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Lately, we’ve been on a kick to visit historical towns of the old west. We were making a cross-country road trip from California to Florida and stopped by Tombstone, Arizona which is well-known for its Wild West history.

Here is how we spent the day in Tombstone or otherwise known as "The Town Too Tough To Die".

9 AM - Old Tombstone Western Theme Park

339 S 4th St, Tombstone, AZ 85638 (MAP)

We initially had plans to start our morning at the Visitor’s Center; however, for some reason, they were closed despite their store hours indicating that they were scheduled to open at 9 AM. We visited right after the new year, so that may have been the reason for it being closed.

Old Tombstone Entrance Sign — Old Tombstone Western Town Entrance

Since they weren’t open, we decided to walk around and stumbled upon Old Tombstone Western Theme Park. It’s located just off Allen Street and looked like a fun spot to take some photos.

We were having a great time taking photos and even Kuma got dressed up as a cowgirl. We got lucky and just happened to run into one of the actors that was dressed up as a cowboy and got to snag some photos with him. We thought he was the actor playing Wyatt Earp in the gunfight show, but he was actually playing a marshal.

Standing next to Wyatt Earp — POsing with the Sheriff at Hitching Post Cafe

Tombstone Fake Coffin — candy pretending she’s dead

Tombstone Miner Shak — Kuma dressed up as an adorable cowgirl

He then suggested that we watch the gunfight show that he was going to be starring in later that morning. We initially had plans to watch the gunfight show at the O.K. Corral but decided it wouldn’t hurt to watch both gunfight shows since we had the time.

Billy the Kid Wanted Sign — crystal’s crush - Billy The Kid

We actually wanted to do the Stagecoach Tour around this time since we read online that it was dog-friendly, but the other passengers on the coach were not comfortable with Kuma riding with them since they were allergic to dogs. It’s a small space inside the coach, so we totally understood.

10 AM - Arizona Rangers Museum

121 S 4th St, Tombstone, AZ 85638 (MAP)

This museum tells the Arizona Rangers story, which goes all the way back to 1860. It’s a fairly small museum but houses a lot of interesting artifacts like original ranger badges and guns.

Looking at a Ranger Badge Display — Arizona Ranger Museum Badge Display

The volunteer ranger we met named Stewart was super friendly and shared a lot of fun facts about the Arizona Rangers. The museum was pet-friendly, so Kuma got to join us too. Entrance is free and donations are appreciated.

Vintage Photograph of Arizona Rangers — Photograph of all the Arizona Rangers

Arizona Rangers Museum Entrance — arizona Rangers Museum Entrance

looking at rifles inside Rangers Museum — Vintage Rifles

10:30 AM - Gunfight Show at Old Tombstone Western Theme Park

339 S 4th St, Tombstone, AZ 85638 (MAP)

The main gunfight show is at the O.K. Corral, but if you’d like to check out a different type of gunfight show, the one at the Old Tombstone Western Theme Park is a fun one. This was the show the actor we met earlier was starring in, so we wanted to support him as well.

This gunfight show is also dog-friendly, so you can watch the show with your dog as well. We opted not to bring Kuma because the gunshots are pretty loud and I didn’t want to scare her.

A woman sitting on bleachers — Waiting for the gun show to start

Before entering the show, there are a lot of fun photo opportunities along with games and a cute western theme bar you can check out.

The gunfight show ran for about 45 minutes and we got a great view of the show since it was quite an intimate experience. The show boasts that its actors are professionals who carry numerous stunt and acting credits from western films.

The show made both historical and pop-culture references, which was unique and not what we were expecting. At the end of the show, the audience was encouraged to take photos with the actors and we definitely took full advantage of this.

The actors took their time taking photos with the guests. When it was our turn to take a photo, the marshal insisted that we do the Charlie’s Angels pose and also handed us their pistols for props. We really appreciated how much they got into character for us for this photo-op.

Two woman posing with cowboys — POsing with the cowboys

Cowboy actor getting show down — Cowboy getting shot down

12 PM - Lunch at O.K. Cafe

220 E Allen St, Tombstone, AZ 85638 (MAP)

We weren’t expecting the show to run for 45 minutes, so we were ready for lunch and headed straight to O.K. Cafe. The cafe had great Yelp reviews and it was within walking distance from the gun show we just watched.

OK Cafe Family Dining Tombstone — Ok Cafe Family Dining

It’s nothing fancy, but it has a charming local diner vibe to it. Our server, Sarah, was the absolute sweetest and made us feel so welcome. Crystal had a club sandwich and Candy ordered the daily soup and turkey sandwich. The homemade pork soup was delicious and very hearty.

Pork soup and Turkey Sandwich — HOmemade Pork Soup and Turkey Sandwich

1 PM - The Tombstone Epitaph Newspaper Museum

11 S 5th St, Tombstone, AZ 85638 (MAP)

This museum is complimentary and fairly small, but worth a visit. It’s Arizona’s oldest continually published newspaper and you can read the paper’s original reports of the famous gunfight at the O.K. Corral.

Epitaph Newspaper Museum Entrance — Walking to the Epitaph Newspaper Museum

There were various vintage printing presses, displays of newspapers, and notable historical information on Tombstone. One of the interesting things we learned was that since individual type pieces had to be arranged backward to print, the print operator had to learn to read upside-down and backward.

If you go to the O.K. Corral gunfight show, you’ll get a ticket to receive a free newspaper of the original 1881 reports of the gunfight.

Vintage Printing Press Tombstone — Vintage Printing Press

1:30 PM - Explore Allen Street

Since we had some time before the next gun show, we went back to our hotel to pick up Kuma so that she can explore the Historic District of Tombstone with us.

