A Short History of Arizona’s Ghost Towns

Arizona’s ghost towns grew from copper, silver, and gold, and many refused to die completely. Jerome clung to a steep hillside above the Verde Valley as a billion-dollar copper camp, endured labor strife that saw workers deported, slid literally downhill as underground blasting undermined its streets, and reinvented itself as an artists’ town billed as America’s largest ghost city. Oatman, on old Route 66, boomed on gold and survives on tourism, its streets roamed by wild burros descended from miners’ pack animals. Chloride, in the Cerbat Mountains, endures as a living ghost town known for its desert rock murals, while Ruby, a company mining town near the border, stands quietly preserved behind a locked gate, remembered for the violent “Ruby Murders” of the 1920s.

Getting There & Access

Jerome and Oatman are reached by paved but winding mountain highways — both are popular, walkable towns with shops and services, though Oatman’s road includes tight switchbacks over a pass. Chloride sits a short drive off Highway 93 north of Kingman on mostly good road. Ruby is the outlier: it lies at the end of long, rough dirt roads southwest of Tucson, sits on private land, and is open only when its caretakers permit, usually for a fee. Summers across southern Arizona are punishingly hot, so carry plenty of water, keep a full tank for the remote drives, check access rules for Ruby in advance, and favor the cooler months for the desert sites.

Public Land & Responsible Visiting

Arizona’s ghost towns span every kind of ownership. Jerome, Oatman, and Chloride are living communities where you should respect private property and businesses — and, in Oatman, give the wild burros their space and heed local advice on feeding them. Ruby is private property accessible only by permission, so honor its rules completely. On the surrounding public land managed by the Bureau of Land Management and the Forest Service, collecting artifacts is illegal and the abandoned mine shafts that dot the hills are deadly — stay out of them. Pack out all trash, keep vehicles on established roads, watch for rattlesnakes, and leave every site as you found it.