Tombstone
 

My husband and I are thinking of visiting Tombstone. I was wondering if visiting the more popular sites would be a one-day, two-day, etc. trip. I am not sure how long we should plan for the visit. Our stop will be part of a multiple city stop.

Any help is greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

C.

To me, a native Arizonan, Tombstone is a bit of a disappointment. On their insistence, we always take our visitors there, but it is definitely not more than a one day stop.....OK Corral, World's Largest Lady Banks Rose Tree, Boothill Cemetary and walking the streets a bit and hitting couple of the saloons or restaurants is about it. Our visitors love it, but we like Bisbee, down the road a bit, driving thru Patagonia, driving thru San Rafael Valley to Sonoita, south of Tucson we love the village of Tubac.../can come up with more things to do, if needed. Southern Arizona is our unsung hero, beautiful and missed by so many.

I agree with desertduds. I too am I native Arizonan. Tombstone is okay, the other places described are so much better.

IMO, altho i wouldn't quite call it a tourist trap (and we know one when we see it :( ) but Tombstone is not worth more than two hours max. See the gun fight, then get the heck out of Dodge. Um, Tombstone.

Otherwise you'll be denying yourself time exploring the REAL glorious Arizona. There's just too much to see to waste time on a town that is mostly souvenir shoppes.

I agree with the previous posters. Don't waste your time in Tombstone. It was a huge disappointment.

A couple of hours in Tombstone is enough. FInd out when the shootout at the OK Corral is and try to time your trip so you can see that (I think it is mid afternoon)

Tombstone is only a few miles from Bisbee. Be sure to visit the Copper QUeen Mine

I totally agree with previous posters:
*Tombstone is worth a couple hours, no more, no less.
*Bisbee is definitely worth a stop and a visit to the copper mine.

I will respectfully disagree with the above, and I will tell you why. Several years ago I was dating a complete "Wild West NUT".
On a whim, in the middle of the night he decided we HAD to drive from L.A to Tombstone! Can you imagine? We ended up spending 3 days in Tombstone and New Years Eve in neighboring Bisbee. I guess it all depends upon what you expect. But we had so much fun in Tombstone. (utterly missed the staged Shoot out at the O.K Corral). He was SO interested in the history and it was contagious. We ended up finding many fun bars and visited boot hill at mid-night.. that was pretty fun. Yes it was touristy.. but we actually had a blast.

IMO, the Bird Cage Theater stands far and above the other Tombstone attractions. Everything else in the town has been turned into cheesy souvenir shops. There are many interesting antiques/artifacts inside and you really feel like you've gone back in time. Don't miss it, and don't waste time on too much else in Tombstone.

Hi - we were in Arizona 4 years ago with a couple that lives in Tucson. They didn't think we'd like Tombstone because it's so "touristy". We replied that we ARE tourists! And we loved it. Definitely a half day or maybe a day, but lots of fun. We also did Bisbee and enjoyed the trip into the mines. Have fun. sue

Thyra: You go, girl!

I've always thought that the primary purpose of visiting an historical site is to immerse myself in its history. You can read about the gunfight all you want but you really don't understand the history of it until you've walked the same streets, seen the same places, and thought about what the participants went through and why.

I get the same feeling of awe from visiting Tombstone that I do from visiting Gettysburg, Shiloh, Antietam and similar places.

Sure, it has touristy places but unlike most historical sites, Tombstone - at least the historical area - is little changed from the days that the Earps, Clantons, and Doc Holliday walked its streets.

If you are going just to see it, 2 hours is plenty. If you're going to immerse yourself in the history of it, I think you need 2-3 days.

Tombstone is a waste. Go check out the Sonoran Desert Museum just out side of Tuscon. Also go to Bisbee and explore the cool shops and other histoical sites in that area. Tombstone has nothing original. It burned down and was rebuilt. There are som e cool things like the thater with the bullett holes but not much else

I believe it was Old Tucson that was burned down, not Tomstone. Old Tucson isn't much to see either, they filed bankruptcy over a year ago. Now they are only open for limited hours, with most of the attractions closed.

Went to Tombstone as a tourist and loved it. Loved Bisbee too. Loved Tucson. There was in incredibly cheesy diorama show of the gunfight at the OK corral. You guessed it - I loved it!!! It's a beautiful part of the state, so don't miss it. Plan for a day and a half.

Well, to each his own! I lived in AZ for 2 years, and also found Tombstone to be a disappointment. (And with all due respect, I fail to see what is so awe-inspiring about the location of a big shootout between bunches of criminals--how can you compare Tombstone to Gettysburg???) gossimer, I can't imagine what you'd find to do there for one whole day, much less 2. (Even if you like it, it's a tiny place and just doesn't take that long to cover pretty thoroughly. Dining options, while all tarted up with "atmosphere", are uniformly dismal.)

I think the thing that is so sad about Tombstone is that they have a ready made tourist group...and most things they offer are so poorly done...OK Corral is just pitiful and could be so terrific in this day and age of electronics and sculptures...the sound doesn't have to be so tinny and awful and the figures of Earp, etc. are atrocious and a joke. I've only been to Gettysburg, but I thought it was sensationally presented and the Nat'l Park guides are terrific...shouldn't even compare the two areas.

To each his own, but its a bit of a stretch to compare Tombstone to Gettysburg, the latter being a NATIONAL PARK.

Perhaps a better comparison for Tombstone would be The Corn Palace in South Dakota. :) Now THAT is something to behold!

NOT!

I think some of my fellow Arizonans have missed the best part of Tombstone. After you've walked the board walks and seen the gunslingers in costume walking around the streets, instead of paying to get into places like the World's largest Rose Tree, Boothill, etc., go to the old Courthouse which is a state park. It is REAL and has lots of REAL history in it. And I also disagree about the re-enactment of the O.K. Corral shootout. It improved a lot a few years ago when they built a stadium to sit in, and they try to point out the real history of the thing, while throwing in enough gags to entertain the children.

Sorry folks - I did not compare Tombstone to Gettysburg or the other places I mentioned. I compared my sense of awe.

I am a western history buff and that gunfight along with the events that proceeded it and followed it are seminal events in the folklore of the frontier west. That being said, walking the same streets, going into the courthouse and reading the coroner's report, reading the grand jury reports, and getting copies of the U.S. Marshal's report of the fight are what it is all about for an historian and, at least for me, generate the sense of awe I spoke of.

If anyone wants to get an accurate perspective of the events, dig up an old copy of Loren Estleman's "Bloody Season". Written in the mid-1980's, it may be hard to find new but many libraries have a copy. IMO, it is the single best and most accurate treatment of these events I have found.

And dwooddon, I didn't mean to dis your interest in history--you are able to enjoy Tombstone in SPITE of all the kitsch because you can overlook it. I, too, wish they handled their history better there. But in the meantime, it's hard to recommend it to anyone who isn't already a buff. Happy Trails!