ABOUT US
Tombstone Monument Ranch & Cattle Company is a working cattle and guest ranch located 2 ½ miles from the center of the West’s most iconic cowboy town: Tombstone, Arizona. We are located in the Tombstone hills in Cochise County, and the ranch is surrounded by historic mines, hand dug wells, old railroad trestles and ancient Native American petroglyphs.
The ranch itself is built in the image of an Old West town. Guests can wake up in the Grand Hotel, the Marshal’s Office, the Blacksmith’s or even the Jail.
The Old Trappman Saloon invites you to burst through the swinging doors, slide a whiskey down the bar and enjoy the evening’s entertainment. Learn how to play five-card draw, Texas Hold ‘Em or Faro with Arizona Bill or Wyatt Earp. There’s even a chance to dance to live music four nights a week.
Our varied horseback riding suits all riders. We take slow, scenic rides or fast rides with trotting and loping. Specialty rides include a ride to the town of Tombstone, our Beer and Cheetos ride, a tequila tasting ride, and a popular history ride for those who want to learn more about the surrounding area.
Cattle work is also available for guests to participate in, and riding lessons are offered at an extra charge. Our Working Ranch Package allows guests to experience a longer day in the saddle, spent checking the ranch’s Criollo cattle.
Other ranch activities include guided UTV tours, target shooting and archery with an instructor. There are numerous trails around the ranch for hiking.
For those looking to relax we have a swimming pool, which is open seasonally, hot tub, peace and quiet; and beautiful Arizona sunshine. Tombstone’s weather is typically 8 degrees cooler than Tucson year-round.
“Enjoy our 1880s Working Cattle Guest Ranch in Modern Comfort and Historic Style.”
Check out the ranch on Today’s Wild West with Mark Bedor!
“Best Dude Ranch of the West”
Tombstone Monument Ranch named by True West Magazine for 2021 and 2023.
CATTLE COMPANY
German immigrants Herman and Mary Trappman founded the ranch in 1880 and began raising cattle. Their descendants, the Escapules continued for three generations until the ranch was sold in the 1990s. Today, “America’s first cattle,” Criollo are raised here. Originally brought to North America in 1493 on Christopher Columbus’ second voyage, Criollo are still 100% genetically Spanish cattle known for their predator and disease resistance, natural calf birth rate and ability to forage in the desert. Criollo beef has great taste and a unique ranch-to-table tenderness. Learn more about True Ranch Beef here.
Ranch guests have the opportunity to join in our working cattle ranch activities through our Working Ranch Package, Team Penning, and seasonal Cattle Drives and Gatherings.
Our History
German immigrants Herman and Mary Trappman founded the ranch in 1880, three years after silver was found in the area by Ed Schieffelin. Schieffelin narrowly escaped the Apaches by hiding in the rocks very near the entrance to the ranch and requested in his will to be buried there, under a Prospector’s Monument. The Schieffelin Monument can be seen from nearly any place on the ranch headquarters. Today as you enter the Trappman Saloon you can look down into the original 1880s root cellar and escape tunnel—there in case of attack from the Apaches.
The Trappmans began raising cattle on their ranch and became one of Tombstone’s earliest cattle ranches. Their descendants, the Escapules, continued for three generations until the ranch was sold in the 1990s.
In 2009 a man with a vision bought the ranch and found most of the original buildings had deteriorated to a point they could not be restored. Instead, he took them down and repurposed the materials to build an Old West town-inspired dude ranch on the same site that was so well chosen 140 years before.
The swimming pool is built above the original 50,000-gallon reservoir where children fished for catfish. Some of the adobe walls remain. The tack room is located where the original slaughterhouse stood, and the ranch corrals have remained in the same place for 140 years.
Watervale, the original town in the area, which is now a ghost town, is a short, quarter-mile walk from the ranch. Its location was chosen as it was the site of the only reliable year-round water with springs that also sourced water for miners in the area.
The surrounding ranch area is full of history. The view to the east is of the Dragoon Mountains including the Cochise Stronghold where Cochise and his Chiricahua tribe retreated many times. About one mile from the ranch and halfway to the town of Tombstone can still be seen the oval that was the horse racetrack where Wyatt Earp is said to have raced Sheriff Behan.
ED SCHIEFFELIN MONUMENT
The impressive Ed Schieffelin Monument, visible from Tombstone Monument Ranch—and a part of the namesake—stands 25 feet tall and acts as a grave marker for Schieffelin, who discovered mineral deposits in the area, starting the silver boom in the late 1870s, and gave Tombstone its name.
The Cowboy Up Podcast
The Cowboy Up Podcast is straight talk about all things western: ranching, mustangs, livestock, land, people, history, music, books & art and featuring in-depth discussions with notable guests. H. Alan Day of the Lazy B Ranch and Russell True of White Stallion Ranch and Tombstone Monument Ranch, both prominent southern Arizona ranchers and lifelong cowboys, host this weekly podcast and share their knowledge, experiences and appreciation of the West.
