Historic Route 66
Get Your Kicks on Arizona's Route 66
| Departure: | Topock, Arizona |
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| Destination: | Petrified Forest National Park and Painted Desert, Arizona |
| Time to allow: | 2 days |
Any time of year is a good time to relive the 50s/60s on Route 66. Spend as little as 3 days, but a week is ideal.
Day 1
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Start: Topock
Start your trip in Topock, an almost forgotten legacy of Route 66. You'll find the Trails Arch Bridge that carries gas and utility lines across the Colorado and the 1-40 Bridge that travels to California, but the actual town does not exist anymore.
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Stop 1: Oatman
Directions from previous place: Start out going north on old US-66 toward Polaris Rd. then turn right onto old US-66, and continue to follow the road for 20 miles.
Turn right onto Oatman Topock Hwy and drive for 0.1 miles before turning left onto Pyramid Rd and travel 0.1 miles. End at Oatman.
Distance from Previous Site: 24.77 miles / 39.6 km Travel Time from Previous Site: 45 minutes Suggested Time at This Site: 1 hour Visit the town of Oatman, once a booming town for gold miners and now a tourist town; the streets are lined with shops and restaurants and dotted with wild burros, descendents of those brought by long ago miners. There are still buildings that date back to the early boom days, and costumed gunfighters perform daily, showing six-gun shootouts in the middle of main street.
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Stop 2: Kingman
Directions from previous place: Start out going east on Pyramid Rd toward Rock Hound Hill Rd for. 0.1 miles, then turn right onto Oatman Topock Highway and drive for 0.1 miles
From there, turn right onto CR-153 / CR-10 for 1.1 miles and continue for 21.7 miles onto CR-10, then turn right onto Shinarump Dr CR-1 and continue to follow Shinarump Dr for 0.4 miles
Turn left onto AZ-66 / HISTORIC US-66. 5.4 miles, then turn left onto N 4th St for 0.1 miles before turning right onto E Beale St. for 0.1 miles. End at Kingman.
Distance from Previous Site: 29.01 miles / 46.4 km Travel Time from Previous Site: 1 hour 8 minutes Suggested Time at This Site: 1 hour 10 minutes Visit Kingman, with buildings that have been around for more than a century. The Hotel Brunswick was built in 1909 and still caters to guests today. The old powerhouse is now a Route 66 Museum; this is one of the best places to visit to learn the history of this road.
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Stop 3: Peach Springs
Directions from previous place: Start out going west on E Beale St toward N 4th St for 0.8 miles, then merge onto I-40 E and travel for 4 miles .
Take AZ-66 toward Kingman for 0.1 miles and turn left onto Historic US-66. Continue to follow Historic US-66 for 46.8 miles, then end at Peach Springs.
Distance from Previous Site: 51.86 miles / 83.0 km Travel Time from Previous Site: 1 hour 11 minutes Suggested Time at This Site: 2 hours In and around the town of Peach Springs is the home of the Hualapai Indians. You can see Route 66's legacy with its several cafes, motor courts and tourist businesses that remain deserted along the road. Visit the Hualapai River Runner's office, the only Indian-owned and operated river rafting company of the Grand Canyon. Diamond Creek Road is at the west rim of the Grand Canyon, the only known existing road that leads the bottom of the canyon.
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Stop 4: Grand Canyon Caverns
Directions from previous place: Start out going east on Historic US-66 toward BIA 19 and travel for 11.9 miles, then turn right for .1 miles, turn left for another .1 miles, then right again for .1 miles to end at the Grand Cavern Canyons.
Distance from Previous Site: 12.13 miles / 19.4 km Travel Time from Previous Site: 17 minutes Suggested Time at This Site: 1 hour The Grand Canyon Caverns provides an excellent underworld adventure right next to Historic Route 66.
The Grand Canyon Caverns have been around since prehistoric times, but were discovered by accident in 1927 by Walter Peck. It originally cost 25 cents to be lowered into the caverns by rope, then later a wooden staircase let visitors into the underground. Over the years, several upgrades occurred, including a modern day elevator.
