cleator bar and yacht club az

Cleator Bar and Yacht Club

Review Highlights

“ You have to take a dirt road about 10 miles to get here and if you blink your eyes you will miss it. ” in 4 reviews

“ Well if you haven't been to Cleator Bar lately then you haven't been to the Cleator Yacht Club . ” in 2 reviews

“ I'm from the east coast originally and lived in Phoenix for a few years, and I'm pretty sure I've told every single person I know about Cleator. ” in 2 reviews

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13025 Crown King Rd

Cleator, AZ 86333

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Overall rating

One of the best rural towns and bar ever. Extremely comfortable and friendly place to stop and relax. It is definitely worth going out of your way to experience the ambiance and to meet the people there. We make the stop at Cleator every chance we get. Friendliest place in the west.

I love to go to places off the beaten path. Cleator certainly qualifies! After reading all the reviews I set off by myself (in a 2W drive car). The last 15 miles of "primitive road" were slow going, but the road surface wasn't too bad. Loved the uniqueness of the area and the oddities seen on the way- closed strange store at Cordes, the sections of the road that were narrow and winding down the mountain and the sight of Cleator as I neared. BUT, was so disappointed that the general store and bar were CLOSED! From the sign on the door, it appears that they aren't open at all in the summer! Perhaps I missed this fact when reading other reviews and on-line info, but I was certainly disappointed. Hence, 3 stars instead of 5!

It's in the middle of nowhere. They sell canned beer. And they feed you for free. It's everything I love about the middle of nowhere. I stop in here before/after hunting varmints or birds, and it's a great watering hole. The crowd is blunt and old timey - just what this small town girl loves. Bottom line - it's worth a drive off the freeway for some "country culture". It's a real hoot.

Cleator Bar and Yacht Club. Good time, good people, good service. Don't miss this Arizona gem.

This place has character x 100000. I'm from the east coast originally and lived in Phoenix for a few years, and I'm pretty sure I've told every single person I know about Cleator. This bar is a straight-up oasis, watering the weary traveler with cheap beer. If some event happens to take you near this area, you MUST go and experience the gem that is the Cleator Bar.

Fun bar to have a nice cold beer after being on the dirt road. I've seen some "things" changing there as of late, THE YACHT CLUB. Not sure of details but it "looks" like it's going to be a hit.. A lot of AZ history in this joint.

If this place did not exist someone would have to invent it!! If you stop by and don't have a ball check your pulse... Anybody who visits us will be taken here... this is what Arizona is about... father time was the decorator and he did one hell of a job. Just pack water in the jeep for your trip out to be safe... They have plenty of beer!

Well if you haven't been to Cleator Bar lately then you haven't been to the Cleator Yacht Club. A Yacht Club and no water what a great concept you gotta see it. Exactly what was needed a new flair and the NEW attitude and great people make it a place to visit, hang out and have fun.

A houseboat as a bar in the middle of the dessert - How Fun!!

A historic room w/ 2 views - Sports on a 46 inch flatscreen or turn around to look out over the Bradshaws with a bucket of Beer

This is a bar in the middle of the desert. It is what you expect it to be. Cold beers, good conversation. It breaks up the long and dusty road to CK. Stop in on your way in to CK and on your way out. Hell, just make a trip here for a cold one.

An Arizona original. About 45 minutes from Anthem. Turn at the Bumble Bee turnoff and keep going. They usually open at noon on weekdays and 10 am on the weekends. They close when it gets dark. Maybe a little earlier in the summer. Don't be picky about the beer selection. They have what they have and it will be cold. If they will open up the back patio, check out the view to the south. Beautiful! So relax, have a cold one and maybe one more.

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Cleator: An Arizona Ghost Town With A Watering Hole

Arizona is full of ghost towns. Spots that were once kept alive by mining or the railroad, that have pretty much blown away in the desert wind. But a few of these hidden, historic communities have survived – including one not far from Phoenix, that’s still got a good place to get a drink.

