Dugas Road

Dugas Road cuts through the geographic center of Arizona and slices deep into the area’s history. The old road passes through rolling high desert grasslands with scattered buttes and peaks, yielding an always interesting vista. Louis Dugas and his son Fred arrived in Arizona via wagon train in 1877. In 1879 they started Dugas Ranch on the banks of Sycamore Creek, a rare reliable water source. Fred began running the ranch at age 13 when Louis opened the Lucky 7 Bar on the famed Whiskey Row in Prescott. By 1925 the area around the ranch had enough residents to warrant a post office, two boarding houses, a blacksmith shop, and a school. By 1938 the population had dwindled, and the post office closed. Today Dugas is still a working ranch with numerous residents. The old town remnants are right beside the road after you cross Little Sycamore Creek, but they are on private property. Feel free to stop and look. Just stay on the road and don’t touch.