Things To Do In Bisbee
A guest guide for before and after your Jeep tour
You already have the overview: streets, pits, neighborhoods, and the stories that connect them. This page is the rest of the day. Most guests do one paid stop, a walk, and a meal. Two nights is better than one if you want the mine and the galleries without rushing.
Hours and prices change. Check the official site or call before you go.
How to plan the day
If your tour is in the morning, book the Queen Mine for 2:00 or 3:30 p.m., or walk Main Street after dropoff. If your tour is in the afternoon, do the mine or the museum first. If you are staying the night, the ghost tour starts at 7:00 p.m.
Parking in Old Bisbee is limited. A downtown dropoff puts you on Main Street without another search for a space.
Go underground, then see the museum
Queen Mine Tour
You ride a mine train into the Copper Queen Mine with a guide, often a former miner. Staff gives you a hard hat, a lamp, and a vest at the surface building. The tour lasts about an hour and includes a short walk in the tunnel. The mine stays cool all year, usually in the high 40s, so bring a jacket even in summer. Wear closed-toe shoes. Children under 6 cannot go underground. Reserve a time. Tours often leave at 9:00, 10:30, noon, 2:00, and 3:30.
The meeting point is 478 N. Dart Road, a short drive from Old Bisbee. Confirm times and prices at copperqueenmine.com.
Do this with the Old Bisbee Tour. The mine shows the work underground. The Jeep shows the town that the work built, plus the Lavender Pit and Lowell.
Bisbee Mining & Historical Museum
This Smithsonian Affiliate sits in the old Phelps Dodge headquarters on Copper Queen Plaza, next to the default meetup at 10 Copper Queen Plaza. The exhibits cover the copper camp, the minerals, and the miners who worked more than 2,000 miles of tunnels under the Mule Mountains. Plan on about an hour. The museum is generally open daily from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Muheim Heritage House
This is the home of Joseph and Carmelita Muheim, above Brewery Gulch at 207 Youngblood Hill. The house is the family residence, now a small museum. Hours are limited, often Saturday or by appointment. Call before you walk up.
Walk these after the Jeep tour
Main Street and Copper Queen Plaza
Main Street is the shop and gallery row. Copper Queen Plaza holds the museum and Mel’s Bisbee Bodega at 2 Main Street, for drinks, snacks, sunscreen, and souvenirs. This is the easiest walk if the tour ends at the plaza.
Brewery Gulch
Brewery Gulch was the saloon street during the mining boom. St. Elmo Bar, at 36 Brewery Avenue, opened in 1902 and still operates. The concrete stairs above the Gulch climb past the old houses. Wear shoes with a grip. The stairs are public.
The Bisbee stairs
Federal work crews built these concrete staircases in the 1930s on paths miners already used. You can walk them any day for free. They are steeper than they look from the street. The Bisbee 1000, a fall stair-climb race, uses nine of them. You do not need a race bib to climb one flight.
The Old Bisbee Tour already drives Erie Street, the block of vintage cars and old storefronts. Stay if you want to walk it or eat at the Bisbee Breakfast Club. The Shady Dell vintage trailers are on this side of town, at 1 Douglas Road.
Lavender Pit Overlook
The overlook is a free pull-off on AZ-80 between Old Bisbee and Lowell. The tour stops here for the mining story. Use the pull-off on your own only if you want a second look or a photo without the group.
Art stops
Artemizia Foundation
This private collection of contemporary and street art is at 818 Tombstone Canyon. The visit includes indoor galleries, an outdoor mural walk, and a sculpture garden. It is usually open Thursday through Sunday, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Children under 13 are not admitted. Confirm the day before you go.
Sam•Poe Gallery
Sam Woolcott and Poe Dismuke show painting and sculpture at 33 Subway Street. The stop takes less than half an hour and sits within walking distance of Main Street.
Other Main Street galleries
Several small galleries face Main Street. If the Jeep drops you downtown, you can visit more than one without moving the car.
After dark
Old Bisbee Ghost Tour
This is a guided walk on back streets, stairs, and alleys. It lasts about 1 hour and 45 minutes and starts at 7:00 p.m., seven nights a week. You need a reservation. Pets are allowed. The tour is best for ages 6 and up. It fits a day when the Jeep tour ends in the afternoon.
If you want a second outing
B Active Bisbee
This outfit, at 86 Main Street, runs 30- and 60-minute golf-cart history tours, e-bike rentals, guided e-bike rides, and guided hikes. Use it if someone in your group wants another activity after the Jeep tour.
Short drives from town
Whitewater Draw Wildlife Area
This wetlands area is 20 to 30 minutes from Bisbee, near McNeal. Sandhill cranes roost here from about October through March. The largest flights are at sunrise and sunset. Admission is free. Bring binoculars. There is little reason to go in summer.
Tombstone
Tombstone is about 25 miles north on AZ-80. Treat it as its own half-day. Do not plan it between the Queen Mine and a Jeep tour.
Notes for tour guests
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Add one main stop: the mine, the ghost tour, or a gallery visit. More than that crowds the day.
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Bring a jacket for the mine. Wear closed-toe shoes for the mine and for any mountain Jeep route.
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Ask for a downtown dropoff if you plan to walk and eat after the tour.
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Festival weekends and the Bisbee 1000 fill hotels and tables. Book both before you arrive.