Bisbee & Lowell: Private Jeep Tour with Mining Pits & Local Guide

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Free cancellationTravelers' pick

1/49

Duration2h

GroupPrivate

LanguagesEN

PickupAt your hotel

A Jeep Ride Five Feet From a 900-Foot Mine Pit

You get a private Jeep, a native guide who knows the hidden routes and family stories, and access to spots most visitors don't reach—including a five-foot view into a 900-foot mining pit. The two hours cover Old Bisbee's architecture and history, the Lavender Pit mining lookout with an explanation of copper extraction, and Lowell's 1940s district with the Shady Dell Hotel and Evergreen Cemetery. Hotel pickup is not included; the tour departs from a central meeting point in Bisbee.

Step-by-step itinerary

The Experience

The moment your guide pulls up to the Lavender Pit Lookout, you realize how close "close" actually is. Five feet. That's the distance between the Jeep and the edge of a pit so deep you can't see the bottom—just the shadow of it, and the sound of wind moving through the void. It's the kind of moment that makes you grip the seat a little tighter, and then immediately reach for your camera. This is what sets the two-hour private Jeep tour of Old Bisbee and Lowell apart from the usual drive-through: it puts you somewhere most visitors never get to stand, with someone who actually grew up here.

The tour starts on OK Street, where your native Bisbee guide walks you through the architecture and the stories behind it—not the polished version, but the one with family names and local legends woven in. You'll stop at Joseph Muheim's house, pause at Brewery Gulch where the bar still stands, climb to the Lyric Theater and the old high school. The Jeep's removable roof means you can stand up and see the panoramic views as you ascend High Road, and the climate control keeps you comfortable whether it's blazing or cool. The guide knows the backroads—the routes that don't show up on maps, the ones that take you past spots most tour groups skip entirely. Then comes the Lavender Pit, where the guide explains the mining methods and the copper extraction process while you're standing right there at the edge, looking down at the leaching ponds and the equipment that shaped this whole region.

After the pits, you drive into Lowell, Arizona, where the 1940s feel frozen in place. Erie Street has classic cars parked outside vintage storefronts—pure photography gold. Your guide shares the history of the Junction Mine operations, then takes you through the Shady Dell Hotel parking lot, which is basically an open-air museum of antique vehicles and artifacts. Lowell School comes next, with its copper roof and doors, and the guide tells you both the official history and the personal stories—the ones about childhood adventures near the leaching drainage ditch, the kind of detail you only get from someone who actually lived here. The tour ends at Evergreen Cemetery, a nationally registered historic site, where the guide explains the significance and the stories buried there, literally and figuratively.

The Jeep itself is set up for comfort and access: air-conditioned, with a removable roof for open-air sections, Amp Research Powersteps for easy entry, and overhead straps so you're secure on the rougher backroads. The guide adjusts the pace and focus depending on what interests you—whether that's architecture, geology, mining history, or just the local folklore. If you're into minerals, there's a chance to spot some along the route. Pets are welcome too, which matters if you're traveling with one.

What’s included

Your tour includes private transportation in a climate-controlled Jeep with a removable roof, a native Bisbee guide who shares local history and family stories, access to hidden backroads and viewpoints, stops at the Lavender Pit Lookout (with mining history and geology), Old Bisbee's historic streets and buildings, Lowell's 1940s district including the Shady Dell Hotel and Evergreen Cemetery, and the option to spot minerals along the route.
Pets are welcome.
The tour does not include hotel pickup or entry fees to paid attractions.

Good to know

Easy physical levelPets welcomeNot for pregnant travelers

Operated by Big Jeep Tours

Is this one for you?Book this if you want to see the mining history and architecture of Bisbee and Lowell with someone who actually grew up here, rather than following a standard route—the native guide and the hidden backroads are what make the difference, and the Jeep's setup means you get both comfort and access to places most visitors never reach.