Swansea is a ghost town located in western Arizona in northern La Paz County near the Bill Williams River. The town came about around 1905 and lasted about a dozen years, mining copper from the nearby hills. A huge smelter was built in town and a railroad spur was constructed to the town to haul out the ore. However, the mines played out and the mining company spent a little too freely and hastened their bankruptcy. The town withered and now is abandoned.

As excellent dirt road leads north from the town of Bouse along highway AZ-72 between Salome and Parker. Beth and I have been interested in driving out to Swansea to check it out, and we made it part of our Valentine's weekend in Salome. The drive to Swansea from Bouse is along a well-maintained dirt road, running about 24 miles. The final three miles is up and down some moderately exposed mountain road, but most passenger vehicles should be fine.

We spent about 90 minutes looking around at the old buildings, the smelter, the slag piles, everything. There were many other people here and it seems Swansea is a popular destination. The drive is nice and probably accounts for 60% of the views.

(c) 2009 Scott Surgent. For entertainment purposes only. This report is not meant to replace maps, compass, gps and other common sense hiking/navigation items. Neither I nor the webhost can be held responsible for unfortunate situations that may arise based on these trip reports. Conditions (physical and legal) change over time! Some of these hikes are major mountaineering or backpacking endeavors that require skill, proper gear, proper fitness and general experience.