TRAVEL AWAITS: 5 Off-the-Beaten-Path Arizona Towns You Should Visit

 

The complete article was published in Travel Awaits in April 2020.

Each of these five truly small Arizona towns gives visitors a distinct experience. We discovered them on short side trips from the larger towns we were considering as places to settle in Arizona. 

1. The Burro Town Of Oatman, Arizona

Oatman, Arizona, a rugged former gold mining town in the Black Mountains, is only 2,700 feet in elevation, an hour from Lake Havasu City or 40 minutes from Bullhead City. Today its population is only 128 from its 1915 mining heyday of 3,500. 

I love shopping for unique items in small towns but what made it most enjoyable were "the many wild burros — white, grey, brown, or spotted — that walked all around town." We bought alfalfa available from any store and fed them bits when they gather at storefronts. One even blocked me from entering the door and the owner sprayed him with water to give way.

2. The Mountain Town Of Jerome, Arizona

This town (population, 450) is at the top of Cleopatra Hill between the mountain cities of Prescott and Sedona, overlooking Verde Valley at 5.000 ft. in elevation. "An old mansion still stands tall, an old solitary jail hangs at the outskirts, and a grand old wheel lords the middle of town, reminding locals and visitors of the town’s mining heyday. And, of course, there is a mining museum that tells Jerome’s story in detail." The historic copper mining town has transformed itself into an artist and tourist hub. Today it’s known as the largest ghost town in America and was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1967. 

3. Tortilla Flat In The Middle Of Nowhere

The old stagecoach trail called Apache Trail on the Superstition Mountains starts in Apache Junction 40 minutes east of Phoenix. "At the end of the trail lies Tortilla Flat, a small unincorporated community built on the last surviving stop. With a population of just six, the Flat is the smallest community in the country that has a U.S. Post Office and a voter’s precinct. It was once a camping ground for gold prospectors and later a freight camp during the construction of the nearby Theodore Roosevelt Dam. Many hiking trails in the area start in Tortilla Flat." In 1998, an Indiana farmer bought the town. "Today, there is a small country store with great ice cream for sale — including the world-famous prickly pear cactus ice cream — plus a souvenir shop....but the center of town is the middle-of-nowhere Superstition Restaurant and Saloon. It oozed the Old West, from the hanging man and the saddle bar stools to an old jukebox. $1 bills covered every inch of the walls." But the restroom should not be missed. The stall art will show you how "we could have looked as voluptuous saloon ladies of the West’s glorious past."

4. The Gunfight At Tombstone, Arizona

Tombstone, only a little over an hour from Tucson, receives approximately 450,000 visitors each year because it is the site of the famous gunfight at O.K. Corral. It has been declared a National Heritage Site with daily reenactments of the fight on Fremont Street. On Allen Street are many pretty saloon ladies and many incarnations of Wyatt Earp in diners and drink stops. Tombstone’s Boot Hill is where those who died from the O.K. Corral gunfight are buried.

"But what also fascinated us was the world’s largest rosebush — according to Guinness — that was planted in Tombstone in 1885 and still flourishes today. Brought in from Scotland, the Lady Banksia rose now covers 5,000 square feet of the roof of the Arcade Boarding House with a trunk of 12-foot circumference." One must go in April to see the spectacle in bloom.

5. The Art And History Of Tubac, Arizona

Only 45 minutes from Tucson is Tubac, Arizona, population of nearly 1,200. Known for its Luminaria Nights in December, the Festival of the Arts in February, and as an artist colony with 100 art galleries, home decor shops, jewelers, potters, and artists of all kinds, you are bound to enjoy going about town in winter. "It was also a pure delight to dine at Elvira’s, the town’s fine dining Mexican restaurant since 1927. It is bedecked with thousands and thousands of colorful lights. And it is where we discovered what has become our favorite flank steak molcajete — Mexican beef stewed with cactus and served on a volcanic pot that remains hot throughout the meal keeping the dish simmering."

And the oldest Spanish mission on American soil, founded by the Jesuit Eusebio Francisco Kino, is only seven minutes away. "It was in 1691 when he established the San Cayetano de Tumacacori, and a day later, 15 miles away, Mission Los Santos Angeles. In 1756, San Cayetano de Calabazas was also founded nearby. Now, the three missions are all protected in an area called the Tumacacori National Historical Park. It is easy to see the Tumacacori Mission. The two others are by appointment only."

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