Wild West Wandering in Tombstone and Bisbee
There’s a reason why Tombstone and Bisbee are favorite field trip destinations for Arizona students; the towns are chock-full of fun and historic haunts (which also happen to be haunted, in some cases). The OK Corral–which is celebrating its 140th anniversary–is one of the most-visited sites in Tombstone and is a historic landmark offering a front-row seat to reenactments several times a day. The Tombstone Courthouse State Park is brimming with artifacts of local history and its Victorian-style architecture alone makes it worth a visit. Allen Street marks the center of the town’s tourist attractions, including the OK Corral and the Bird Cage Theatre. Guests can stroll the area’s shops, restaurants and bars, and pop in a saloon or two for a sudsy sarsaparilla.
Decked in a hard hat and a headlamp, the Queen Mine Tour welcomes thousands of visitors each year who head 1,500 feet into the mine. Tours take place every day; reservations are required and children ages five and under are not allowed in the mine. A favorite spot on Erie Street (a must to wander), the Bisbee Breakfast Club serves up incredible huevos rancheros, chicken-fried steak and other hearty a.m. favorites to fuel you up before a day of adventuring. If you want Halloween to come early, book an Old Bisbee Ghost Tour (which sells out nightly) for a haunted historical look at Bisbee after dark.