Abandoned Towns
Aerial view of steep, brushy ridges in the Hualapai Mountains, with a pale dirt track running down the canyon through the Cedar townsite

Gold mining town · Silver mining town

Cedar

A small gold, silver and copper camp on the east slope of the Hualapai Mountains, empty since the 1910s. The ruins are remote, the newest report is from 2000, and we haven't verified access.

34°46′43″N 113°47′40″W · 4,459 ft

Aerial imagery: USGS The National Map (public domain).

Ruins · 2000 report

We haven't confirmed who owns the ruins or whether visitors are welcome. BLM's land map shows the mapped town point on a private parcel, and a visitor saw mining-claim markers in May 2000, the newest first-hand report we found. The last miles in are dirt tracks we couldn't route. Check locally before you go, and treat claim markers, fences and posted signs as closed.

Overview

A small camp high in the Hualapais

Cedar was a gold, silver and copper camp on the eastern slope of the Hualapai Mountains, about 60 miles southeast of Kingman and about 12 miles northwest of the US 93 community of Wikieup. Prospectors were working the area by the early 1870s, and most accounts date the camp to about 1875. One account ties it to the Cedar mine around 1895 instead. Either way, the post office didn't open until September 1895.

At its height Cedar had two saloons, a general store, the post office and several homes. In 1907 two of the larger mining companies, the Cedar Valley Gold & Silver Company and the Yucca Cyanide Mining & Milling Company, put the population at about 200. Three years later the census counted only 138 people in the whole Yucca district. The post office closed in 1911 and mail went to Yucca. Within about a decade of 1907 the camp was empty.

The record since then is thin. A 1969 guidebook described stone ruins and foundations spread over half a mile of the valley. A visitor in May 2000 found a red-brick mill ruin, roofless houses and rock walls, and noted claim markers. We found no first-hand report since, and no freely licensed photos.

Timeline

What we know

Cedar printed in bold on the 1923 USGS Signal sheet, east of Granite Peak
Cedar printed in bold on the 1923 USGS Signal sheet, east of Granite Peak · Map: U.S. Geological Survey, USGS catalog, Public domain
  1. Prospectors find gold, silver and copper on the east side of the Hualapai Mountains.
  2. Cedar is founded, by the most common account. One source ties the camp's start to the Cedar mine around 1895 instead.
  3. The post office opens. An undated listing gives September 25.
  4. The Cedar Valley Gold & Silver Company and the Yucca Cyanide Mining & Milling Company report about 200 people in town. Cedar has two saloons, a general store and several homes.
  5. The census counts 138 people in the whole Yucca district, with no separate figure for Cedar.
  6. The post office closes, and mail goes to Yucca. An undated listing gives July 11.
  7. The camp is abandoned, within about a decade of its 1907 peak.
  8. The USGS Signal map still prints Cedar's name, with roads running east to the valley.
  9. The USGS Diamond Joe Peak map marks two small buildings and the word Ruins.
  10. A guidebook describes stone ruins and foundations spread over half a mile of the valley.
  11. A visitor finds a red-brick mill ruin about 20 feet tall, roofless houses and rock walls, plus mining-claim markers. It's the newest first-hand report we found.

What's left

Ruins in a mountain canyon

Both descriptions we have are old. The 1969 guidebook lists stone ruins and building foundations across about half a mile of the valley. The May 2000 visitor reported a mill ruin with red brick walls about 20 feet high, decaying roofless houses near the mines, rock walls and broken glass in the canyon, all in brush the visitor called dense and thorny.

The current USGS topo puts Cedar where a dirt track running up the canyon meets a side drainage, at about 4,450 feet. The historic maps below follow the camp's fade. The 1923 and 1942 Signal sheets print the name, with roads running east toward the valley. The 1965 Prescott sheet drops it and shows only mine symbols nearby. The 1967 Diamond Joe Peak sheet marks two small buildings and the word Ruins, with the track climbing north up the canyon and another running southeast down the drainage. The 1979 Bagdad sheet labels the spot Cedar (Ruins), with a spring under a mile north and the San Francisco Mine about 2 miles to the south-southwest.

BLM's surface management map shows the mapped town point on a private parcel, with BLM land around it. That map shows which agency manages land, not who owns each claim, so treat any marker or sign as private.

  • Stone ruins and foundations (1969)
  • Red-brick mill ruin, about 20 ft tall (2000)
  • Roofless houses near the mines (2000)
  • Rock walls (2000)
  • Mine workings
  • Spring, under a mile north (USGS 1979)
USGS topographic map of the Cedar townsite, with a dirt track running down the canyon past the Cedar label
USGS The National Map, topo. The Cedar label sits where the canyon track meets a side drainage.
Aerial view of brushy slopes with a pale dirt track running diagonally down a canyon and smaller tracks branching off
Aerial imagery, same area. The canyon track runs from top center to lower right. We can't pick out the ruins at this scale.

