Renowned for its vast vistas and raw depiction of life in the Old West, “Tombstone” was predominantly filmed in Arizona, mere miles from the actual town it is named after. Although none of the film’s memorable scenes were actually shot in the city itself—owing to its popularity with tourists—a strong sense of its essence permeates each cinematic moment. This is all the more noteworthy considering that after several directing mishaps, Kurt Russell, the lead actor, stepped in to direct the film.

Utilizing four distinct locations along with two studios and their respective backlots, “Tombstone” came to life with genuine and commanding local flair. Where exactly was the film captured? How much was set on backlots compared to the untamed landscapes of Arizona? Below is a comprehensive list of all sets and locations employed in the movie.

The principal filming took place at the Mescal Movie Set in Benson, Arizona, within Cochise County, where the actual Tombstone is also situated. The production avoided using the real Tombstone for filming since their budget wasn’t sufficient to strip the town’s modern elements. Mescal, already crafted to resemble a traditional Western town, featured saloons and gambling halls accessible to the actors for exterior shots, while the interior scenes were filmed in different locations.

“Tombstone,” naturally, isn’t the only film that has been shot in Mescal — many Westerns, including Sam Raimi’s “The Quick and the Dead,” “The Outlaw Josey Wales,” “The Big Country” and “Cimarron” have filmed there, and it’s been a functioning lot since the 1950s. It’s so well-known that, when it isn’t rented out for shoots, movie mavens can come and take guided tours (probably the best way to reenact a showdown without having to take a bullet yourself). While Mescal suited the movie’s needs, the “Tombstone” crew still constructed or converted more than 80 structures to approximate how the town would have looked during the Old West days.

Minus the exceptions above and below, most of the rest of the exterior shots for “Tombstone” were filmed in Sabino Canyon. Sabino Canyon is a part of Coronado National Forest, which extends over parts of Arizona and New Mexico and is open to the public. This is where the battle between Wyatt Earp’s (Kurt Russell) men and the outlaw gang known as the Cowboys was filmed, as well as several other moments that didn’t require use of the Western backdrops available in Mescal. 

Like any public park, Coronado National Forest can be hiked, walked, biked and climbed by those who are willing to snag a day pass to the park. There are multiple guided tours that cover all manner of natural flora, fauna, and phenomena. It might not be as dramatic as an old-fashioned Western shootout, but you’ll still come away with a lot of treasured memories of the unspoiled beauty of the natural world. 

While the film’s exterior scenes were shot in multiple different locales, only one place hosted interior sets for “Tombstone” — Old Tucson Studios in Tucson, Arizona. This is where every single indoor scene was shot, from the insides of various homes and establishments to elaborate places such as the Bird Cage Theater. They also hosted any shot involving Tombstone’s railway, as Old Tucson also has its own train depot. 

While all the sets built for “Tombstone” have since been struck and aren’t on display here, this is another location that’s open for tours. Old Tucson also features children’s rides, staged gunfights, train and stagecoach rides, and even a museum that pays tribute to its history as a movie set. You can see costumes, props and posters from a variety of films that were shot there, including “Hombre,” “Young Guns,” and yes, “Tombstone.”

An actual cattle ranch that’s been in operation since 1935, Babacomari Ranch in Elgin, Arizona can be viewed during the infamous gunfight between Johnny Ringo (Michael Biehn) and and everyone’s favorite huckleberry, Doc Holliday (Val Kilmer). The exterior shots of Henry Hooker’s (Charlton Heston) ranch were also filmed in this picturesque locale filled with trees and a babbling brook. The bucolic nature of the scenery belies the amount of violence that takes place in its pastoral hills. Maybe this still-waters-run-deep dichotomy is why some of the film’s extras chose to camp out here to get into character and rough it for awhile. 

Babacomari Ranch is the largest privately-owned contiguous parcel of land in Arizona at 28,000 acres. The wide variety of terrain types contained by its boundaries make it an excellent place to make a movie — it has mountains, deserts, forests, and many other features that gives directors a lot of flexibility for a fixed fee. Tragically, “Tombstone” fans can’t tour the property, but they can arrange a function — or a wedding — within the ranch’s boundaries.

While the terrain at Coronado National Forest might have provided much of what the production needed, they required a more mountainous set-up for one scene in particular — the playful steeplechase between Wyatt Earp and the feisty, rebellious actress Josephine Marcus (Dana Delany). 

In a relationship-cementing moment, the couple races through the hills and dales of Tombstone together, up and down trails that would trip up any mortal being. Yet the two of them come out smiling. Their playful conversation about what heaven looks like to each of them definitely makes you root for the couple, in spite of the fact that Earp is already married to another woman.

Those beautiful peaks and valleys come from Mount Lemmon and its surrounding area, which is in Tucson and part of the Santa Catalina Mountain range. Visitors are welcome to mountain bike, rock climb, and even go birding and fishing among the stones, grass and trees. And yes, visitors may ride over the trails on horseback, weather permitting.

Douglas Dry Lake is only briefly seen in “Tombstone,” but it provides an important atmospheric signifier, emphasizing the heat of the desert, the arid nature of the land, and the denim blue sky. Slowly but surely, the Cowboys approach on horseback, thundering over the dusty and dried-out land. They portend doom — and the scene captures the feeling of the Old West in simple, effective, and moody portraiture. 

Douglas Dry Lake is the only locale in “Tombstone” that isn’t part of Arizona in some way. The lake is in Sevierville in East Tennessee. Apparently, the scenes were shot while the area was partially drained, which the state of Tennessee occasionally does to allow for snowmelt and rainfall in the spring. For those planning a journey to Douglas Lake, during the months that it’s flooded it’s well-known for waterskiing, swimming, and other sports. If you want the full “Tombstone” experience, though, you’ll have to go in the late winter or early spring.