Sitting amid the deserted hills of the Black Mountains, practically in the middle of nowhere, is a town famous not for its size or amenities, but for its four-legged, hee-hawing mascots that roam freely. With only about 89 permanent residents, and dozens of donkeys to fill the gaps, Oatman, Arizona, draws visitors from all over to experience its famous burro takeover. Here, you’ll find donkeys literally everywhere: along the road into town, on the sidewalks, in front of store doorways, and pretty much everywhere in between. Once an early 20th-century booming Wild West mining town known for its rich gold mines, Oatman is now best known for one thing – its beloved donkeys.
Officially founded in 1915, Oatman sprang to life after two prospectors struck the mother lode, discovering $10 million in gold (about $181 million today). The town’s population exploded to more than 3,500 in just one year. Oatman held on to its gold-mining claim to fame for the next 9 years, until its main employer, United Eastern Mines, permanently shut down operations. Mining continued on a much smaller scale until 1941, when the remaining mines were ordered to close during World War II so resources could be redirected to more critical metals.
Fortunately, Oatman sat directly on famed Route 66, which kept the town alive with a steady stream of travelers for another decade. But that, too, was short-lived. In 1953, a new highway between Needles, California, and Kingman, Arizona, bypassed Oatman entirely, and by the 1960s, the town was essentially abandoned.
Well, not completely abandoned. Around 89 residents still live in or near the town. How they manage is a bit of a mystery, since Oatman has no grocery store or gas station and very few places to eat. The closest towns where residents can stock up on necessities such as groceries, toiletries, cleaning supplies, pet food, and gasoline are Bullhead City, Arizona (about 40 minutes away), and Kingman, Arizona (about 50 minutes away)… in opposite directions. With no Airbnb’s in town, lodging options are extremely limited. In fact, there’s just one hotel: the allegedly haunted, historic eight-room Oatman Hotel, built in 1902.
We visited Oatman during what is arguably the worst time of year to go… summer. Arizona summers – and really summers anywhere in the Southwest – are scorching, and Oatman was no exception. It was around 110 degrees when we stopped on our way home from Vegas, and the heat definitely made our visit less enjoyable. It was still incredibly cool to see the famous wild donkeys hanging out in the middle of the roads, just as promised, but the extreme temperature made walking around town difficult. Many of the buildings are quite old, so they either didn’t have air conditioning or relied on small wall-mounted units that did little to cool the space, especially with the doors wide open to the outside.
As we gradually made our way along the wooden boardwalks, dodging a donkey here and there (and their poop), we visited several souvenir shops. Most sold pretty much the same things: T-shirts, hats, and magnets. A few also offered assorted trinkets and knick-knacks, including artwork, handmade jewelry, and creepy dolls. We stopped by Route 66 Sweet Fix, the town’s main candy store, which sells the usual assortment of nostalgic and inexpensive candy. Then, as we made our way back toward the car, we stepped inside the historic Oatman Hotel.
It was neat to be inside a 124-year-old building dating back to Oatman’s Wild West days, but based on the lobby alone, it’s not somewhere I’d be itching to stay. It was unbelievably hot inside, even though they were selling ice cream cones, ice cream sandwiches, and milkshakes. We ordered an ice cream cone and an ice cream sandwich and had to devour them almost immediately because they started melting the second they hit our hands. One poor employee was working incredibly hard to keep up with the steady stream of ice cream and milkshake orders, so we spent quite a while in the suffocatingly hot lobby waiting for my boyfriend’s milkshake. Adjacent to the ice cream counter was a bar and restaurant, one of the few places in Oatman where you can grab both food and a drink.
Besides its century-plus age and alleged haunting, the Oatman Hotel’s other major claim to fame is the thousands of dollar bills covering its walls and ceilings. It’s a long-standing tradition for visitors to leave behind a dollar signed with their name or the names of everyone in their group. The hotel even keeps a permanent marker and stapler on hand for just that purpose. Of course, we left ours. 😊
The last thing we did in Oatman was explore the “mine” near the southern end of downtown. It’s completely free to enter and very small, making it a quick stop. In fact, it’s so short that light from both entrances illuminates the entire passage, so if you’re worried about darkness or claustrophobia, fear not. It’s also said to be haunted, although that’s up for debate considering it isn’t one of Oatman’s authentic mines. Just outside the entrance is a collection of Old West artifacts, including a jail, coffins, signs, and other relics. How authentic they are, I’m not sure.
Lastly, one thing we unfortunately missed was the Wild West “gunfight” that happens twice a day on the streets of Oatman – typically around 12:15pm and again between 1:30 and 2:15pm, on weekdays. We were not aware of this when we arrived, so we weren’t prepared to wait for it. We happened to see the very tail end when walking out of a shop.
My mother and stepfather visited Oatman in April 2023, and the video below is from their visit.
Overall, I wasn’t as impressed with Oatman, Arizona, as I’d hoped to be. Seeing the wild donkeys roaming freely through town and lounging in the middle of the road was undeniably cool, but the town itself left me underwhelmed. It felt rundown, kitschy, and overpriced. I’m not sure how much of that impression was due to the ridiculous heat and the fact that I wasn’t feeling my best, but Oatman nonetheless paled in comparison with other famous Arizona Wild West towns I’ve visited, such as Jerome, Tombstone, and Bisbee. If you’re looking for a quick one- to two-hour stop without a ton to see or do aside from shopping and petting wild donkeys, Oatman is worth a visit. If you’re looking for a more immersive and interactive Wild West experience, though, I’d recommend heading to one of those other three towns instead.
Side note: You can buy donkey feed at several spots around town, so you can hand-feed the donkeys yourself!
