Abandoned Towns
Weathered timber headframe ruins at Vulture City among desert shrubs

Gold mining town

Vulture City

The camp of the Vulture Mine, the most productive gold mine in Arizona's history. Its founder died broke, and the town is open to visitors in the cool months.

33°49′02″N 112°49′59″W · ≈2,060 ft

Photo: Andwhatsnext, aka Nancy J Price, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0

Open in season

Season runs mid-October to mid-May; this season opened October 8. Thursday to Sunday, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., with a free guided history tour Sundays at 11 a.m. Paid admission. The site closes after heavy rain, so check vulturecityghosttown.com before you drive.

Overview

Gold for everyone but the man who found it

The trail up to the mine workings
The trail up to the mine workings · Photo: Sandiegoman, Wikimedia Commons, Public domain

Henry Wickenburg found a quartz outcrop laced with gold in 1863, about 14 miles south of the town that now carries his name. Between then and 1942 the Vulture Mine produced about 340,000 ounces of gold and 260,000 ounces of silver, more gold than any other mine in Arizona.

Wickenburg didn't keep much of it. He worked the outcrop himself at first, then sold most of his interest to investors who became the Vulture Mining Company. By one account he got only $20,000 of an $85,000 price. He died of a gunshot wound in 1905, and the coroner ruled it a suicide.

The camp around the mine grew into Vulture City, with boarding houses, a mess hall, stores, saloons, a school and an 80-stamp mill. Mining went on and off for decades until a 1942 wartime order shut down gold mines nationwide, and the Vulture closed for good a few years later. Today the site is privately owned and open to visitors in the cool season, with the 1884 assay office, Wickenburg's house and a scatter of mine buildings along a dirt walking path.

Timeline

Eighty years of the Vulture

The Vulture Mine marker
The Vulture Mine marker · Photo: Tony the Marine, Wikimedia Commons, Public domain
  1. Henry Wickenburg, a California gold-rush prospector, finds gold-bearing quartz and starts working the outcrop himself.
  2. Wickenburg sells an 80% interest for $85,000 but is paid only $20,000 up front, by one account. Other sources date the sale to the 1870s.
  3. Vulture City grows to boarding houses, a mess hall, stores, saloons, a school and an 80-stamp mill fed by water piped from the Hassayampa River.
  4. The post office opens, with Wickenburg as the first postmaster.
  5. The stone assay office goes up. It still stands.
  6. The post office closes.
  7. Wickenburg dies of a gunshot wound at his home near the town that carries his name. The coroner rules it a suicide.
  8. A wartime order halts gold mining nationwide. The Vulture Mine closes for good a few years later.
  9. Privately owned and open to visitors from mid-October to mid-May.

Legend and record

The hanging tree

The ironwood known as the hanging tree
The ironwood known as the hanging tree · Photo: Tony the Marine, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0

Beside the ruins of Wickenburg's house stands an old ironwood tree. Local lore says 18 men were hanged from it for high-grading, the miners' term for pocketing rich ore. It's one of the best-known stops on the tour.

No records confirm any of those hangings. We keep the story on the page because visitors will hear it, but we label it as legend.

A similar claim surrounds the assay office: that its stone walls were built from gold-bearing ore. Treat it the same way.

What's left

What you'll see

The assay office, built in 1884
The assay office, built in 1884 · Photo: Tony the Marine, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0
Inside a covered shaft house
Inside a covered shaft house · Photo: Tony the Marine, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0

The walking route covers the 1884 stone assay office, Henry Wickenburg's house and the hanging tree, the mine's headframe and shafts, a blacksmith's workshop, outbuildings and the ruins of the post office and saloon. Mine openings are fenced or covered. Stay on the path.

  • Assay office (1884)
  • Wickenburg's house ruins
  • Hanging tree
  • Headframe and shafts
  • Workshop
  • Post office ruins
  • Saloon ruins
  • Gate house
  • Mining equipment
Aerial view of the Vulture Mine workings, a pond and buildings
Aerial imagery, USGS The National Map. The mine workings fill the left half; the townsite buildings and a pond sit to the upper right.

Day trip

Plan a day trip to Vulture City from Wickenburg

Take it with you

Day trip itinerary

The essentials, the sample day with boxes to tick, what to photograph and the coordinates, on two printable pages. Handy where there's no signal.

