Arizona's Once-Thriving Quirky Resort In Mesa Is Now An Eerie Abandoned Landmark

Arizona is an ideal destination for cross-country road trips and travelers wanting to experience its desert beauty, welcoming 9.9 million visitors in 2024. Tourists tend to flock to cities like Mesa, close to a national forest and the Sonoran Desert, providing a convenient stop along the highway. In Mesa, you'll find Arizona's only surf park, where thrill seekers go to escape the heat. You'll also find a once-thriving hot springs resort, Buckhorn Baths Motel, now dilapidated and in ruins. 

Buckhorn wasn't just some convenient roadside stop in a desolate desert town. This historic hot springs resort was once a bustling mid-20th-century tourist mecca. The motel's Pueblo revival-style architecture is typical of what you would see along a desert highway, with a flat roof and earthy colors. It's easy to see why people would travel here for a desert getaway, surrounded by scenic canyon views and warm weather. But it wasn't just the beautiful location that made this place special. The rustic resort definitely had some quirky charm. The resort owner eventually included a collection of taxidermy animals displayed in the motel, a peculiar choice for a roadside hot springs attraction. 

The resort came to be through a bit of serendipity, after Ted and Alice Sliger discovered a mineral hot spring while digging on their land in the mid-1930s. It might be easier now to find hot springs hotels across America, but back then, it was a big deal. The couple capitalized on the temperate waters and built bathhouses around their new cash cow. Tourism was booming, so they added several cottages, a cafe, stores, and Ted's wildlife menagerie. After all, Buckhorn was named after a mounted deer the couple saved from a tragic fire, so it made sense to have a taxidermy museum.

Today, drivers can still spot the iconic roadside sign signaling visitors to the natural hot springs at Buckhorn Baths Motel. While you can't go inside the motel grounds, since it's on private property, you can still imagine how magnificent this desert oasis must have been in its prime. There was not much else around Mesa at the time, but this resort had it all — lodging, dining, convenience, and entertainment.

All that is left of the once-hip Buckhorn Baths is a run-down Pueblo-style building by the neon motel sign, along with a wasteland of abandoned cabins, surrounded by palm trees and overgrowth. Distinct lettering can still be seen on some of the buildings, indicating where the gift shop, office, hot baths, and cottages once catered to weary travelers. Visitors can walk along the chain-link fence to see the abandoned grounds from a distance and get a good glimpse of the resort's general layout. 

There's no doubt this kitschy hot springs resort left quite an impact on this town. It wasn't just another tourist destination; the New York Giants also did 25 years of spring training here. Even though the motel's lively tourist days are long gone, the Mesa Historical Museum featured artifacts from its former heyday in a 2024 exhibit. Visitors can drive past the abandoned sign and building ruins to see what remains of the motel, located at 5900 East Main Street.