Best Saloons

In Arizona's arid climate, thirst is never far away. That's why the state has an ample collection of historic, dark bars and saloons. They don't have mixologists or cocktail programs. These joints have worn-smooth bar tops, chill bartenders, cold beer and icy drinks.

You can quench your thirst and cool your eyeballs down when you walk in from the blinding sun for happy hour or at night duck inside to bathe in the reds, greens and blues of bar neon.

 These are our favorite Arizona saloons, a thirsty dozen of them:

Museum Club, Flagstaff (1931)
Stock Exchange Saloon, Bisbee (1905)
Spirit Room, Jerome (1898)
Canyon Club, Williams 
The Palace, Prescott (1901)
Drift Inn, Globe (1902)
Crystal Palace, Tombstone (1882)
Buffet Bar, Tucson (1929)
St. Elmo Bar, Bisbee (1902)
World Famous Sultana Bar, Williams (1912)
Paul & Jerry's Saloon, Jerome (1899)
Nellie E. Saloon (Desert Bar), Parker (1983)

Honorable Mention:
Abe's Old Tumacacori Bar, Tumacacori
Buckskin Tavern, Fredonia
Cleator Bar, Cleator (1903)

Honky tonk piano player Jerry Liebman at the Palace in Prescott.

Editor's note: The dates for these saloons refers to when each building first opened but not in every case as a saloon.

Play table shuffleboard or gab with the locals at the Canyon Club on Route 66 in Williams

The Palace on Whiskey Row in Prescott has been popular with filmmakers."Billy Jack," "Junior Bonner" and "Wanda Nevada" were filmed here.

The Museum Club on Route 66 in East Flagstaff

Drift Inn Saloon started serving Globe miners in 1902.

The Nellie E. Saloon, aka Desert Bar, is an off-the-grid saloon near Parker that's about 5 miles down a rocky road.

The Stock Exchange Saloon in Bisbee's Brewery Gulch

Abe's Old Tumacacori Bar is south of Tucson on the old Nogales Highway.

Paul & Jerry's Saloon in Jerome is one of Arizona's oldest bars.

Jerome's Spirit Room rocks on Saturday and Sunday afternoons with bands typically playing from 2 to 6 p.m. in the historic saloon.

St. Elmo in Bisbee is a dive bar with good rock bands playing on weekends.

Buckskin Bar on US 89A in Fredonia claims to have the state's longest continuous bar. It's also the northernmost bar in Arizona.

Buckskin is about a mile south of the Utah state line so package liquor sales have been important.