Cheap Hotels in Clifton, Arizona, United States

Clifton is a small copper mining town in Greenlee County, Arizona. The hotels in Clifton AZ list is short. You can book a restored 1890 hotel in the old town, a simple motel on Coronado Boulevard, or a working cattle ranch outside town. This guide covers every Clifton lodging option we could confirm, flags the gaps, and shows how to pick a base for the Coronado Trail and Chase Creek. Addresses and phone numbers come from the properties and from travel sources. Rates change daily, so we do not quote them.

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Hotels in Clifton AZ: What Is Open Now

The Clifton Hotel

The Clifton Hotel is the best known place to stay in town. The address is 163 Park Avenue, Clifton, AZ 85533. The hotel website lists the phone as 928-965-2251 and an email address on its contact page. Another tourism listing shows 928-215-6876, so call the first number and confirm if no one answers.

The building dates to the 1890s. A tourism feature describes the original hotel as a rest stop for cowboys and miners on the Coronado Trail. A 1983 flood buried the ground floor in silt, and the hotel stood empty for decades. Matt and Karen Frye began restoring the property in 2017. The hotel website says the building sits next to the San Francisco River and below steep mountain cliffs.

Room counts differ by source. The hotel website lists six studio rooms with kitchenettes and two suites with clawfoot tubs. An Arizona Highways profile counts nine rooms. Ask the front desk how many rooms are open and which one suits your group.

Guests can use a shaded courtyard and common sitting areas. The hotel runs a full-service bar. The website says the bar features an ornate 1904 bar back from Silver City, New Mexico. Arizona Highways says the bar opened on New Year’s Eve 2018. A tourism feature mentions on-site dining with a rotating nightly entree, but we could not confirm current meal service, so ask before you count on dinner.

The rooms have large windows with river and cliff views, according to Arizona Highways. The same profile lists a television, air conditioning, and Wi-Fi. We did not confirm check-in times, pet rules, or parking. Call to settle all three.

Pick the Clifton Hotel if you want character, a short walk to the old town, and a bar downstairs.

Rode Inn of Clifton

Rode Inn of Clifton is a motel at 30 North Coronado Boulevard, Clifton, AZ 85533. A Kayak listing gives the phone as 928-865-4536. The listing shows check-in after 3:00 PM and check-out before 11:00 AM. We could not confirm those times with the owner, so treat them as a starting point.

The Kayak listing names free self parking, free Wi-Fi, air conditioning, flat-screen televisions with cable, and coffee and tea makers. Rooms have a bathtub or a shower. The property offers laundry facilities, a picnic area, and a grill. Pets are allowed on request, and extra charges may apply.

Tripadvisor lists the motel as Clifton Rode Inn. Reviewers there call the motel decent, the staff friendly, and the rooms well kept. Only a small number of reviews exist, so read recent comments before you book.

We did not find an official website for the motel. Call ahead to confirm the room types, the pet policy, and the front desk hours. Pick Rode Inn if you want a simple, practical room near the highway.

Cold Creek Ranch

Cold Creek Ranch is not a hotel. The ranch sits at 160372 AZ Highway 78, with a Clifton, AZ 85533 mailing address, according to the Farm Stay US listing. The listed phone is 520-705-1525. Tripadvisor also lists the ranch among Clifton lodging, and breakfast is part of the stay there.

Farm Stay US describes a working cattle ranch of about 10,000 acres. The ranch raises grassfed beef. Guests can book ranch house rooms, a small house called the Yellow House, or glamping safari tents. The listing says all meals are provided. Activities include horseback riding, roping, hiking, bird watching, and ranch chores.

The ranch runs on solar and wind power and has no television reception. The listing mentions a minimum stay for in-house rooms. Season dates, group sizes, and policies can change, so call the ranch before you plan around this option. We found no way to confirm the drive time from town, so ask for directions when you book.

Pick Cold Creek Ranch if you want a rural stay with meals and outdoor activities instead of a hotel room.

Motels in Clifton and Nearby Morenci

Clifton has one clear motel, Rode Inn. Travel sites list a few more motels in Morenci, the mining town next door. Morenci and Clifton form one economic region around the copper mine, according to Wikipedia. We could not verify any Morenci property well enough to name one here.

If the Clifton rooms are full, search Morenci on a booking site and read the most recent reviews. Confirm the address and the phone number on the property website or by phone. Ask how far the room sits from the places you plan to visit.

