The Edit: Oatman is a tiny former gold-mining town on historic Route 66 in Arizona’s Black Mountains, best known for the wild burros (donkeys) that roam its streets and outnumber the residents. It sits about two hours from Las Vegas and is an easy detour from Kingman, Laughlin, and Lake Havasu City, roughly halfway between Los Angeles and Flagstaff; after Route 66 was rerouted in the 1950s, the once booming town nearly became a ghost town. The town is free to walk, the burro feed is $1 a bag sold in the shops (carrots are discouraged), one of the burros named Walter is the honorary mayor, and most visitors spend one to two hours seeing the donkeys, the dollar bill covered Oatman Hotel, the shops, and the Zoltar fortune machine. We stopped here for about two hours with our two kids on a Route 66 road trip, so this guide is written for families and road trippers who want a quick, kid-friendly stop in western Arizona.

At a Glance

Oatman AZ	Details
Location	Oatman, Arizona (Black Mountains, on historic Route 66)
Drive from Las Vegas	About 2 hours
Roughly halfway between	Los Angeles and Flagstaff
Known for	Wild burros (donkeys) that roam the streets
Honorary mayor	Walter, a burro
Cost to visit	Free to walk the town
Donkey feed	$1 a bag (hay cubes), sold inside the Oatman Theatre building, no carrots or sugary food
Time needed	A couple of hours
Lunch	Oatman Hotel Restaurant and Saloon, house-favorite BBQ pulled pork sandwich ($13.49)
Historic note	Hotel built in 1902, said to be Clark Gable and Carole Lombard’s 1939 wedding-night spot
Good to know	The Oatman Hotel also rents cabins and serves weekend breakfast (8 to 10:30 a.m.)
Treat	Thrifty ice cream in town
Fun stop	Zoltar fortune machine at Mother Road Route 66 Apparel
Kids’ favorites	Feeding the donkeys and collecting patches
The drive	Narrow, winding cliff road, low speed limit, go slow
Best tip	Save some feed for the donkeys near the Topock exit
Save for next time	Oatman Jail Museum and Gift Shop
Great for	Families and Route 66 road trippers

Getting to Oatman AZ

The drive in

The drive into Oatman is genuinely beautiful. Winding through the Black Mountains, it reminded us of Radiator Springs in Cars Land at Disney California Adventure, that same red-rock, old-west-canyon look, except this was the real thing. The scenery alone almost made the stop worth it.

A quick safety heads-up

Here is the honest part. The road in is narrow and twisty with a low speed limit, and parts of it have real drop offs. On our way in, a large semi came within a few inches of our car on the outside edge, close enough that it genuinely shook us up. We also had an impatient driver riding our bumper. Take it slow and do not let anyone pressure you into speeding. Everyone is headed to the same little town anyway, and you will have to slow down once you arrive because donkeys can be standing in the road at any point, and you do not want to hit one.

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The Wild Donkeys (Burros) of Oatman AZ

Why donkeys run the town

Oatman boomed in the early 1900s after big gold discoveries, and when Route 66 came through in the 1920s, travelers poured in. After the highway was rerouted in the 1950s, the town nearly faded into a ghost town. The wild burros you see today are descendants of the pack animals the old miners used, and now they roam the streets like they own the place. We spotted our first donkey on the way in on Route 66, and once we parked near the Oatman Theatre building, they were everywhere.

Feeding the donkeys the right way

You can feed the donkeys, but the town asks that you use only the official burro feed sold in the shops. It is just $1 for a full bag, and we grabbed ours inside the Oatman Theatre building, right by the register. Carrots used to be the popular treat, but they are discouraged now. A shopkeeper who has lived in Oatman for years told us the sugar in carrots was making the donkeys sick, even pointing out a few with growths she tied to years of sugary snacks. Wildlife officials have asked visitors for a long time to stop feeding the burros carrots and junk food too, since all the extra sugar leads to weight, hoof, and stomach problems. Whatever the exact cause, the ask is simple: skip the carrots and anything sugary, stick to the feed, and you are helping keep them healthy.

When the girls had a bag in hand, the burros walked right up. Use a flat hand with your fingers together so no one gets nipped, keep little ones close, and let the donkeys come to you.

Things to Do in Oatman, Arizona

Shop the Route 66 stores

The town is small and easy to walk, and the shops are part of the fun. Addison and Audrey grabbed patches at the Oatman Theatre building, and we browsed Rockin’ Art, the Oatman General Store, and the Oatman Gift Shack. Prices vary from shop to shop, so it is worth poking your head into a few before you buy.

Get your fortune from Zoltar

If you have seen the movie Big, you will recognize the Zoltar fortune machine. You can find it at Mother Road Route 66 Apparel, next to the Nut House and Gold Mine Jerky. It is a cheap, silly little moment the kids loved.

Lunch at the Oatman Hotel

The Oatman Hotel Restaurant and Saloon is the heart of town, and it has the history to match. The building dates to 1902, making it the oldest two-story adobe building in Mohave County, and it is listed on the National Historic Building Registry. It is also said to be where Clark Gable and Carole Lombard spent their wedding night in 1939, and the staff will happily tell you about Oatie, the hotel’s resident ghost. The town itself takes its name from Olive Oatman, whose 1850s story is a remarkable piece of Old West history worth reading up on before you go.

We went with the house favorite, the BBQ pulled pork sandwich ($13.49). It is slow-cooked pork butt in their own BBQ sauce, served with coleslaw and their signature burro ears, which are a fried potato side, not actual donkey, promise. If you want the most Oatman thing on the menu, the famous half-pound wild buffalo burger ($18.98) is the one to beat.

The best part for the kids is the walls. They are completely papered with signed dollar bills left by visitors over the years. You can write your name on one and stick it up, which Addison and Audrey thought was the coolest thing ever.

Grab some ice cream

Before heading out, cool off with a scoop of Thrifty ice cream in town. After walking around in the desert heat, it hits just right.

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Tips for Visiting Oatman With Kids

The single best tip we can give you: if you are exiting toward Topock, keep some feed in the car. There are donkeys along the way out, and you can feed them right from your window, which is a fun way to end the visit.

A few more things we learned. Go slow on the drive in and out, both for the cliffs and for the donkeys. Shop around, since the same kinds of souvenirs are priced differently store to store. And we skipped the Oatman Jail Museum and Gift Shop this time, but if we drove back through, we would stop and check it out. If you want to slow down and stay a while, the Oatman Hotel also rents one and two-bedroom cabins and serves breakfast on weekends from 8 to 10:30 a.m.

Is Oatman Worth the Stop?

For us, yes. A couple of hours in Oatman was the perfect family break on a Route 66 road trip, and our kids are still talking about the donkeys. It is not a place you need to plan a whole day around, but as a quick, memorable stop, we would do it again.

If you are building a bigger southwest road trip, it pairs well with more of our Arizona stops. Take a look at our guide to things to do in Page, Arizona, what to do with your family in Monument Valley, and visiting Four Corners Monument. And if you love a good quick roadside stop like this one, our road trip to the Bonneville Salt Flats is another easy one to add to the list.