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Arizona has more mining history packed into its hills than most folks realize, and some of it is still standing. In a handful of old boomtowns, you can step through a saloon door, peek into a jail cell, and head underground where miners once worked.
These seven stops stretch from the Superstition Mountains to the Black Mountains and down toward the San Pedro River. Pick one for a day trip, or string a few together and make a weekend of our own backyard Old West.
1. Goldfield Ghost Town and Mine Tours Inc., Apache Junction, AZ
Gold brought people to this spot in the 1890s, and when the gold got scarce, the town emptied out. Today the reconstructed town sits at the base of the Superstition Mountains along the Apache Trail, a short hop from the Valley.
The list of things to do is long for one dusty street. You can take a mine tour underground, pan for gold, ride the little train, try the zip line, and watch Old West gunfights.
The town also has a jail, a history museum, and rows of shops selling trinkets and souvenirs. When hunger hits, there are places to grab a meal or some ice cream.
Goldfield is open daily from 10 AM to 5 PM, and parking is free. Saturday and Sunday afternoons draw the biggest crowds, so a weekday morning is the calmer choice if you want photos of the mountains without a crowd in the frame.
2. Tombstone, Tombstone, AZ
They call it the town too tough to die, and Tombstone has spent well over a century living up to the nickname. This late-1800s silver boomtown in Cochise County still keeps its boardwalk-and-storefront main street.
Walk the strip and you will pass historic saloons, antique shops, clothing stores, and diners. Wild West shows and gunfight reenactments keep the street busy.
For the jail piece of the puzzle, Tombstone Courthouse State Historic Park covers the town’s mining history and the old jail. It gives a solid look at how law and order worked in a rowdy silver camp.
Then there is the underground side. The Good Enough Mine Tour is a guided walk through a real 1880s silver mine, and it ranks among the better things to do in town.
I would save Tombstone for a cooler-weather weekend, since there is plenty to see on foot.
3. Castle Dome Mine Museum, Yuma, AZ
Getting here is half the adventure. You drive about 10 miles on a rocky road through the Yuma Proving Ground, which takes roughly 20 minutes.
At the end waits a mining town from around 1878, with renovated and re-created buildings packed with original items and artifacts. The whole place is self-guided, so you set your own pace.
The town grounds include saloons and an old jail cell, giving you a feel for daily life in a remote mining camp. A gift shop rounds things out.
The real standout is the mine tour, which leads underground to walls that glow under fluorescent light. Few Arizona stops offer anything like it.
Hours run 10 AM to 5 PM daily. Arrive early, since the museum, town, and mine tour together deserve a good chunk of the day, and there is no restaurant on site.
4. Gold King Mine & Ghost Town, Jerome, AZ
Rusty trucks, rattling engines, and goats wandering around. Gold King is the quirkiest stop on this list, perched just past the cliffside town of Jerome.
The site sits on the old Haynes mining camp and features an old mine, weathered buildings, and a huge collection of vintage autos and trucks. Old mining equipment fills the grounds, and some of it still runs.
Families get plenty of hands-on fun here. A $39 per person package includes animal feed, gem mining, gold panning, and geode breaking.
Back down in Jerome, look for the famous Sliding Jail, a concrete cell that slid down the hillside after mining blasts shifted the ground. The drive up through town also comes with a great view.
Gold King is closed Tuesdays and opens at 10 AM on Wednesdays. Other days run 9 AM to 5 PM.
5. Queen Mine Tour, Bisbee, AZ
Hard hat on, slicker zipped, and off you roll into the mountain. The Queen Mine Tour puts you on a train that heads straight inside the hills of Bisbee.
Guides with mining experience lead the way, sharing how miners worked and the risks they faced underground. The tour covers the mine’s history from the 1800s through its closing.
It is open seven days a week from 8:30 AM to 5 PM. Tickets in advance are a smart move, especially on Saturdays, which get busy.
Once you are back in daylight, Bisbee’s hillside streets fill in the rest of the story. The historic district includes the St. Elmo, operating since 1902, and the town keeps its old city jail as part of its past.
This copper town has a personality all its own, and the mine is the best place to start understanding it.
6. Oatman Hotel Restaurant & Bar, Oatman, AZ
Bring a dollar and a marker. Bills are stapled to the walls and ceiling at the Oatman Hotel, a historic Old West spot on Route 66 in the Black Mountains.
The menu sticks to hearty comfort food. Think cheeseburgers with crispy fries, pulled pork sandwiches with chips and coleslaw, chili cheese fries, and Loaded Burro Ears.
There is a kids’ menu, high chairs, and ice cream too. Live music and a western show out in the street add to the fun.
Oatman itself grew from gold strikes, and the old mining past still shows around town. The free-roaming wild burros on Main Street are the unofficial greeters, and an old jail cell sits along the street as well.
Hours run 10 AM to 6 PM on weekdays and 8 AM to 6 PM on weekends, so breakfast is a weekend option.
7. Fairbank Historic Townsite, Huachuca City, AZ
Before Tombstone and Bisbee got rich, their ore and supplies passed through here. Fairbank was a key rail and milling stop during the mining boom in those neighboring towns.
Today the townsite sits quietly in a desert valley along the San Pedro River, managed by the Bureau of Land Management. A few historic buildings still stand, including a restored one-room schoolhouse and a small museum.
Walking trails lead out to the old cemetery, which has nice views of the valley. Plaques along the way explain the town’s history.
This is the calmest stop on the list, with no gift shops or shows. There is a picnic area, a clean pit toilet, and plenty of free parking.
Plan around the schedule, since Fairbank is open only Friday through Sunday from 9:30 AM to 4:30 PM. It pairs well with a Tombstone day.
