North Ranch in Congress, Arizona
North Ranch in Congress, ArizonaWe visited this park on November 21, 2018, and stayed for 90 day(s).
Updated Escapees North Ranch Review: May 2022
To say that we enjoyed our stay at North Ranch would be an understatement. Picture waking up nearly every morning to a breathtaking desert sunrise, hiking and ATV trails on BLM land within a short walk, ending your afternoon with happy hour with new friends and neighbors, followed by a desert sunset even more spectacular than the morning sunrise. This was our winter, leaving out the detail of many daytime hours at our computer screens, as we are NOT retired, but self-employed nomadic RVers.
Escapees North Ranch RV Park & Residential Lots
We stayed twice at North Ranch the previous winter in the transient RV park area, but last winter we were able to ‘lot sit’ in the residential area. This gave us more room, full 50 AMP hookups, and even a shed to store some excess stuff and lighten the load in our bus. In exchange, we paid another homeowner monthly and agreed to stay put for three months on this lot. Would we do it again? In a heartbeat!
Update May 2022: We’ve stayed at North Ranch every winter from 2018 – 2022, both in the RV park and in the residential area. It’s become our favorite place to spend the winter.
What’s To Do Near North Ranch?
North Ranch sits just outside of Congress, Arizona, a tiny, blink-and-you-miss-it type town. Congress has a post office, a small grocery store, dollar store, a bookstore, a church or two, and a small gourmet restaurant that doesn’t look like much from the road – but oh, is it good. If you go, make sure to dine at least once at Nichol’s West. I like their Nichol’s burger and Jerry is a fan of the Cuban melt.
Follow Arizona Hwy 71 north beyond Congress, head up the mountain and at the top you’ll find the tiny mountain town of Yarnell. Beyond this is the beautiful Happy Valley, with grassland and trees and ranches, a respite from the desert. A little further still (about an hour from Congress) and you’ll wind up in Prescott, home of great shopping, beautiful homes, and more scenic views.
Update 2022: We’ve had our Jeep Wrangler for two winters now and that’s only increased what’s available to us in this area. There is so much BLM and Arizona State Trust Land to explore by Jeep, with changing views around every bend. Subscribe to our new YouTube channel and/or check out our Beyond the Pavement posts to see what’s available to you in this area.
Wickenburg, AZ the Roping Capital of the World
Heading the opposite direction from North Ranch, you’ll arrive in Wickenburg, one of the friendliest cities we’ve ever visited. Grocery stores include Safeway and Basha’s. There are plenty of restaurants, museums, and stores catering to the cowboys and tourists visiting the Roping Capital of the World.
Beyond Wickenburg there’s the Hassayampa Preserve, a wetland natural area in the middle of the desert. This is the place to go to learn about the native flora and fauna of the area, and to get your dose of green in the middle of winter. Come prepared to hike the trails, and be sure to bring your binoculars and camera.
Update May 2022:
Restaurants in Wickenburg Arizona – Let’s Eat!
Let me preface this by saying that we don’t eat out a lot. Trying to adhere to any kind of autoimmune diet while dining out can be a challenge. But every once in awhile, we get sick of our own cooking, so we’ve found a few tasty alternatives nearby.
Cary’s Pizza – 170 W Wickenburg Way, Wickenburg, AZ.
Cary’s Pizza is located in a historic home built in 1925. You can choose from eating in one of their four themed dining rooms or carry-out. There’s The Sports Room with a large family-type dining table and heavy, comfortable-looking chairs, two TVs and a fireplace. Or The Garden Room, indoors, but themed as an outdoor patio with lawn furniture. The Vintage Room is what you’d expect a vintage dining room to look like. And then there’s The Casual Room with comfy chairs and no dining table at all.
Cary’s doesn’t have a website, but look them up on Google maps to see their reviews. We visited with our friends Jim and Sharon on April 12, 2022 and shared a couple of pizzas, a Hawaiian and The Works. Both were delicious. And we ate in the Garden Room.
El Ranchero Mexican Restaurant – 683 W. Wickenburg Way
Who doesn’t love a good plate of enchiladas or my favorite, a chile relleno? You’ll find this and all of your other Mexican favorites, plus excellent Margaritas and more at El Ranchero. This is our go-to stop when we are in the mood for Mexican, whether having a quick dinner out by ourselves or with friends. Our good friends Karen and Billy introduced us to El Ranchero during our first stay at Escapees North Ranch, and since then, we’ve introduced it to several others.
The Onery Hog BBQ – 686 Tegner Street, Wickenburg
If you love barbecue, put The Onery Hog on your list, but beware they have limited hours and are not open every day of the week. The only items I can eat on their entire menu are their meats, so we’ve only done carry-out. (Avoiding soy means that potato salad and coleslaw are not on the menu unless I make them myself.) So we pick up a bulk pound of brisket and take it home to enjoy with whatever happens to be prepared and waiting in our fridge.
Find more restaurants in the area here: OutWickenburgWay
One Hour From the Big City
Wickenburg is about an hour northwest of Phoenix, a bit further from Mesa, so if the big city draws you in, it’s not too far of a drive. To get there, you’ll pass through Surprise and Sun City, popular snowbird destinations with abundant shopping opportunities.
Recreational opportunities at North Ranch include pickleball, hiking, and ATV clubs that go on regular desert trail rides. There’s an activity center, plenty of social activities, but no swimming pool. We mostly walked the park, meeting up with friends along the way, or hiked the trails behind the park on BLM land. Every so often we took our Honda Accord out exploring on dirt roads that would be much better suited to a Jeep or an ATV, always turning around before we wanted to due to deteriorating road conditions. Next time we’ll be back with a Jeep!
Update 2022: It’s much, much more fun with Tatanka, our Jeep Wrangler!
To learn more about Escapees North Ranch, visit their page on the Escapee’s Website.
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