An hour and 15 minute drive southeast from Tucson can land you in the most famous town of the Old West: Tombstone, Arizona. We have visited Tombstone so many times that we know better than to not expect the unexpected.
Tombstone has more gunfights in its streets than Chicago. The main difference is that in Tombstone hardly anyone dies from these loud, raucous encounters. (The cowboys here are really bad shots.) Throughout the year, Tombstone hosts many special events, including: Territorial Days (September); Historic Home Tour (December); and the hugely popular Helldorado Days (October).
Of all the parades I have enjoyed over the past 7 decades, including the Pasadena Rose Parade and the Tucson Rodeo Parade, I’ve never had more fun than Tombstone’s Helldorado Days Parade. For sheer energy and hilarity, it cannot be beat.
Over many years, we at Southern Arizona Guide have recommended many Tombstone establishments, including Big Nose Kate’s Saloon, which we consider the Best Cowboy Bar in America. And we always recommend that first-timers take Dr. Jay’s Tombstone Walking Tour. It’s only $18 and lasts about an hour and a quarter. You come away understanding what life here was really like in the 1880’s … and where THE GUNFIGHT really took place.
However, we have never been able to wholeheartedly recommend any Tombstone lodging establishment. We’ve stayed at Tombstone Bordello B&B, T. Miller’s Mercantile and Hotel, and Wyatt’s Cafe Hotel in the Historic District. T. Miller’s is the only lodging on Allen Street. You sleep upstairs overlooking the Bird Cage Theater across the street. So, for location it can’t be beat. Bordello B&B is up Allen Street a few blocks, but easy walking distance to the Historic District. It is actually a house of ill repute that was moved from the original red light district beyond 6th Street. The Lariat Motel is very popular. They have small, but clean rooms We have never been able to get a reservation. All are acceptable places to rest your hat, but they all have some downsides. The hotels on the outskirts of town are nothing special. For years we have recommended that Tombstone visitors stay overnight in one of several very fine places of lodging in Bisbee just 25 miles south, such as Eldorado Suites Hotel or Copper City Inn.
A ride through town at Tombstone Monument Ranch.
But now that has all changed. Why? We spent a Saturday night at Tombstone Monument Guest Ranch. This “dude” ranch is far and away the best place to park your horse for the night, belly up to the bar, and enjoy a cold refreshing bottle of old-fashioned sarsaparilla.
And there’s more … lot’s more.
Rooms
All rooms at Tombstone Monument Ranch are decorated in 1880’s furnishings.
Central to Tombstone Monument Ranch is the re-created Old West town. Compared with the ramshackle construction of the real town, Monument was built with precision and the rooms, while delightfully decorated in 1880’s period, are comfortable and modern. All rooms are an easy walk across the street to the saloon. (If the worst happens and the saloon is closed, the corral, pool, hot tub, and dining hall are also just a stone’s throw down the boardwalk.)
Activities
Monument has many Old West activities, including steer roping, archery, shooting, card playing. They will even teach you how to play faro, the card game of choice here in the 1880’s. Should you be a tenderfoot, all of these activities come with expert instructors.
Horseback riding at Tombstone Monument Ranch.
Of course horseback riding is the foremost activity here. At the best dude ranches in Tucson, guests ride through the stunning beauty of the Sonoran Desert. Here at Monument guests ride through history. You can follow the paths of such legends as Wyatt Earp, Johnny Ringo, Ike Clanton, and Doc Holliday.
The Wranglers will begin horseback “History Rides” in September or October 2016 that will include petroglyphs, old railroad bridges, abandon wells, and the ghost town of Fairbank. They also ride into the Tombstone Historic District.
The nearby
Friends of the San Pedro River offer an occasional guided walking tour to the once thriving towns of Charleston, Millville, and Contention City, all merely ruins today, and all situated on the San Pedro River, the watercourse followed by the Coronado Expedition of 1540-42.
Laura True, wife of Russell True, the owners, told me recently that she is putting together a birding package. So look for it on their website.
Schieffelin Monument
An easy walk from the guest rooms is a very large stone monument, the ranch’s namesake. Here, the incredibly lucky prospector, Ed Schieffelin, is buried. He not only struck it rich in the nearby hills in 1877, he also founded the City of Tombstone in 1879. The “Town Too Tough To Die” was named for Ed’s first mine, The Tombstone.
Scheffelin Monument
The origin of the town’s name is fairly well-known. Seems Ed was staying at Fort Huachuca and told some soldiers he was going prospecting in the hills around Goose Flats (present-day Tombstone). The soldiers laughed and told Ed, “All you will find over there is your own tombstone”. Both the soldiers and Ed knew that the place was infested with Apaches and prospectors in the area were short-lived. But Ed went anyway and the rest is history.
Off-Site Guided Tours
Monument Ranch also offers off-site guided tours. From the ranch, it is not far to the rugged Dragoon Mountains where the great Chiricahua chief, Cochise, made his stronghold. The western slope of Cochise Stronghold is where you will discover “Council Rocks”. This is where Cochise and General Howard made a peace accord in 1872 that created the Chiricahua Reservation. Cochise kept his word until the day he died. Then the United States unilaterally dissolved the reservation and forced all Chiricahuas to the dreaded San Carlos Apache Reservation.
KC, Ms. Karen, & Neighbor Roy explore Council Rocks.
Go a little further and you can experience the grandeur of Chiricahua National Monument and perhaps hike through the strange geological feature Chiricahua Apaches called “Standing Up Rocks”. If you go, don’t forget to visit the docent-led tour of Faraway Ranch. And if you have time, do yourself a real favor and visit nearby Fort Bowie, the forward U.S Army headquarters in the Apache Wars from 1861 to 1886.
Or perhaps you would enjoy the San Pedro River Walk. This National Conservation Area is home to 84 mammal species; 14 fish species; 41 species of amphibians and reptiles; about 100 species of native birds, not to mention the 250 or so species of migrating birds; and an archaeological site that proves people lived here 13,000 years ago. Talk about a walk-back-in-time!
Other guided tours include the old copper mining town of Bisbee; an ATV tour of the surrounding mountains pockmarked with abandoned silver mines, and the ever-popular wine tasting tour to Sonoita and Elgin.
Meals
Monument’s own Schieffelin (pronounced schef-lynn) Restaurant adjacent to the saloon serves 3 hearty Western meals each day. We had three meals there and each was a fine example of fresh ranch fruits, vegetables and meats. For those who have special dietary needs, the chef happily accommodates. Monument also offers an invigorating special chuck wagon breakfast by campfire.
Tombstone Monument is owned and operated by Russell & Laura True, part of the family that has owned and operated White Stallion Guest Ranch in Tucson for more than a half century. White Stallion is one of Tucson’s finest resorts. Should you expect the same high quality experience at Tombstone Monument? You should, because that is what you will get.
Do we at Southern Arizona Guide wholeheartedly recommend Tombstone Monument Guest Ranch? Indeed. This is 5-Saguaro lodging, dining, things to see and do!
Tombstone Monument Guest Ranch (3 miles north of Tombstone Historic District)
895 W Schiefflin Monument Rd, Tombstone, AZ 85638
520-457-7299
