Elizabeth Exline 2021-08-19 23:32:42
Time travel may be the stuff of science fiction, but Arizona’s ghost towns come close to turning fantasy into reality. From hauntingly restored (and sometimes haunted) buildings, to action-packed gunslinger shootouts, here’s how you can return to the past. Oatman, Arizona became a boomtown when gold was discovered in the early 20th century. Flush with wealth and visitors, the city soon gave rise to the Durlin Hotel, a two-story adobe building best known for having welcomed Clark Gable and Carole Lombard during their honeymoon. Today, the Durlin Hotel goes by a different name, Oatman Hotel, and its only overnight visitors are the paranormal kind. Several ghosts are rumored to haunt the building, which now functions as a bar and restaurant downstairs and a museum upstairs. For those who prefer performers with a pulse, the Ghost Rider Gunfighters duke it out with the Red Ridge Marauders every day in the middle of Route 66 next to the Oatman Hotel. Jerome may be considered the state’s most haunted city, but the only ghosts you’ll find at Gold King Mine and Ghost Town are automotive. This former gold mining camp is now home to more than 180 vintage cars, trucks and motorcycles. The eerily named Vulture City, meanwhile, is a ghost town near Wickenburg that consists of around 12 restored buildings including Henry Wickenburg’s home. If you go, check out the Hanging Tree where 18 men met the long arm of justice. Goldfield Ghost Town, meanwhile, offers an Old West experience just outside of Phoenix. In addition to mine tours, panning for gold, gunfights, a shooting gallery and shops selling everything from pottery to soap, this popular destination now also features a zipline. As possibly the state’s most famous historic destination, O.K. Corral in Tombstone captures the rough-and-tumble spirit of frontier days. This town center offers impressively preserved buildings as well as three daily reenactments of the gunfight that made Wyatt Earp a household name. The Kentucky Camp, located in the Coronado National Forest, takes a quieter approach to history. This abandoned mining camp features two restored buildings—one for day use and one for overnight stays—with basic accommodations. (Don’t expect heat or plumbing!) Farther south, the Queen Mine Tour in Bisbee pulls back the curtain on the inner workings of a turn-of-the-century mine. Pack a sweater—the underground mines are notoriously chilly—and get ready to learn something new from the retired-miners-turned-tour-guides.
©Arizona Official Travel Guide. View All Articles.