The Burros of Oatman, Arizona

When driving part of Route 66 last week, my gal pal who was familiar with the area said we had to stop in the ghost town of Oatman, Arizona to see the free-roaming burros. This is not your typical equestrian getaway, but it was fun and worth sharing!

“They walk up and down the street and you can feed and pet them.” With that explanation I was enthusiastically in! Equestrian travel is my thing and I don’t have to even ride to have a blast with equids.

Pssttt. . . .if you travel to Florida, you should stay at the World Equestrian Center.

Oatman, Arizona and its famous burros are closest to Kingman, Arizona (cue the song Route 66 “Flagstaff, Arizona, don’t forget Winona, Kingman, Barstow, San Bernadino”) and you will have a memorable, fairly isolated drive down a two-lane road in the desert along the Black Mountains. I suggest going early evening (but not too close to sunset–unless you like driving in the dark on unfamiliar roads).

As we walked down the tiny strip of Old Westy buildings that are legit from the time of prospectors, we spotted a spotted donkey and made a beeline to him. He was contentedly eating alfalfa cubes outside a T-shirt shop. When I approached to pet him, the shopkeeper said, “That’s Oliver.”

Oliver basically ignored me as he was focused on food, but he was game enough to let me play tourist and strike a pose.

The Skinny on Oatman Burros

The town of Oatman’s heyday was in the early 1900s, and it’s named after Olive Oatman, a pioneer teen whose family was massacred by warriors probably from the Tolkepayas tribe. She was later sold to the Mohaves who eventually set her free. (She went on to give lectures about life in the tribe.)

Supposedly Clark Gable and Carole Lombard honeymooned at the Oatman Hotel after their ceremony in Kingman.

Today there is an Old West shooting gallery, a saloon, gift shops, a place to dress up in old timey costumes and have your pictures taken, a candy shop, etc. The town was pretty much closed by the time we arrived, but that didn’t matter as our goal was to see the burros.

You might be thinking, what’s up with the burros roaming the street?

These equids are the descendants of donkey the miners used. When the mines closed down they were set free. My friend told me a story about one who was sick or injured named Walter. Apparently a shopkeeper took him in and nursed him back to health. When he was healed he didn’t want to leave. And, in fact, he brought his wild burro bretheren into the town as if to say, “Hey, these people are nice and they’ll feed us.”

So, the burros roaming the streets here are friendly (for the most part) and will let you pet and feed them. They can come and go as they please and pretty much run the town.

We met one upon on departure and he (or she) got up close and personal to our vehicle. I didn’t know until after the fact that the town does not want you to feed them from your vehicle (which makes sense). But when the fuzzy eared beggar showed up to our window and we had a spare apple, we couldn’t say no.

If you are looking for a pretty drive and an authentic Old West experience, I do recommend seeing the burros of Oatman, Arizona. I predict they will steal your heart (and maybe an apple).

Thanks for reading and tally ho!

Question: Have you met a burro before or traveled along Route 66?

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