Allen Street in Tombstone Arizona — Allen Street

Allen Street is famous for being the heart of the action during the time of the Old West. All of the main attractions are located on this street and we hopped into a few of the shops on the boardwalks.

Tombstone Allen Street Signage — Signs in Town

If you’re into ghost tours, The Bird Cage Theatre offers both family-friendly and evening ghost tours. They’ve been featured on Travel Channel’s Ghost Adventures and the Syfy Channel’s TAPS Ghost Hunters.

3 PM - O.K. Corral Gunfight Show

326 E Allen St, Tombstone, AZ 85638 (MAP)

O.K. Corral is the actual site where the famous 1881 Gunfight took place and is the subject of numerous western films. We weren’t planning on watching two gunfight shows, but this is the most famous one in Tombstone, so we didn’t want to miss it.

OK Corral Cowboys Tombstone — The Actors in the OK Corral Gun Fight Show

This show was quite different from the gun show we saw earlier in the day. The seating area was larger, so it wasn’t as intimate as the other one. However, this show tells the true story of the famous 30-second showdown that left three cowboys dead.

OK Corral Gun Fight Stage — OK Corral Gun Fight Show

Two cowgirls and one cowboy — Fan pic with our favorite actor in the show

Earp Brother at OK Corral — Earp Brothers

After the show, there were opportunities to take pictures with the actors, so we took some pics with our favorite actor in the show. He played the villain, but his acting was awesome and had us laughing more than once. Afterward, we explored the small exhibits, stables, and a blacksmith shop that were all included in the price of our ticket.

OK Corral Stables in Tombstone — OK Corral Stables

We checked out the Prostitutes Crib and the site where the original gunfight took place. The original location was under construction, but we were able to see parts of the building and the shattered glass. We didn’t see all the exhibits since we were pretty tired and it was really cold (it was 35 degrees!), so we were ready to head back indoors.

Prostitutes Crib Signage Tombstone — Prostitutes Crib Signage

4:30 PM - Boothill Graveyard

408 AZ-80, Tombstone, AZ 85638 (MAP)

Boothill Graveyard is the only place we explored where we had to drive. Everything else we did was on Allen street or next to it. This graveyard was used after 1883 only to bury outlaws and the name “Boot Hill” refers to the number of men who died with their boots on.

One of the notable tombstones here belongs to Lester Moore. The famous epitaph reads "Here lies Lester Moore, Four slugs from a .44, No Les No more."

Frank Bowles Tombstone Arizona — Frank BOWLES Tombstone

Lester Moore Tombstone Arizona — Lester Moore Tombstone

The McLaury brothers and the Clanton brothers who were part of the organized group of outlaws called the Cowboys are all buried here. They are the Cowboys that died in the legendary shootout at the O.K. Corral.

There is a small fee of $3 to view the graveyard, but on the day we went, they were letting visitors in for free since they ran out of pamphlets. We didn’t know at the time, but you can actually go to their website and get more information on each grave.

Boothill Graveyard View of Tombstone — View of Tombstone from Boothill Graveyard

6:00 PM - Dinner at Big Nose Kate’s Saloon

417 E Allen St, Tombstone, AZ 85638 (MAP)

This restaurant was highly rated on Trip Advisor, so we were really looking forward to dining here. The saloon truly takes you back in time as its bar and wood floors are the original from the 1880s. All the servers were dressed as saloon girls and there were several flat-screen TVs featuring the famous movie, Tombstone.

Big Nose Kate's Saloon — Big Nose Kate’s Saloon

Unfortunately, our entire dining experience from beginning to end was awful due to the poor service we encountered from our server. She was very rude to us and we almost left, but we were not going to let this woman ruin our Tombstone experience.

Two cowgirls sitting on a piano — All Dressed up for our Photo-op

A woman holding a restaurant menu — Crystal excited to dine at a historic saloon

One of the main attractions here is the opportunity to dress up and take photos and we definitely wanted to do this as we saw other customers having fun with their servers helping them out with the photos.

This complimentary experience is highly advertised on their website and on their menu as well. Since our server dropped the ball when we asked to take part in the photo experience (she actually sighed and was really bothered by this request), one of the bartenders, Harley, stepped in and made the experience a million times better for us.

We’re so thankful for Harley because she was the polar opposite of our server. She helped us pick out our outfits and even gave us tips on how to hold a rifle. If it wasn’t for her, we probably would have left the restaurant in complete disappointment. Looking back, we should have just asked for another server.

Big Nose Kates Saloon Pizza — Cheese pizza

As far as the food, we ordered the chicken fingers and cheese pizza. The chicken fingers were pretty good, but Candy wished it was a little more crispy. The cheese pizza was good, but it took 20 minutes for it to come out. Our server warned us about this (again, in a rude manner), so we were expecting the long wait.

Final Thoughts

We had such a great time in Tombstone and couldn’t believe how fast the day went by. Everyone we met was super friendly and genuinely seemed excited to share the history of Tombstone (except our server at Big Nose Kate’s Saloon).

We also loved that many of the establishments encouraged and helped tourists take photos, so we didn’t have to ask someone to take them for us.

Live Music Tombstone Arizona — Live Music Tombstone

Many of the establishments were pet-friendly and the town is closed off to traffic, so it was nice exploring the area without cars roaming around. If you have not seen the movie Tombstone, you must watch it before visiting. It will make the experience here a million times better.

Tombstone Arizona Boardwalk — Tombstone Boardwalk

Doc Holiday Tin Cup — We almost purchased the Doc Holliday Cup

Where We Stayed

Tombstone Miners Cabin
787 E Allen St, Tombstone, AZ 85638 (MAP)

We stayed at a newly constructed pet-friendly hotel cabin, which is located on historic Allen Street. Allen street is where all the historic attractions are located. All the cabins have a private deck that overlooks the beautiful desert landscape.