HISTORIC HOTELS, SALOONS AND RANCHES

THE WEST'S BEST hotels, saloons, restaurants and dude ranches , , are among the most tangible ties to America's frontier past. Outlaws, lawmen, presidents and stars of stage and screen have slept in these hotels since the late 19th and early 20th century. They drank and dined in these revered saloons and restaurants. Generations of people from all over the globe visited and kept coming back to the places which become social hubs of their communities.

- PETER CORBETT

Thankfully, entrepreneurs with foresight have restored and maintained these historic treasures, and there are more hotels across the West that need to be saved.

It's encouraging that the West lives on, not only at hotels and saloons, but also at guest ranches where city slickers get a taste of cowboy life on remote spreads with jaw-dropping scenery. Ride horses for a few days and relax at night by a campfire under a canopy of starlight.

The tough part is choosing which hotel, saloon, restaurant or guest ranch to visit. We've narrowed it down to six of the top places by state in each category, but visitors can't go wrong at the spots listed in the sidebars we've included. Go visit them. Support these landmarks of the American West. You won't be disappointed.

ARIZONA

Hassayampa Inn 122 E. Gurley Street Prescott, AZ 86301 800-322-1927 Hassayampalnn.com

Prescott's hilltop Hassayampa Inn has aged well. It is one of six hotels in Arizona built during the last few years of the Roaring Twenties, and it's among the best preserved.

The Hassayampa was designed by premier Southwestern architect Henry Trost in a Spanish Colonial Revival style with Italianate detailing. The red-brick inn sits atop a slope within walking distance of the Courthouse Plaza, Whiskey Row and Prescott's central business district, with restaurants, bars, shops, galleries, antique stores and a Western museum. An award-winning renovation in 1985 restored the beautiful lobby and the hotel's 68 rooms. Famous Hassayampa guests have included Tom Mix, Will Rogers, Clark Gable, Greta Garbo, Georgia O'Keeffe, D.H. Lawrence and Steve McQueen.