Exploring Tombstone AZ: Gunfight Reenactments & More

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We just got back from our first trip to Tucson, AZ. We’ve been to Arizona plenty of times in the past — Scottsdale, Williams and Flagstaff have made for fun family vacation destinations. But when we chose to go to Tucson this time, we knew we couldn’t miss an opportunity to visit Tombstone. I was a little bit overwhelmed with the different tour options, so I’ve compiled this list of my favorite Tombstone AZ things to do to help you plan your day accordingly.

There is so much history in Tombstone, so we had a general idea of what we wanted to see and do while we were there. We just had no idea how many different tours and gun fight reenactments there would be to choose from. Compared to our visit to the tiny Pioneertown, Tombstone had so much more to see and do.

If you’re wondering where to stay when you visit Tombstone, check out the hotel we stayed at in Tucson. It was a great Tucson family resort. Be sure to check out my other ideas for your Arizona family vacation as well.

Not Everything in Tombstone Costs Money

One thing to note is that you can go into some of the various saloons and theaters for free, but many of them have additional spaces, gunfights and/or self-guided tours that cost extra.

If you want to hear a lot about the different buildings and get a good general overview of everything that makes up Tombstone, a trolley tour of the town might be the most bang for your buck. On the trolley tour, a guide talks about the history of various buildings and then you can decide which ones are worth paying to explore more.

Tombstone AZ Things to Do — My Top 3

If I was going to choose my top 3 Tombstone AZ things to do that cost money, I’d do the following:

• The Gunfight Reenactment at the OK Corral
• Tour the Bird Cage Theater
• Boothill Cemetery

Note that there is still a lot more to see and do that you can do for free while in Tombstone. If you’re open to spending more money, a Good Enough Silver Mine Tour was next up on my list.

Reenactment of the Gunfight at the O.K. Corral

Tickets to the gunfight at OK Corral cost $10

We chose to watch the gunfight reenactment at the O.K. Corral, although there were many other gunfight reenactments we could have picked. Tickets (purchased at the venue) were $10 and included the gunfight, a 25-minute Historama presentation (part film, part diorama covering the history of Tombstone), a souvenir historic newspaper to take home, and the opportunity to visit Doc Holliday’s room and the actual gunfight site.

The reenactments at the OK Corral are done daily, at 11am, 1pm and 3pm.

I’m sure that all of the gunfight reenactments would be just fine, although I thought the one at the O.K. Corral was very good. The actors were great, and paying for the show is the only way to go out to the actual site of the gunfight.

Bird Cage Theater

The first place we stopped at when we arrived in Tombstone was the Bird Cage Theater. It’s free to walk into the main entrance (and gift shop), where you will see bullet holes in the walls, the catwalk where ladies would dance and try to entice men, and the stairs and room that the enticed men would venture to once they picked a (lucky?) lady.

The lady who was working that day gave great information about the history of this building. To go on the self-guided tour of the rest of the building, you need to pay. It’s $15 for adults, $14 for kids and seniors, or $45 for the entire family.

If you pay to do the tour, you’ll get to see the poker table where the longest game of poker was played, the original Boothill Graveyard hearse, and maybe a paranormal encounter as this is also one of the most haunted buildings in Tombstone.

Tombstone AZ Things to Do: Dine Somewhere With History

When we visited, we ate at Big Nose Kate’s Saloon. Big Nose Kate (aka Mary Katherine Horony Cummings) is famous for being a lady of the night, but was also Doc Holliday’s girlfriend.

The restaurant was once The Grand Hotel. It’s now a fun restaurant with live entertainment, free dress up pictures and a look into The Swamper’s bedroom in the possibly haunted basement.

Another restaurant with a lot of history is the Crystal Palace Saloon. Doc Holliday and Big Nose Kate were regulars at this saloon, and Virgil Earp had an office upstairs. The building burned to the ground in 1882. Now it’s regarded as one of the many haunted buildings in Tombstone.

Good Enough Silver Mine Tours

One thing that wasn’t on my radar at all before visiting Tombstone was doing a mine tour. We didn’t allot for it in our schedule, but now we’ll definitely have to go back because this is something my whole family wants to do.

The Good Enough Silver Mine tours take you on an underground tour of Tombstone. These mines and the silver found in them are what made Tombstone grow so much in the 1800s.

Oriental Theater

The Oriental Theater had its fair share of gambling and gunfire back in its heyday in the 1800s, including confrontations between Milt Joyce and Doc Holliday, and later with Virgil Earp.

Today it esteems itself as having the coldest beer in Tombstone, and visitors can enjoy a drink at the bar, karaoke on certain days, and live gunfights daily. Check it out when you visit because most weekdays offer free gunfights.

Tombstone AZ Things to Do: Boothill Graveyard

The Tombstone Boothill Graveyard is the final resting place of many notable Tombstone residents from the 1800s, including Billy Clanton and the McLaury brothers who were killed at the OK Corral gunfight. Walking around the cemetery and reading the grave markers definitely gives a glimpse of what life was like back them. The admission fee is $3, cash only, so be prepared.

Old Tombstone Western Theme Park

If you are visiting Tombstone with kids and have a decent amount of time, you might want to check out the Old Tombstone Western Theme Park, another of the many Tombstone AZ things to do. You’ll find a variety of attractions for the whole family, from mini golf to a shooting range, as well as the option to pan for gold. There’s a gunfight show here, which they deem as a comedy show, and is not a historical reenactment of the gunfight at the OK Corral. There is a fee for each individual activity here.

Additional Tombstone AZ Things to Do: Ghost Tours & Bisbee

Because Tombstone is said to be such a haunted old town, there are a number of haunted tours that you can do. They all sounded great, and my kids were asking to do them, but I think that would be better when they’re a little older.

If you have more time to spare, venturing over to the nearby town of Bisbee is another highly rated option. Several people we spoke with at our hotel in Tucson suggested visiting Bisbee to do some shopping and explore the caves there, or even doing a tour that includes both Tombstone and Bisbee.

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