It’s called Cleator, and if you’ve never heard about it, don’t feel bad. This collection of old, ramshackle buildings is only a 70-mile drive from Phoenix. But it’s tucked so far into the desert, you have to be looking hard to find it – which, apparently, many thirsty people are.

Folks like Bill MacMaster end up at the Cleator Bar and Yacht Club every day of the week.

“Cleator is the halfway point between civilization and paradise,” he said, sipping a beer.

Out back, the bar is all nautical-themed, complete with old boats, buoys and jet skis. But inside, it’s is Old West through and through, with a creaking wooden floor and walls so heavy with cowboy memorabilia, it’s hard to know where to look. This afternoon, a few fat, friendly dogs were wandering in and out.

On the front porch, Larry Wilson took a drag from his cigarette.

“You get a cross mix of people here you ain’t going to believe,” he said. “You get cowboys, old hippies, bikers.”

It’s hard to tell which one Wilson would call himself. He’s wearing a jean jacket and a Navy veteran hat, and has an old-world way about him. He lives in nearby Spring Valley, and has only been coming here a few years, since his sister began tending bar. But the area brings back memories of his childhood, when his family would drive from their home in Sunny Slope to explore these mountains in their ’54 Chevy station wagon.

Wilson says places like Cleator – and there aren’t many – are important.

“’Cause we’ve lost touch of our past,” he said. “And I forget what year this was made, but it’s been here forever.”

The community, a dot in the foothills of the Bradshaw Mountains, began in the late 1800s as Turkey Creek. It later became Cleator, after the man who bought the whole town named it after itself. Mining camps used to be nearby, and railroad tracks once ran through town. But now, with a population that hovers around 11, Cleator doesn’t have much to draw people, except for a homey country store - and the bar, of course.

That’s what brought Harmony Lofland here. She remembers a day a few years ago when one of the bartenders had a bit too much to drink.

“I was like, ‘I’ll bartend for you sure. Go sleep on the couch. No problem!’” she said, giggling. “And then I just kind of got a little job here in the community, and I got to meet all the ranchers, and became good friends with them. So they liked me, and kept me here.”

At 26, Lofland became the longest resident of Cleator by far, when she moved her RV not far from the bar. She lived there for two years off the grid, without water or electricity. She now lives a few miles up the mountain, but still works at the bar and still feels completely embraced by the locals.

Here, they take care of each other, she said.

“If you’re out of firewood, iff you’re out of propane, if you need cash, like we will find a way,” she said.

But this sense of community isn’t just for residents. Mike Pittman has been coming to Cleator for 40 years. Sporting dark shades and a ZZ Top beard, he said this tiny bar – and this tiny town – is here for everyone.

“We will make you feel welcome here,” he said. “I don’t care what you are. I don’t care who you are, where you’re from, if you to stop and have a beer, you will fit in.”

As long as you can like your beer in cans – the only way you can get it in Cleator.

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Cleator Bar and Yacht Club

13025 Crown King Rd, Arizona 86333 USA

• Independent
• Credit Cards Accepted
• Outdoor Seating

Learn more about this business on Yelp .

Reviewed by Peter S.

This place is a must see. A trip to the old West with an old school funk that just can't be duplicated in the modern world - this is the real deal. A bit of a rough trip to get there but, you'll... Read more

Reviewed by John R.

I'm not only a Cleator Bar and Yacht Club visitor, but now I am also a member! Exactly why you would come all the way out in the middle of nowhere to also visit and become a member I do not... Read more

Reviewed by Dee R.

*This small town is off the main highway and is accessible by recommended 4WD, road is all dirt and may have pot holes or cow crossings!! *Mostly recommended for off-road vehicles! (City cars can... Read more

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• Sun, Fri, Sat: 11:00 am - 6:00 pm
• Mon - Thu: 11:00 am - 5:00 pm

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