Wild burros run this Arizona town and 500,000 people show up to watch them do it

Route 66’s strangest little town

Oatman sits high in Arizona’s Black Mountains along a stretch of old Route 66, and the burros run the place.

About 100 people live here year-round, but close to half a million visitors pass through every year to watch wild burros wander down the middle of Main Street like they own it.

The town never fully emptied out after the mines closed, which is why people call it a living ghost town. The burros are only part of the story.

Gold miners came first, then left their burros behind

Miners struck rich gold deposits in the early 1900s, and Oatman boomed to thousands of residents almost overnight. The town takes its name from Olive Oatman, a young pioneer taken captive in the 1850s and later freed.

When the government ordered the mines shut in the early 1940s for the war effort, the miners packed up and left. Their pack burros, though, they turned loose into the hills.

Those animals survived, bred, and their descendants still come down to Main Street today. New interest in Route 66 brought tourists back starting in the 1990s.

A quarter-mile strip frozen in the Old West

Raised wooden boardwalks run along both sides of Main Street, and the storefronts look like something from the 1880s.

Weathered wood and corrugated tin hold up buildings that lean just enough to remind you how old they are. The whole strip runs only about a quarter mile.

Some original structures still stand, including the old Glory Hole soda fountain building. You could walk the entire town in 10 minutes, but the details slow you down.

It looks so much like a movie set that your brain needs a second to catch up.

Twenty burros stroll down the road each morning

On a typical day, about 20 burros come down from the surrounding hills and make themselves at home on Main Street.

They stick their heads through railings, stop in the middle of the road, and hold up traffic without a care. Watching a line of cars wait on a burro is one of the most photographed moments in town.

These animals are direct descendants of those miners’ pack burros from decades ago. There is no guarantee you will see them, though, since they roam freely and come and go as they please.

They’re protected by federal law, so keep your distance

A 1971 federal law protects wild horses and burros on public land, and the Bureau of Land Management says not to approach, feed, or touch them. Feeding burros on public land is against federal law.

Oatman has a long feeding tradition, though, and some shops still sell hay cubes, so you may see people offering food. The animals can bite or kick without warning.

Young burros often wear “Do Not Feed Me” stickers because they still drink their mother’s milk. Leave your dog at home, too, since burros may see dogs as a threat.

Blanks fire and actors fall on Route 66

Every afternoon, the Ghost Rider Gunfighters stage a mock Old West shootout right in the middle of Route 66.

They are the oldest gunfighter group in Oatman, and their shows use loud blanks that echo off the old buildings. Each performance runs 20 to 30 minutes while traffic on Main Street stops completely.

The shows are free, though the group accepts donations that go to local causes. If you are standing close, the blanks are loud enough to make you flinch.

Dollar bills cover every inch of this 1902 hotel

The Oatman Hotel opened in 1902 as the Durlin Hotel, and it is the oldest two-story adobe building in Mohave County. Step inside the bar and you will see why people talk about it.

Signed one-dollar bills cover the walls and ceiling, thousands of them layered so thick you cannot see the surface underneath. Miners started the tradition years ago, and visitors have kept it going ever since.

You can stop in for a bite or a drink, but the hotel no longer rents rooms.

Turquoise, jerky, and shops with punny names

The wooden sidewalks connect a row of small shops selling handmade leather goods, Route 66 souvenirs, and turquoise and silver Native American jewelry.

Many of the stores lean into the burro theme with playful, punny names you will notice as you walk past. Beef jerky, local art, and small keepsakes fill out the shelves.

The strip is short enough to browse everything in an afternoon without rushing, and most of what you find here is the kind of thing you only get in a place like this.

Homemade fudge melts fast in the desert heat

A vintage candy shop sells homemade chocolates, fudge, and taffy, but if you visit in summer, eat the chocolate fast. Desert heat does not wait.

Down the street, a photo studio lets you dress up in Old West costumes for a keepsake picture, which is exactly the kind of thing you do in a town like Oatman. The saloon serves simple food like burgers and ice cream.

These small stops add up quickly, and a few hours in town pass before you realize it.

Walk into an old mine shaft for free

A small mining museum lets you step a short way into an actual mine shaft, and admission is free. Old props and exhibits inside lay out the town’s mining history in a way that makes the whole gold rush era feel close.

You can also peek into the tiny historic jail nearby.

Costumed characters sometimes stroll the wooden sidewalks in full Old West getup, adding to the feeling that you have wandered into a different century. None of it costs you a dime.

Frying eggs on the sidewalk every Fourth of July

Every Fourth of July, Oatman hosts its famous Sidewalk Egg Fry. Contestants get 15 minutes to cook an egg using nothing but sunlight.

People rig up mirrors, aluminum foil, and magnifying glasses to trap enough heat to get the job done. The event has run for more than three decades, and it is free to enter and free to watch.

In a town full of odd traditions, cooking breakfast on the pavement with the Arizona sun fits right in.

Burro biscuit tosses and bed races down Main Street

On Labor Day, the town hosts the International Burro Biscuit Toss. Players throw a dried, gold-painted burro dropping to see who gets the farthest distance.

Each January, bed races send teams sprinting down the middle of Main Street.

An ordained minister performs old-fashioned shotgun weddings, and couples can get married right in the street or at the Little White Church.

If it sounds like a town that does not take itself too seriously, that is exactly the point.

Visit Oatman on Route 66 in Arizona

You can reach Oatman about 25 miles from Kingman by driving Route 66 over Sitgreaves Pass, or from Bullhead City and Laughlin by way of State Route 95 and Boundary Cone Road.

The winding mountain road is part of the experience, so take it slow. There is no fee to walk the town.

The Oatman Hotel no longer rents rooms, but limited vacation rentals are available in town, and Kingman, Bullhead City, and Laughlin all have places to stay. Bring cash and arrive early for parking.

This article was created with AI assistance and human editing.

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