Four Wheel Drive Tours Around Tombstone, AZ
Tombstone, known as the “town too tough to die,” claims a legendary cast of historic characters that includes the likes of Wyatt Earp, Doc Holliday, Johnny Ringo and Big Nose Kate. Walk along the city boardwalks or ride the stagecoach to get a snippet of the area’s history at the town’s famous sites.
For a more in-depth experience, take a four-wheel drive tour into the rugged mountains surrounding the town where you can visit mining camps, ruins of ancient civilizations and historic landmarks.
Things You’ll Need
- Telephone or Internet
- Credit card
- Hat
- Sunglasses
- Water
- Sunscreen
Plan Your Adventure
1. Select Your Tour Date
Tours along the back roads surrounding Tombstone run year-round, but some seasons are better than others. Wildflower viewing is at its finest between February and April when the desert comes alive with brilliant color and temperatures hover in the 70s and 80s.
Autumn produces a more subdued wildflower display with 80 and 90 degree weather. Wintertime days are often above 60 degrees, but beware of summer’s heat that regularly reaches three-digit temperatures.
2. Choose Your Ride
During extreme weather, see the sights from the climate-controlled comfort of an enclosed four-wheel drive vehicle with Into the West Jeep Tours. The company also has open-air vehicles so you can feel the breeze in your hair and smell the sweet scent of wildflowers and other desert flora.
Dusty Roads Adventures offers tours on ATVs and other off-road vehicles, enabling you to tackle desert washes and other areas where most vehicles can’t travel.
3. Choose Your Tour
The mountains around Tombstone are brimming with Old West history, from ancient native ruins to tumbledown towns that were the toast of the 1800s mining culture. Explore ranch life from a century ago with a tour to Empire Ranch, where many western movie scenes were shot.
The ranch is still a working cattle ranch. Visit the once booming ghost towns of Courtland, Gleeson and Pearce, or visit historic silver mines from that era. Rumble through the rugged Dragoon Mountains where Cochise had his Apache stronghold, or visit scenes of famous gunfights outside the town limits.
Tips and Warnings
- Ask about package tours that combine your tour with additional shows and tours and a stay at a Tombstone hotel or bed and breakfast.
- Into the West offers discount rates for groups of more than four people. The company also offers you the opportunity to design your own tour.
- Watch for rattlesnakes when walking around taking photos at a jeep stop. The snakes are slow to get out of the way in early spring after emerging from hibernation. They return to their dens in late November.
- The harsh desert climate burns and dehydrates faster than you would expect, even during winter months. Bring plenty of water, wear a hat and sunglasses and apply sunscreen.
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