. The Verde River Greenway continues for two miles one way through lush nesting habitat for anyone who wants more distance.
Page Springs Fish Hatchery | George Adrejko, AZGFD.jpg
Queen B Vinyl Cafe
Return to Old Town for lunch at Queen B Vinyl Cafe, a former church on Pima Street where coffee is roasted in-house, records fill the adjoining shop and a working barbershop occupies another part of the property. Shows and listening parties keep the address active after the breakfast and lunch crowd leaves for those who enjoy letting music guide the mood.
The locally-sourced wagyu beef Judas Burger arrives seasoned and sauced from edge to edge, with house pickles adding the right snap. The Devil’s Mess is the breakfast favorite, while the ramen counter serves a deep tonkotsu broth. This is a lunch worth scheduling rather than squeezing between stops.
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For a short outing with even more water views that include Old Town, walk behind SEEDS Natural Fiber Clothing to the Jail Trail River Walk. The path begins beside the historic jail and drops quickly into dense greenery along the Verde River, feeling removed from Main Street within minutes.
When river conditions cooperate, Verde Adventures can take the place of the shorter walk. Its Water to Wine trip follows the flow by inflatable kayak and ends at Alcantara Vineyards, turning the afternoon activity and first wine stop into a continuous experience.
Camilla Richardson
Another option, the four-hour Verde Canyon Railroad from nearby Clarkdale, takes up more of the schedule, so it works best as the main activity rather than something added after lunch. The route follows a landscape inaccessible by road, with stunning views, first-class cars, and a private-caboose option for travelers who want more space.
Old Town Copper Co.
Back in Old Town, start again at SEEDS, where racks of embroidered linen and cotton fill Cottonwood’s former jail and the holding cell now serves as a fitting room. Old Town Copper Co. connects the valley’s mining history to cookware and decorative pieces in gorgeous flair, while VERDE life + style and its sister store, Bananas, bring a newer point of view to Main Street. “Bananas is about an attitude, not fruit,” the owner said.
For an art stop, The Eureka Room shows a changing mix of work by local artists throughout its wine tasting room. Nearby, Verde Valley Olive Oil Traders offers samples of extra-virgin olive oils and aged balsamic vinegars, adding an edible souvenir to the Main Street mix.
Book the last hour of the afternoon at Respyre Massage, inside the Skin Care and Wellness Studio on Main Street. Sessions range from Swedish and deep-tissue work to hot stone, facial and couples massage, giving the itinerary a pause before dinner.
For the most walkable stay, the Tavern Hotel keeps things nice and close. Its recently updated Penthouse is a 2,300-square-foot residence with three bedrooms and 2.5 bathrooms that sleeps up to eight. A full kitchen and three balconies make it practical for a shared weekend, while the oversized soaking tub adds that touch of luxury.
Across Main Street, a preserved historic annex has been converted into loft accommodations, keeping another part of the stay within Old Town’s original fabric. Travelers who want to stay as close to the source of refreshment as possible can choose Lo Lo Mai Springs, which places cabins beneath mature cottonwoods and sycamores along Oak Creek for a night near the sound of running water.
Merkin Vineyards Hilltop Winery & Trattoria
As the sun gets low, take the tram or climb the steps to Merkin Vineyards Hilltop Winery & Trattoria for the best sunset views in town. This is a must-visit for any Cottonwood itinerary. Merkin, the Ventura Room, and the two Queen B concepts are all co-owned by musician and winemaker Maynard James Keenan of Tool, Puscifer, and A Perfect Circle. The restaurant sits beside a 4.5-acre vineyard planted with Graciano, Tempranillo and Garnacha grapes. Produce comes from the operation’s Verde Valley gardens, greenhouses and orchards, while the pasta, pizza dough and bread are made with Arizona flour.
A guided 25-minute tour moves through the barrel room, greenhouse and vineyard before dinner. From there, the menu is tailored to what is currently growing, showcasing fresh pasta, wood-fired pizza and vegetables harvested for the kitchen. Wine flights remain entirely Arizona-grown, and the zero-proof list gives non-drinkers more consideration than a default soda or sparkling water.
