Arizona Ghost Towns Day Trip: Route 66 & Cowboy Shootout

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Free cancellationExcellent qualityLikely to sell out

1/24

Duration9h

GroupUp to 14

LanguagesEN

PickupAt your hotel

Oatman Wild West shootout and ghost town tour through desert mining boom ruins

This nine-hour day trip from Las Vegas takes you to three Arizona ghost towns—Chloride, Oatman and El Dorado—with stops at the Hoover Dam and a Western shootout performance in the street. Hotel pickup and drop-off, lunch, bottled water, transportation in an air-conditioned van and a professional guide are included. Choose between a small group tour (up to 14 people) or a private tour if you book eight seats.

Step-by-step itinerary

Arizona Ghost Towns and Wild West Tour

Pickup from Las Vegas hotel
Drive to Hoover Dam for photos
Visit Chloride mining town and browse shops
Enjoy lunch in Chloride
Drive along Historic Route 66 to Oatman
Explore Oatman ghost town and see wild burros
Participate in Western cowboy shootout show
Have a drink at local saloon (own expense)
Drive through Mojave Desert on Veterans Memorial Highway
Stop at El Dorado ghost town
Return and drop off at original departure point

The Experience

The day starts with hotel pickup from Las Vegas and a short drive to the Hoover Dam, where you'll stop for photos of the 726-foot structure and Lake Mead behind it. From there, the route heads east into the Arizona desert along Historic Route 66, the highway that once connected Chicago to Los Angeles and now passes through the landscape where the Old West still lingers. Your first stop is Chloride, a mining town that has survived since the 1860s with about 250 residents who've stayed despite the boom ending decades ago. You'll have time to browse antique shops, see local art and sculptures, and chat with people who live there before lunch.

The drive continues along Route 66 to Oatman, a ghost town of 150 people where wild burros roam freely through the streets and the Black Mountains frame the horizon. This is where the tour shifts from sightseeing to participation: you'll stand in the middle of the street and watch costumed cowboys and bandits face off in a Western shootout, complete with the theatrical draw and gunfire. You can pose for photos with the performers in front of an authentic Route 66 sign, and if you want, grab a drink at a local saloon (at your own cost). The final stop is El Dorado, named by Spanish prospectors who found gold here and later used as a filming location for Western movies. The Techatticup Mine, which produced millions in gold and silver, operated here for decades.

Lunch is a boxed sandwich—turkey, roast beef or vegetarian, your choice at booking—plus fruit and a snack, eaten somewhere along the route. The return to Las Vegas follows the Veterans Memorial Highway through the Mojave Desert, a straight road cutting through empty landscape before you're dropped back at your hotel. The whole day runs nine hours from pickup to drop-off.

What’s included

Hotel pickup and drop-off in Las Vegas.
transportation in an air-conditioned van.
a professional guide speaking English.
lunch (boxed sandwich with your choice of turkey, roast beef or vegetarian, plus fruit and snack).
bottled water throughout the day.

Good to know

Easy physical level

Operated by Bindlestiff Tours

Is this one for you?Book the small group tour if you're comfortable with up to 14 people and want to meet other travelers; choose the private tour option (eight seats minimum) if you'd rather have the van and guide to yourself or your group. Either way, the fixed itinerary and included transport mean the day holds together without you arranging stops, timing or meals.