Wildlife Adventures

Why spend money at an expensive wildlife park when you and your family can enjoy the wild side of western Arizona?

Sunset Charter & Tour Co.

Lake Havasu City's Sunset Charter & Tour Co. offers up-close wildlife-watching opportunities aboard the Copper Canyon Kon Tiki Canyon Cruiser boat tour.

“We might see bighorn sheep, burros, mule deer or coyote. We even saw a coyote swimming across the water. You'll never know what you'll find on the lake or along the Colorado River, which is what makes the tour so special,” says Kenny Samp, co-owner of Sunset Charter & Tour Co. The 60-minute daytime tour to Copper Canyon, one of the most scenic canyons on Lake Havasu, is ideal for families with younger children who get restless easily.

Castle Rock Bay

Home to over 318 documented species of birds, the Havasu National Wildlife Refuge is a birding paradise encompassing 37,515 acres on the lower Colorado River in Arizona and California.

At scenic Castle Rock Bay, located off Arizona Highway 95 at Castle Rock Road, visitors can access the Havasu National Wildlife Refuge by passenger vehicle. Castle Rock Bay is also a popular location for non-motorized boating, hiking, fishing and relaxing on the beach.

If you’re keeping a life list, or even if you just like watching birds, visiting is a must. Learn more about birding on the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service website, and on our website's Havasu National Wildlife Refuge page.

Oatman

Only 54 miles northwest of Lake Havasu City, the historic town of Oatman is a fun throwback in time to the Wild West and the gold mining era of the early 1900s. The paved road running through Oatman’s eight city blocks is a section of Historic Route 66.

Tame burros come and go freely as they roam through the town. Nutritional food packets are sold for visitors to feed the friendly four-legged natives of Oatman. The burros are direct descendants of the pack animals that gold miners brought to the area.

With the coming of World War II, the gold mines surrounding Oatman were shut down and the burros were set free to roam the hills. The burros are not owned by anyone and are allowed free range of the streets and stores of the town.

London Bridge Resort offers a guided bus tour of Oatman every Tuesday at 10 a.m. from September to May. Call (928) 855-0888 for reservations or more information.

Walter The Wonder Donkey

In 2020, an orphaned donkey named Walter was named Oatman's honorary mayor. The world's most famous burro has his own website, Facebook page—currently with 419,000 followers—and children's book (the first in a series of 10) published by a subsidiary of New York publishing giant Simon & Schuster.

Hualapai Mountain Park

If you think western Arizona is all desert, think again. About an hour's easy drive from Lake Havasu City, and just 12 miles southeast from the heart of Route 66 in Kingman, sits Hualapai Mountain Park: an evergreen oasis and reprieve from the arid desert land below.

The park features beautiful biodiversity with numerous species of plants and animals indigenous to higher elevations. Popular wildlife-watching opportunities include elk, mule deer, songbirds, owls, hawks and golden eagles.

Keepers of The Wild

Just 20 minutes east of Kingman in Valentine, Ariz., Keepers of the Wild is an accredited, non-profit animal sanctuary on a picturesque 175-acre canyon.

Since 1995, the sanctuary has provided a safe and loving environment for over 130 wild animals such as lions, tigers, wolves, bears, leopards, primates and various wildlife indigenous to the beautiful Southwest. Knowledgeable Keepers drive visitors through the park while sharing fun, interesting and heartfelt accounts of how the rescued animals came to call Keepers of the Wild home.