Oatman, AZ: Route 66 Gold Town and Its Wild Burros

Oatman is an old gold-mining town in the Black Mountains of Mohave County, Arizona, on a winding stretch of original Route 66 between Kingman and Topock. It is known for its 1915 gold boom and for the wild burros that wander its main street. The road in is paved but steep, with hairpin curves over Sitgreaves Pass and a 40-foot vehicle length limit.

Oatman at a glance

Where is Oatman, Arizona?

Oatman lies in the Black Mountains of northwestern Arizona, west of Kingman and east of the Colorado River. The Bureau of Land Management puts it in the middle of the southern half of the Black Mountain burro range, on Historic Route 66.

Mohave County road reports call the old highway through town the Oatman Highway (Oatman Hwy). Heading north, it climbs over Sitgreaves Pass toward Golden Valley and Kingman. Heading south, it descends toward Golden Shores and Topock near the California line, where I-40 crosses the river.

Our Kingman and Golden Valley guides cover the towns at the north end of the climb.

How do you drive the Route 66 Oatman Road?

The BLM manages this road as the Route 66 Oatman Road Back Country Byway. It is 42 miles of paved two-lane road, and the BLM counts it among the best-preserved remaining pieces of original Route 66.

• North end: I-40 at the McConnico exit (exit 44), about five miles south of Kingman.
• South end: I-40 at the Topock/Golden Shores exit (exit 1).
• Speeds: Posted limits range from 20 to 45 mph.
• Season: Open year-round. The BLM recommends October through April.

Sitgreaves Pass grades, curves and the 40-foot limit

The climb over Sitgreaves Pass is the challenging part. The BLM points to its tight switchbacks and steep grades and notes that 1930s drivers from flat country dreaded it.

The key rule: per the BLM, vehicles longer than 40 feet may not cross Sitgreaves Pass between Golden Valley and Oatman, and signs in Golden Valley repeat the limit. The BLM also recommends an automatic transmission for the grades.

If you tow a trailer or drive a large motorhome, measure your total length before you go.

What is the history of Oatman's gold mines?

Mining here dates to the Civil War years. A 1986 USGS report says Army personnel from Camp Mohave found gold in the district in 1863. The district's first production came from John Moss, who worked the Moss vein in 1863 and 1864.

Activity picked up again after 1900. Gold turned up on the Gold Road vein around 1902, according to F. L. Ransome's 1923 USGS Bulletin 743.

The Tom Reed and United Eastern mines

The Tom Reed Gold Mines Company bought its mine in 1906. Ransome lists about $9.5 million in bullion (at the values of that time) produced through April 1, 1922.

The United Eastern drove the boom. Ransome says the company was incorporated in November 1913 and started its first shaft in March 1914. By early 1915 a boom was under way in Oatman, and in March 1915 a crosscut on the 465-foot level cut rich ore. The town's current name first shows up in mining news in 1912.

The 1986 USGS report says the United Eastern ore body yielded gold until 1924. Together, the Tom Reed and Gold Road veins account for about 90 percent of the district's gold. Published estimates of total district output come to roughly 2 million ounces. Large-scale mining ended in 1943, because ore was running out and wartime rules restricted gold mining.

Old mine workings are scattered across these hills. Treat shafts, adits and mining claims as off limits unless the land is clearly open to the public, and never enter an old mine opening.

Why are there wild burros in Oatman?

The BLM traces the burros to animals that miners and prospectors brought to the area from the early 1860s on. They range across the Black Mountain Herd Management Area (HMA), about 1.1 million acres that follow the Colorado River's east bank for 80 miles, from Hoover Dam down to the Needles Bridge.

What the BLM reports:

• Black Mountain is Arizona's largest HMA, and a May 2026 BLM article calls its herd the largest herd of wild, free-roaming burros in the country.
• The BLM's target herd size, called the Appropriate Management Level, is 382 to 478 burros.
• The same BLM article notes the burros are protected under the Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act of 1971.
• The article also says burros often stray into Golden Valley and areas near Bullhead City, Fort Mohave and Topock.

Can you feed or pet the burros?

No. The May 2026 BLM article tells visitors not to feed, approach or try to catch a wild burro. It says kicks and bites injure people every year, and collisions with burros on roads cause harm too.

• Watch and take photos from a distance.
• Drive slowly; burros stand in the road and cross it.
• If a burro is hurt or stuck, the BLM asks you to call the nearest BLM office with the location and the animal's condition. Do not try to catch it.

What can you do in Oatman today?

Most visitors drive the byway, stroll the old main street, look over the mining-era buildings and watch the burros. The BLM notes that the byway's switchbacks also reach Goldroad, an old mining community near Oatman.

Other things to plan around:

• Scenery and wildlife: The BLM says the Black Mountains hold the nation's largest desert bighorn sheep herd on public land, and three wilderness areas lie inside the HMA.
• Shops and events: Hours and seasonal events change, so check before you go.
• Fuel: Fill your tank in Kingman or Bullhead City before the drive.

For more Mojave-side Route 66 ideas, see our desert and Route 66 day trips and our post on Seligman, AZ.

Is the Oatman Highway open right now?

As of November 2, 2026, we found no posted closure of the Oatman Highway. Mohave County Public Works' road maintenance newsletter for the week of November 2, 2026 does not mention the Oatman Highway. The week of October 12 listed storm repair in the Golden Shores area but no closure of the highway.

Weather is the bigger risk. On October 11, 2026, lingering rain from Tropical Storm Rachel flooded South Oatman Highway near Topock Lake. FOX 10 Phoenix reported that a pickup towing a boat went around closure barricades and got trapped between two running washes before rescuers reached it.

Heat and flash-flood safety near Oatman

The BLM's HMA page says summer highs here top 120 degrees and winter lows can reach 25. Plan as if you will find no services between towns.

• Carry plenty of water, food, a blanket, a spare tire, a jack and basic tools.
• Tell someone your route and when you expect to be back.
• Never drive into a flooded wash or around a barricade. Turn around and wait.
• Under Arizona's "Stupid Motorist Law," drivers who go around flood barricades and need rescue can be billed for the response; FOX 10 reported the charge can reach $2,000.
• Check current BLM Arizona fire restrictions before you go.

How Pleasant Hill can help

Pleasant Hill Real Estate Group has an Arizona office at 3740 N Willow Rd in Kingman. If day trips like this have you looking at Mohave County, you can search homes, read our guides to Bullhead City, Fort Mohave and buying land in Mohave County, or reach out to Lana Stephens, our Kingman agent. California owners can also request a free home valuation.

General information, not legal, tax or lending advice. Rules, fees and rates change; confirm with the agency linked above or ask us. Pleasant Hill Real Estate Group · CA DRE Corp. #01997374 · AZ Entity Lic. #LC694532000 · Equal Housing Opportunity.