Gunfight at the O.K. Corral Reenactment in Tombstone
- Date Visited: March 2021
- Address: 326 East Allen Street, Tombstone, AZ 85638
- Phone: 520- 457-3456
- Website
- Hours: Daily 10 am to 5 pm
- Price: $10
On October 26, 1881 the famous Gunfight at the O.K. Corral took place in Tombstone, Arizona.
You can now witness daily reenactments of this historic event at the Streets of Tombstone Theater when you visit this old west town.
Three times a day you will have the opportunity to watch Wyatt Earp, Doc Holliday, Virgil and Morgan Earp fight the McLaurys and Clantons in the gunfight that made the town famous.
Shows are held at 11 am, 1 pm, and 3 pm inside the O.K. Corral Historic Complex.
The O.K. Corral is handicap accessible and no pets are allowed in the O.K. Corral. Free parking is located behind the Corral on Fremont Street (Highway 80), between 3rd and 4th Streets.
For only $10 you get to see the reenactment, tour the O.K. Corral Historic Complex and watch the Tombstone’s Historama show.
You will also receive a free copy of the 1881 reprint of The Tombstone Epitaph newspaper containing original reports of the Gunfight at the O.K. Corral. The Tombstone Epitaph newspaper and museum is also free to visit and worth checking out.
Before the show begins be sure to check out the actual site of the Gunfight located right outside the theater.
Eight life-sized figures of the gunfighters are placed based on a map drawn by Wyatt Earp. You can also listen to a recorded narration of the 30-second showdown between these cowboys.
The show last about 30 minutes and was a lot of fun. Audience participation made the experience even better. The reenactment begins by telling the story of the circumstances that led up to the gunfight.
The gunfight only lasted 30 seconds, but nearly 30 shots were fired. When the smoke cleared Tom and Frank McLaury as well as Billy Clanton were dead.
The show was great, but there is a lot more to see in the O.K. Corral Historic Complex. Five separate little museums are included with your admission price and all of them can be found in the complex.
I suggest buying your ticket 30 minutes to an hour before the start of the show and checking out the museums first. After the show the area is much more crowded, because everyone checks out the exhibits then.
The museums include the cowboy bunkhouse, original corral office, prostitute’s crib, Fly’s boarding house and C.S. Fly’s photo studio.
The boarding house includes Doc Holliday’s room while the prostitute’s crib tells the stories of the town’s working girls and the wives and girlfriends of the Earps and Doc Holliday.
Fly’s portrait studio was my favorite museum.
The studio contains original camera equipment and photographs of his work. A lot of the photographs depict life in the town of Tombstone in the 1880’s and of Apache warrior Geronimo. There were some incredible pieces in the collection.
Walking around the complex you will see the O.K. Corral 1880s Stables and blacksmith as well as a running water mining sluice where you can pan for gems. They even have an old hearse on the premises which was super cool.
A number of old buggies are located on the grounds that you can climb into providing a great photo-op. In fact there are a ton of photo-ops available throughout the complex.
Tombstone is a great little wild west tourist town. I would say 95% of the attractions are all located in the three-block historic area making everything easily accessible.
There’s no way you can miss the Gunfight at the O.K. Corral reenactment during your visit. It’s the event that everyone associates with the town and for all you get to see and do for just $10 it really is worth every penny of the admission price.