Kay El Bar Guest Ranch
2655 S Kay el Bar Rd,
Wickenburg, AZ 85390
(928) 684-7593
Kay El Bar Ranch is an intimate, historic dude ranch just outside the Old West town of Wickenburg. Kay El Bar Ranch offers an all-inclusive vacation experience to individuals, families, friends, and companies — meals, lodging and riding in one great price.
The charming adobe ranch was built in the late 1800s, and, like all the early dude ranches, began as a working cattle outfit. The building’s adobe walls built of sun-dried brick are 12 to 18 inches thick; each brick was made by hand by the Maricopa Indians who lived on the nearby reservation. The ranch is listed as a historic site on both Arizona and U.S. Historic Registers.
Kay El Bar was converted to a private ranch in 2012 but has reopened in 2018 and is again a winter guest ranch. We are pleased to welcome a small set of guests – maximum capacity is 28—to our historic buildings where you enjoy the comfort of updated guest rooms with private bathrooms. There are several lodging options; a guest building, two casitas, and a family guest lodge.
There are many activities centered around riding and the western experience. In addition to wrangler-guided trail rides, activities include trail cookouts, team penning, campfires, BBQs, cowboy singalongs, and evening hospitality hour. A pool and hot tub also provide guest relaxation.
Kay El Bar is in the Sonoran Desert, at an altitude of 2130’, located in the shadow of the Hassayampa River Canyon Wilderness. Nearby Hassayampa Hill offers desert vistas and unforgettable sunsets.
Our genuine western lodgings accommodate up to 28 guests. Comfortable and charming, each guest room in the main house has a private modern bath, hand-painted Monterey furniture, custom cowboy bedspreads and drapes, and western artwork.
Larger groups can enjoy an authentic adobe ranch experience in The Homestead House, which served as dude ranch headquarters when the Kay El Bar was a cattle ranch. It is a two-bedroom, two-bath cottage, with its own living room and fireplace. It’s perfect for families, two couples or small groups, sleeping up to seven persons
Guests can also choose from one of the two casitas tucked away under towering salt cedar and eucalyptus trees.
Life at the Kay El Bar centers around our horses and riding program, and a well-trained string of horses for every experience leve – beginner, intermediate and advanced. Our wranglers select a horse for each rider based on his or her experience.
Favorable weather, varied terrain, and spectacular scenery make Kay El Bar ideal for some of the finest horseback riding anywhere. Riders may canter or trot through the wash of the Hassaymapa River beneath sheer canyon walls, or climb rocky ridges for spectacular mountain views.
The morning ride departs at about 9 a.m., and the afternoon ride at about 2 p.m. All-day rides are available by request. Rides go out twice daily except Sunday and holidays, when the horses have the afternoon off.
On Sundays riders have a light breakfast before hitting the trail and enjoy a cowboy cookout brunch in the desert before their return.
The swimming pool and hot tub invite guests to lay back and enjoy the beautiful hills surrounding the ranch, and a living room/game room is a fun place for families to reconnect with board games, a piano, and plenty of seating for conversation. The evening hospitality hour, with a full bar, is a great time to share tales of the daily adventures.
Hiking and bird watching are also popular activities, and wranglers are always pleased to share their knowledge of the beautiful Sonoran dessert.