Download the PDF (781 KB)

From Wickenburg, Vulture City is an easy half day. The ghost town has restrooms, water and shaded seating. There's no restaurant, so pack a lunch or eat in town. Add Wickenburg's Western museum in the afternoon and you have a full day.

A sample day

  1. Leave Wickenburg. Take US 60 west, then Vulture Mine Road south, about half an hour in all.
  2. The gates open. Pick up the printed map and start with the assay office and the hanging tree.
  3. On Sundays, join the free guided history tour. It's included with admission and takes about an hour.
  4. Eat your packed lunch at the covered dining area.
  5. Head back to Wickenburg, or stay until the 3 p.m. close for a gold-panning or blacksmithing session.
  6. From Tuesday to Saturday the Sigler Western Museum on Frontier Street is open until 5 p.m. Downstairs, life-size dioramas recreate Wickenburg in 1912. Admission is $17 for adults and free for children 17 and under.

Coming from Phoenix? Leave by about 8:15 a.m. to arrive at opening.

What to photograph and film

  • The assay office. Built of stone in 1884. Morning light, soon after opening, shows the texture of the walls best.
  • The hanging tree. Step well back to fit the whole ironwood and its sign. Wickenburg's house ruins are beside it.
  • The headframe. Shoot the timber headframe over the mine from low down to set it against the sky.
  • Miner's Manor. An art installation by Ray Villafane that changes with the seasons. The site bills it as a photo stop.
  • Inside the buildings. You can step into the restored buildings. Interiors are dark next to the desert glare, so expose for the inside.
  • Smithy and gold pans. Blacksmithing and gold-panning sessions make good video. They're booked and paid for separately.
  • Saturday shootouts. Most Saturdays, the Wickenburg Marshals and Vulture City Gunslingers stage Old West shootouts. Check the events calendar for times.
  • Drones. The official site doesn't mention them. This is private property, so ask before you fly.

Map & directions

Getting there

Wickenburg is the closest town, about half an hour away. From Phoenix, the fastest route runs out I-10 and north on the Wickenburg Road. Both arrive on Vulture Mine Road, and the entrance is on 355th Avenue.

USGS topographic map between Wickenburg and Vulture City with both routes drawn on it

Base map: USGS The National Map (public domain). Routes: OSRM on © OpenStreetMap contributors data (ODbL), computed October 2026. Times assume dry roads.

From downtown Wickenburg14.7 miabout 28 min
  1. Head west on US 60 (Wickenburg Way) from downtown Wickenburg.2.5 mi
  2. Turn left onto Vulture Mine Road and follow it south.11.7 mi
  3. Turn right onto 355th Avenue. The entrance is at 36610 N. 355th Ave.0.3 mi
Google Maps directionsApple MapsOpenStreetMap

Road and safety notes

  • The site is closed from mid-May to mid-October because of the heat. Even in season, bring water and a hat.
  • It closes after heavy rain. Check the official site or call before a long drive.
  • Mine openings and old structures are dangerous. Stay on the marked path and keep children close.
  • Phoenix drive times assume light traffic on I-10.

Photos

Vulture City in photos

Visitor reports

Been to Vulture City?

Been there lately? Tell the next visitor what you found: whether you could get in, the state of the road and what's still standing. Photos are welcome. We read every report before it appears here.

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Nearby

Other sites near Vulture City

Straight-line distance from the townsite to other mapped sites in our Arizona index.

Sources

Sources and credits

  1. ghosttowns.com, "Vulture City": fact sheet fields (roads, legal description, climate, post office dates).
  2. Wikipedia, "Vulture City, Arizona" and "Vulture Mine", retrieved October 2026: production, population, assay office, 1942 closure.
  3. Vulture City Ghost Town, official site: season, days, hours, Sunday tour, address and phone, as of October 2026.
  4. Vulture City Ghost Town, "Plan Your Visit", "Filming & Photography" and "Tours & Experiences", as of October 2026: admission, time to allow, restrooms, water, shade, dining area, paths, photo and filming rates, Miner's Manor.
  5. Sigler Western Museum, hours, admission and dioramas, as of October 2026.
  6. Legends of America: sale terms, stamp mill and Hassayampa pumping plant.
  7. azfamily.com (2022): no records confirm the hanging-tree story.
  8. Elevation: USGS 3D Elevation Program point query. Routes: OSRM on OpenStreetMap data, October 2026.

Photo and map credits