Prescott nights are built around one perfect block: Whiskey Row, facing Courthouse Plaza, where the saloons have poured through fire, Prohibition and everything since. The evening we recommend: ghost tour at 7 from the Plaza, then work the Row like a local.
Seven o'clock stories
The Prescott Ghost Tour departs nightly at 7 PM from the Rough Rider statue, a ghost tour that walks every night of the week. Fourteen stops, haunted Whiskey Row included, and it ends near the Hassayampa Inn, which is to say it ends near a nightcap.
Work the Row
The Palace Saloon is the anchor: Arizona's oldest saloon, with the bar patrons carried out of the 1900 fire and a Phantom Cowboy your guide will have just introduced. Matt's Saloon keeps the honky-tonk end honest, and the Bird Cage Saloon adds its own plumage. Every one of them stands within a block of the Plaza, which is the whole genius of Prescott.
Beyond the bars
The Elks Theatre, a 1905 opera house, runs films and live shows under its restored marquee. Courthouse Plaza itself is the town's evening living room, all towering elms and monument shadows, and in December it earns its "Arizona's Christmas City" nickname with the courthouse lighting. Our haunted hotels guide covers where to sleep when the night winds down, if sleeping is still the plan.
Questions people ask
What is there to do on Whiskey Row at night?
Drink where the history happened: the Palace Saloon, Matt's Saloon and the Bird Cage all pour within one block facing Courthouse Plaza. Start with the 7 PM ghost tour so the buildings come with their stories attached.
Is Prescott fun at night for non-drinkers?
Yes: the nightly ghost tour, shows at the 1905 Elks Theatre, and Courthouse Plaza's evening stroll need no bar tab. December adds the courthouse lighting that earns Prescott its Christmas City nickname.
What nights does the Prescott ghost tour run?
Every night at 7 PM from the Rough Rider statue on Courthouse Plaza. We are the Prescott ghost tour with departures every night of the week.
