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Oatman, Arizona

Oatman-Topock Hwy, Oatman, Arizona 86433 USA

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“A "Living Ghost Town"”

Oatman is a former mining town in the Black Mountains of Mohave County, Arizona, United States. Located at an elevation of 2,710 feet (830 m), it began as a tent camp soon after two prospectors struck a $10 million gold find in 1915, though the area had been already settled for a number of years. Oatman's population grew to more than 3,500 in the course of a year. After a few other names, Oatman was named in the posthumous honor of Olive Oatman, a young Illinois girl who was taken captive by (presumably) Yavapai Indians and forced to work as a slave. She was later traded to Mohave Indians who adopted her as a daughter and had her face tattooed in the custom of the tribe. She was released in 1855 near the current site of the town. 1924 would see United Eastern Mines, the town's main employer, permanently shut down operations after producing $13,600,000 worth of gold (at the then government controlled market value of $20 per ounce; in today's gold market price of $1300 per oz. the equivalent gold value today is over $850,000,000). The district had produced $40 million (or $2,600,000,000 or so in today's market price) in gold by 1941, when the remainder of the town's gold mining operations were ordered shut down by the US Government as part of the country's war effort since metals other than gold were needed. Oatman was fortunate insofar as it was located on busy U.S. Route 66 and was able to cater to travelers driving between Kingman and Needles, California. Even that advantage was short-lived as the town was completely bypassed in 1953 when a new route between Kingman and Needles was built. By the 1960s, Oatman was all but abandoned.

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Reviewed by
PSOtter

  • 5 Reviews
  • 12 Helpful
June 22, 2014
Rated

Totally fun especially if you have kids in the 7 and up. The town has touristy shops full of curios and is home to a large pack of donkeys. They are quite tame and enjoy eating from your hand. A few of the stores sell small bags of hay cubes that will make you real popular with the donkeys. Since they recognize the bag, little kids sometimes get scarred and drop the bag and run. These are "wild" so they can kick, but I have never seen it. Keep an eye out for stickers on the heads of the smallest donkeys saying not to feed them. They are still in the nursing stage. The gunfights are pretty fun to watch and the gunfighters often precede the fight with historical information about Oatman and the surrounding area. The road is quite twisty for several miles between Oatman and Kingman, but has beautiful vistas. Stop and take some pics along the way if you are prone to car sickness (or just drive slow!). Beautiful drive should not be missed.

10 people found this review helpful

Reviewed by
noreenlyons

  • 6 Reviews
  • 11 Helpful
December 16, 2013
Rated

Best highlight of a trip! Amazing! Never seen anything like it and YES the drive up on ONE side is TREACHEROUS.....scary!! Feeding the wild donkeys is fun. WORTH THE STOP. Been back 3 times! Will stop again!

3 people found this review helpful

Reviewed by
jr0777

  • 6 Reviews
  • 29 Helpful
November 25, 2013
Rated

Great spot to stop, very unique. Burros roaming the streets (watch where you step) and the Hotel bar with the dollar bills on the walls is great. If you approach from Needles, it's a very easy drive (straight lines and then minimal curves before you get to the town), but if you approach from Kingman be prepared for an older road with lots of curves and turns. We arrived from Needles and drove through to Kingman. There are some GREAT views approaching Kingman from Oatman but if you are prone to carsickness be prepared.

3 people found this review helpful

Reviewed by
Hidalgo.Kat

  • 2 Reviews
  • 3 Helpful
May 15, 2014
Rated

Scenic route, well worth the drive. The locals were very welcoming and the town is charming and very unique. Visit it but drive carefully, lots of donkeys! ;)

2 people found this review helpful

Reviewed by
Anna Hider

  • Blogger
  • 1,414 Reviews
  • 637 Helpful
August 19, 2013
Rated

The drive to Oatman was the scariest drive of my life. I'm talking narrow, steep, cliffside switchbacks. Cool place though!!

2 people found this review helpful

Reviewed by
Buggys

  • 3 Reviews
  • 1 Helpful
July 29, 2016
Rated 2.0

Nice place along route 66 with a lot of donkeys along the road; cute but dangerous! We drove along route 66 from Needles to Grand Canyon, lovely scenic route, beautiful views!

1 person found this review helpful

Reviewed by
Mikz

  • 2 Reviews
  • 0 Helpful
September 02, 2014
Rated 4.0

We rode through on our motorcycles in June 2014 ,very scenic ,warm just watch for sand/stones if on the bikes. Great part of RT66.

1 person found this review helpful

Reviewed by
MaidenUSA

  • 4 Reviews
  • 5 Helpful
August 30, 2014
Rated 5.0

Well worth the visit. Interestingly, the donkeys are allowed to roam freely but the town doesn't claim responsibility for their upkeep. Evidently they are leftovers from the mining days and are just allowed to do their thing - BLM steps in to assist if they become problematic. Quaint, charming, rustic, and unusual, we were glad we took the detour - even if the road coming from the east was a bit austere - winding, concrete poured to hold the edges of the road together...lol We departed on the west side which was far gentler. Watch out for the donkey's they like to eat anything, my aunt was missing a bag from her purse (later recovered) and one stuck it's head in the car and took my sister's breakfast burrito...lol The local bar is a novelty in itself, lots of cute decorations and the IPA beers are excellent. Our trip ended abruptly as a large storm moved in and shut down power to the city - where locals politely urged us to get out of town before heavy rain started - we heeded the advice, but were left with much curiosity as to what we missed...
Great trip - just do it!

1 person found this review helpful

Reviewed by
Austin Coop

  • 485 Reviews
  • 505 Helpful
August 29, 2014
Rated 5.0

The drive to Oatman is one of the most epic on all of Route 66. The business owners are friendly and very welcoming. There are donkeys EVERYWHERE! Don't feed them on the sidewalk though, and if you eat somewhere, don't sit by the windows b/c the flies are a little rough. Honestly one of the cutest little towns I've ever visited. Parts feel touristy, but overall it's a real treat.

1 person found this review helpful

Reviewed by
Einatyuval

  • 14 Reviews
  • 80 Helpful
August 28, 2014
Rated 5.0

great place to go thru. just the way this small wild town looks, with it's old one hotel (look at the hotel walls, covered with thousand of single dollars"), the "wild wild west" buildings, and the nice citizens. worth a short visit. defenetly not just for kids.

1 person found this review helpful

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Oatman, Arizona

Oatman-Topock Hwy
Oatman, Arizona
86433 USA
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  • Sun - Sat: 12:00 am - 11:59 pm

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