For a more intimate, luxe dinner in the same location, reserve the private Caduceus Cellars Ventura Room. The 90-minute experience is limited to eight guests and pairs estate-grown and archival wines with courses created by the surrounding gardens and orchards. It also includes a private tour of the vineyard and production spaces with a Wine Specialist & Educator who carefully selects the pours and makes the experience one to remember.
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Caduceus Ventura Room by Camilla Richardson
Chef Rhyin Secakuku’s lasagna cupcake, a favorite of owner Maynard from his touring days, uses Arizona Wagyu and locally milled flour, while prickly pear appears in gazpacho, and sumac and barrel cactus seeds season the dishes. He calls the approach forage-to-table, and the stories he tells as the dishes arrive give each ingredient a nuanced meaning.
After a night’s rest, sleep late and start anew at Old Town Café, a short walk from The Tavern Hotel, for espresso, a pastry or a full breakfast before driving back into Cornville.
Because one wine stop in a weekend is not enough in this AVA, continue to D.A. Ranch, a historic agricultural property marked by a red barn. Its 45-minute vineyard walk includes four wines and a logo glass, with time among the vines and under swaying willow trees. In fall, pumpkins from Mortimer Farms sit throughout the property, and the seasonal event calendar adds harvest tastings, live music and the Verde Valley Pottery Festival. Even the pond keeps the weekend’s water thread on theme.
Return to Old Town for a short nap and then lunch at Red Rooster Café. The menu moves from breakfast plates to sandwiches and burgers, and the kitchen sources many ingredients from local farms and suppliers.
After lunch, make the ten-minute drive to Tuzigoot National Monument, a much older piece of Verde Valley history. The hilltop pueblo was built around 1,000 years ago by the people archaeologists call the Sinagua — which ironically means a people “without water” —and eventually grew to 110 rooms, with wide views over the Verde River and Tavasci Marsh. After paying a $10 entrance fee, the paved 0.3-mile trail takes about 30 to 45 minutes. Since the monument closes at 4:45 p.m., plan this as the final stop before dinner.
Queen B Sushi | Exterior | Cottonwood, Arizona
At Queen B Sushi, Culinary Director Brett Vibber leads the kitchen after training at ROKA Akor restaurants all over the world. He also oversees the culinary programs at Merkin Vineyards and Queen B Vinyl Cafe. He is joined by Chef Chuhiro “Thomas” Kato, whose experience includes work under Nobu Matsuhisa in Beverly Hills and Masaharu Morimoto in New York, and Arizona native Chef Sheridan “Sher” Chase, who returned home after cooking in California and Texas.
Service begins at 4 p.m., pairing sustainably sourced seafood and Northern Arizona vegetables with Queen B wines and Arizona sake. The $125 “Trust the Chef” menu is a fun culinary adventure to cap off a culinary crawl. And sushi might be the cheekiest way to end a water-themed weekend in Arizona’s wine country.
September: D.A. Ranch’s Paint & Sip returns Sept. 13 with artist Rachel Tucker and a small class size. Thunder Valley Rally fills Cottonwood with live music and motorcycle events Sept. 18 and 19. On Sept. 19, The Eureka Room hosts Ladies Night for the Big Laughs Comedy Tour, featuring a national all-female lineup. The Verde Valley Farmers Market also continues on Fridays through December.
October: Pumpkins from Mortimer Farms fill the vines at D.A. Ranch throughout the month. Creepy Cottonwood returns every Saturday in October at the Clemenceau Heritage Museum. Harvest Weekend follows Oct. 10 and 11 with the new Red Barn Red release, live music and a vertical tasting of vintages. Sedona Plein Air brings painters to the property Oct. 19. On Oct. 24, The Eureka Room stages its first Corks and Corsets Burlesque Show with comedy and live music.
November: The Verde Valley Pottery Festival takes over D.A. Ranch Nov. 13 through 15 for “live demonstrations and creative discovery.” Walkin’ on Main is Nov. 14 with local wine, live music, art and vintage cars throughout Old Town from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. D.A. Ranch closes the month with a Holiday Reserve Weekend Nov. 28 and 29 to taste special releases.
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