You can also walk there right from Old Town. The Jail Trail is a great little nature path, starting by the former jail and part of the Verde River Greenway. As you head towards Dead Horse Ranch, you’ll soon be lost in a world of chirping birds, huge cottonwood trees and, of course, the ever-raucous cicadas. I’d suggest it for an early morning getaway, or after you’ve had a meal and want a little exercise, so you feel good rewarding yourself with a wine tasting.
Prefer to let them take you on a ride through the natural wonders? The Verde Valley Railroad is the way to do it. Kick back in as the vintage cars plunge into a wealth of scenery from wind-carved crimson and sienna cliffs to the rushing Verde River. Who knew Arizona contained such a cornucopia of ever-changing tableaus? Note: between the four-hour ride and the early check-in, it’s likely to take most of your day, but I can’t imagine a better way to spend it (and you’ll get back to town in time for a wine flight before dinner).
Jail Trail River Walk
While in Cottonwood, don’t get so busy with the tasting rooms that you fail to visit the wineries themselves. Up on Page Springs Road, technically in Cornville and about a fifteenminute drive from town, several wineries line up along the road. D.A. Ranch, with its glorious views, is the best in the area for some scenerygulping with your sipping, as you gaze out beyond the vineyards to hills covered in green, under those overwhelming Arizona skies. There’s Oak Creek Vineyards, a kid- and dog-friendly locale with live music, events such as “Flamingo Fridays,” and, of course, great flights of wine just waiting for your palate. Javelina Leap is a boutique winery whose award-winning wines from Petite Syrah to Zinfandel, Riesling to Tempranillo, can be enjoyed in a saloon-style tasting room that just proclaims “Arizona.”
My favorite is Page Spring Cellars, where I stop for a glorious wine-tasting and lunch. You can take a seat on one of the couches, surrounded by a nice collection of art, or (my choice) on the patio, where you look out over the vineyards that produced the wine you’re drinking. I do a mixed red and white flight, and I’m impressed with the variety and the quality from this winery, one of the first to give a kickstart to the Arizona wine industry. It’s not just wine, though, as their bistro has a wonderful menu that’s a lot more extensive and interesting than the usual cheese plates: great food that’s the perfect accompaniment to the wonderful wine selection.
I end my stay in Cottonwood with a fantastic dinner at 3 Kings Kasbar, where the selection of small plates is enormously appealing, the setting is beautiful, and the service is the perfect example of what restaurant service should be. It’s a glittery, fabulous place, with wood carvings, a hanging red kilim, lanterns, globe, and candles—the very definition of “eclectic.” So is the menu, from a half avocado stuffed with tomato relish to wonderful shrimp in a chipotle cream sauce to delectable blackened salmon tacos. Try the lamb meatballs or chicken adobo empanadas or…the menu is so wide-ranging that you’re sure to find something you love. Since everything is excellent, it won’t be difficult.
Tuzigoot National Monument
Photo: Rich Rubin
I’m glad I stumbled onto it, and I hope you’ll stumble onto it also. I could say the same about Cottonwood. There’s a charming sensation that Cottonwood is still a little surprised by the mantle of tourism it’s acquired. It’s not one of those tried-and-true tourist destinations (though it’s quickly becoming one), and that’s what I like the most about it. It combines the surprising and the expected, natural beauty and in-town pleasures, small-town ambience with burgeoning vacation appeal, and that makes for a winning combination.