Greenlee County Airport serves the area, according to Wikipedia. We could not confirm scheduled flights, so plan to drive.

Places We Removed From the Old Guide

An older version of this page named four properties. We kept Rode Inn and removed Morenci Hotel and Suites, Clifton Motel, and Blue Door Sanctuary Bed and Breakfast. We searched for each name with Clifton and Arizona and found no listing, address, or phone number. We cannot tell a reader to book a place we cannot find.

The old guide also described festivals, workshops, and tours tied to those places. We found no sources for those events, so we dropped them. We kept only the real attractions in the sections below.

If you know of a current property we missed, check the property website first and confirm the address by phone.

Where to Stay Near Chase Creek and the Old Town

Chase Creek is the heart of historic Clifton. The Clifton Townsite Historic District sits where Chase Creek meets the San Francisco River. The National Register of Historic Places listed the district on 1 March 1990. The district holds 41 contributing buildings and covers 37 acres. The buildings show Prairie School, Late Victorian, and Mission and Spanish Revival styles.

The town began in 1873 when Army scout Robert Metcalfe found copper in Chase Creek Canyon, according to the town history page. Greenlee County formed in 1909, and Clifton became the county seat. The courthouse and jail opened in 1912.

Staying at the Clifton Hotel puts you inside this historic area. Rode Inn sits on Coronado Boulevard instead. Check a map for current walking and driving times, because we did not source any distances.

Things to Do Near Your Clifton Hotel

The Greenlee Historical Museum sits in the Chase Creek Historic District. The museum covers the mining and steam era. Call ahead for current hours, because we could not confirm them.

The Old Clifton Jail is a stone-carved structure. Islands magazine places an 1878 Cliff Jail among the town’s haunted sites. The town also hosts the Colors of Copper Arts International Festival at the Art Depot near the Clifton train station, according to the same article.

Hikers can try Painted Bluff Trail, Eagle Creek, and Big Tree Trail, all named in the Islands feature. The San Francisco River flows through town, and the Clifton Hotel feature mentions catfish fishing and ATV trails. Check local conditions before you set out, because monsoon rains arrive from July to October.

Drivers can take the Coronado Trail. The scenic route follows US 191 for 123 paved miles from Clifton to Springerville. A nonstop drive takes about three and a half hours. The Morenci to Alpine stretch has roughly 460 curves, so plan extra time and check road conditions.

Getting to Clifton and Where Else to Stay

Clifton sits in southeastern Arizona near the New Mexico border. Islands magazine puts the town about 208 miles east of Phoenix. US 191 serves the town. Plan to drive.

The town sits at an elevation of 3,875 feet. Summers run very hot and winters stay mild, according to Wikipedia. Snow has fallen in only fourteen years since 1892.

Clifton had 3,933 residents at the 2020 census. Small towns have few rooms, so a full house on a busy weekend leaves little backup nearby. Book early and ask for written confirmation.

How to Choose a Clifton AZ Hotel or Motel

Couples and history fans do best at the Clifton Hotel. The restored building, the courtyard, and the bar give you an evening in town without a drive.

Families and budget travelers should call Rode Inn. The motel offers parking, laundry, and a picnic area with a grill. Confirm the room types before you book.

Pet owners should call each property. Rode Inn allows pets on request, and extra charges may apply. We found no pet rules for the Clifton Hotel.

Outdoor travelers should look at Cold Creek Ranch. The ranch includes meals and activities, but the location is rural and the stay needs advance planning.

Before you pay, confirm the property name on the building, the cancellation policy, parking, and the front desk hours for late arrivals. Ask for the total with taxes and fees. Compare the total on two booking sites and by phone.

What We Checked and What We Could Not

We checked the Clifton Hotel against its own website, Arizona Highways, and a state tourism feature. We checked Rode Inn against Kayak and Tripadvisor. We checked Cold Creek Ranch against Farm Stay US and Tripadvisor. We took town facts from Wikipedia, the town history page, Islands magazine, and Arizona Handbook.

We could not confirm current rates, Rode Inn amenities with the owner, or the Clifton Hotel check-in times. Phone numbers and policies change. Confirm each detail with the property before you travel.

Frequently Asked Questions

Conclusion

Clifton offers a short and honest lodging list. The Clifton Hotel gives you a restored 1890 building and a bar in the old town. Rode Inn gives you a simple motel room. Cold Creek Ranch gives you a rural ranch stay with meals. Call ahead, confirm the current policies, and book early for a trip to the Coronado Trail and Chase Creek.

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