Tours Are Available for the Actual Old West Town Where ‘Tombstone’ Was Filmed
Fans of Tombstone can actually walk through some of the same Old West streets seen in the movie. The Mescal Movie Set in Benson, Arizona, has opened more dates for its historical film tours.
According to the movie set, tours are available on select dates in October, November and December. Mescal is still an active film set, so visitors can only go in between productions.
The Arizona Film Office confirms that Tombstone filmed at Mescal from May through August 1993, along with several other locations around Arizona. Kurt Russell, Val Kilmer and Sam Elliott were among the stars who worked there.
Visitors will recognize more than just the main street. The set still has several locations used in Tombstone, including the Earp cottages, the O.K. Corral and the Oriental Saloon.
Tours are scheduled around movie shoots
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Mescal’s current schedule has tours on October 9, 10 and 30. More are planned for November 6, 7, 20 and 21, along with December 4, 5, 11 and 12.
The guided walking tours cost $20 per person, while children 17 and younger are free. Reservations are preferred.
Tour times vary by date. Mescal also warns that the schedule can shift if a film production needs the set.
A lot of Westerns were filmed here
Tombstone may be one of the best-known movies connected to Mescal, but it is far from the only one.
The set’s history goes back more than 70 years. The physical town was built in 1968 and 1969 for Monte Walsh, starring Lee Marvin and Jack Palance.
Clint Eastwood later filmed The Outlaw Josey Wales there, and Steve McQueen used the set for Tom Horn. Paul Newman, Harrison Ford, Gene Wilder, Sharon Stone and Leonardo DiCaprio are also on the long list of actors who worked at Mescal.
The set was also used for The Quick and the Dead, The Life and Times of Judge Roy Bean, The Frisco Kid and the 1986 version of Stagecoach.
You can still see several famous movie locations
During the tour, visitors can stop at the mercantile store Eastwood had built for The Outlaw Josey Wales.
Tombstone fans can see Wyatt and Virgil Earp’s cottages, the O.K. Corral and the Oriental Saloon. The set also has the Redemption Saloon from The Quick and the Dead and the livery used by McQueen in Tom Horn.
Mescal is an outdoor walking tour with dirt streets and some uneven areas. The set recommends closed-toe shoes, water, sunscreen and a hat, especially since most of the tour is outside.
