The Gold Bar Ranch is a 300-acre working cattle ranch, located in northwestern Arizona at an altitude of 3,800 to 4,000 feet. The the Gold Bar Ranch headquarters sits beside the lush Hassayampa River in the foothills of the Bradshaw Mountains.

The Gold Bar Ranch is owned by Mike and Ella McCracken and has been in the McCracken Family for more that three generations. Barzona and Charlet cows and their calves graze on this ranch and when enough grass permits, we also pasture yearling steers. This spring has been the greenest spring that we have seen in about 10 years, and we are currently growing our herd.

During the summer months the Gold Bar Ranch allows up four guests to tags along that want to experience the day-to-day activities of a real cowboy’s life on a cattle ranch. Sometimes we drive cattle from one pasture to an ungrazed pasture. Other time we round up the yearling bulls, vaccinate them and castrate them to prevent in-breeding and brand them the Gold Bar Ranch symbol in the corral.

We ride in the mornings to check the cattle. This usually takes anywhere from 3 - 5 hours riding. We check on new-born calves and their mammas, check the waters etc. When it’s time to move the cattle, you help gather and drive the cattle to a new pasture. Our grazing management puts emphasis on giving the plants long rest periods before being briefly grazed again. Therefore, we move cattle frequently.

In the spring when most of the calves are born, we begin branding, tagging and castrating calves. Often we help neighboring ranchers gather and brand their calves. During the mid-summer months we continue to check on the cattle and move them to new pastures. We may have some late calves that still need branding. In the fall, September and October, we gather and ship cattle and also spend a lot of time helping neighboring ranchers do the same. These are busy times, with oftentimes long hours in the saddle.

In the afternoons we tend to have a dozen ranch chores to do - anything from fixing or building fences, brush control, to putting out salt and mineral for the cattle and wildlife, or anything else that may come along. You are more than welcome to join us and lend a helping hand.