Historic maps

Cedar on USGS maps, 1923–1979

Crops from the USGS Historical Topographic Map Collection, centered on the townsite. Each sheet shows what surveyors mapped that year; compare them with today's topo and aerial on this page.

USGS topographic map around Cedar, 1923
Signal sheet, 1923, 1:250,000 · U.S. Geological Survey, public domain · catalog record

Map & directions

Getting there

Wikieup, on US 93, is the closest place with fuel. Both routes leave the highway just north of Wikieup and follow BLM dirt tracks west toward the mountains. They were computed from OpenStreetMap, we haven't driven them, and the routing stops about 2.6 miles short of the townsite.

USGS topographic map from Wikieup and US 93 west to the Hualapai Mountains, with the route along BLM dirt tracks toward Cedar

Base map: USGS The National Map (public domain). Routes: OSRM on © OpenStreetMap contributors data (ODbL), computed October 2026. Times assume dry roads.

From Wikieup11.5 miabout 2 h 47 min
  1. From Wikieup, head north on US 93.2.6 mi
  2. Turn left off the highway, then right on the side road.0.6 mi
  3. Turn left onto BLM 7252, a dirt track, and follow it west toward the Hualapai Mountains.7.5 mi
  4. Continue as the track becomes BLM 7262. Our routing ends here, about 2.6 miles east of the townsite as the crow flies.0.8 mi
Google Maps directionsApple MapsOpenStreetMap

Road and safety notes

  • We haven't driven this route. Past US 93 it's all dirt track, and the routing engine allows about 2 h 45 min for the 11.5 miles from Wikieup.
  • Routing stops about 2.6 miles short. OpenStreetMap shows BLM 7262 continuing west to BLM 7227, which climbs the canyon to the townsite, but we couldn't route it and don't know its condition. BLM's map shows that stretch on BLM land.
  • An undated listing rates the road 2WD. The visitor in May 2000 found sandy, poorly kept roads, recommended high-clearance four-wheel drive and two vehicles, and had two flat tires.
  • The mapped town point is on private land per BLM's map, and claim markers were seen in 2000. Respect markers and signs, and don't metal-detect or collect relics.
  • There are no services. Fill up in Wikieup, carry water and a spare, and don't go alone. Summer heat is severe; go in fall or winter.

Photos

Have photos of Cedar?

We haven’t added more photographs of Cedar yet. If you’ve visited, share your photos and a field report below.

Visitor reports

Been to Cedar?

Been there lately? Tell the next visitor what you found: whether you could get in, the state of the road and what's still standing. Photos are welcome. We read every report before it appears here.

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Nearby

Other sites near Cedar

Straight-line distance from the townsite to other mapped sites in our Arizona index.

Sources

Sources and credits

  1. ghosttowns.com, "Cedar": fact sheet fields (roads, climate, best time, remains, post office dates). Its legal description, T10N R1W, doesn't match the townsite, so we use the BLM survey grid.
  2. Wikipedia, "Cedar, Arizona", retrieved October 2026, citing James and Barbara Sherman, Ghost Towns of Arizona (1969): founding, location, post office dates, businesses, the 1907 population and companies, abandonment, the ruins; coordinates and elevation (GNIS 24350).
  3. William M. Mogan, "Cedar," azghosttowns.com (visit of May 2000): the 1895 founding account, the 1910 census, mail to Yucca, the mill ruin and other remains, road and vehicle advice, claim markers, the no-collecting request.
  4. Destination4x4, "Cedar, Arizona" (September 2026, no site visit described): early-1870s discoveries, abandonment by the late 1910s.
  5. Land status: BLM National Surface Management Agency map service, queried October 19, 2026 at points around the townsite. It is a map of administering agencies, not a survey of ownership. Township and range: BLM PLSS CadNSDI.
  6. Tracks beyond the routed road: OpenStreetMap, October 2026. Routes: OSRM on OpenStreetMap data, October 2026. Not field-checked. Status checked against the sources above on October 19, 2026.

Photo and map credits

Record5 of 10
  • Coordinates (GNIS, on USGS topo)
  • Post office dates
  • Population, 1907
  • Historic USGS maps, 1923–1979
  • Land status (BLM map, 2026)
  • Owner and access policy
  • Road condition, last 2.6 mi
  • Photos of the townsite
  • Field report since 2000
  • Mine names and output
Missing items are what we'll ask readers and local sources to fill.