Also found to be the burial ground of two Hualapai Indians, the original entrance was sealed off to show respect to the fallen Indians. Originally known as the Yampai Caverns, they were later changed to the Coconino, Dinosaur and finally the Grand Canyon Caverns in 1962.
Visit this tourist stop that has been around since 1920's.
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Stop 5: Seligman
Directions from previous place: Start out going east for .1 miles, then turn left and drive for another .1 miles, then right again for another .1 of a mile. Turn right onto Historic US-66 and continue to follow the road fir 25.2 miles. Finish by turning right onto N. Main Street in Seligman.
Distance from Previous Site: 25.46 miles / 40.7 km Travel Time from Previous Site: 35 minutes Suggested Time at This Site: 1 hour The birthplace of Route 66, Seligman was established in 1886 as the connecting point of Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railroad, with a long abandoned rail line extending south to Prescott.
Stop by in Seligman for a trip back in time, where you can see an odd mixture of cattle ranching, truck drivers and icons of Route 66. Even with the major highway cutting through the landscape, Seligman has been well-preserved by its residents and is a popular stop for those that love Route 66. Grab a walking guide from Delgadillo's Route 66 Gift Shop and then grab a bite to eat at the Snow Cap Drive-In, a Route 66 landmark.
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Stop 6: Flagstaff
Directions from previous place: Start out going north on N. Main St toward Historic US-66, then turn right onto Historic US-66 and follow the road for 17.9 miles. Merge onto Purple Heart Trail via the ramp on the left, and continue for 51.5 miles. Merge onto US-66 E via exit 191 towards Flagstaff and drive for 4.4 miles. Turn left onto W US-66 and continue to follow the road for .6 miles before reaching Flagstaff.
Distance from Previous Site: 74.74 miles / 119.6 km Travel Time from Previous Site: 1 hour 28 minutes Suggested Time at This Site: 1 hour 30 minutes Enjoy a day in Flagstaff relieving the 50s & 60s and using it as an ideal hub to experience the Grand Canyon and the three national monuments.
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Stop 7: Walnut Canyon National Monument
Directions from previous place: Turn left onto E. Old Walnut Canyon Drive, road turns into Old Walnut Canyon Road after 1.2 miles; continue for 1.9 miles before turning right onto E. Old Walnut Canyon Rd for .8 miles. Road turns into Old Canyon Road, travel for 1.2 miles before turning right onto Walnut Canyon Rd. After .4 miles, you'll reach the Walnut Canyon National Monument.
Distance from Previous Site: 11.52 miles / 18.4 km Travel Time from Previous Site: 26 minutes Suggested Time at This Site: 1 hour Visit the remains of the Sinagua Indian culture at the Walnut Canyon Historic Park, where over 300 dwellings that were built over 1,000 years ago still remain. Walk down the 240 steps into the canyon for a close up look at the ruins; but there is a ¾ mile rim trail that offers views of the dwellings and the surrounding beauty for those not able to make the trip into the canyon.
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Stop 8: Sunset Crater Volcano National Monument
Directions from previous place: Start out going northeast on Walnut Canyon Road toward Oakmont Drive for .4 miles before turning left onto Old canyon Rd for 1.2 miles. Road turns into Walnut Canyon Rd, travel for .8 miles before turning left to stay on E. Old Walnut Canyon Rd for 1.9 miles.
Road then turns into E. Old Walnut Canyon Drive, travel for 1.2 miles before turning right onto N. Country Club Drive. Continue for 1.3 miles before merging onto N US-89 towards Page. After 1.4 miles, you'll reach the Sunset Crater Volcano National Monument.
Distance from Previous Site: 8.61 miles / 13.8 km Travel Time from Previous Site: 20 minutes Suggested Time at This Site: 45 minutes Learn about the history of the ancient volcanoes at Sunset Crater, the most recent of which was in 1066. A newly remodeled visitor center has interpretive exhibits and films to best show you what the effects the eruptions had on the area.
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Stop 9: Meteor Crater
Directions from previous place: Start out going southwest on US-89 toward E Winter Drive, after 1.5 miles make a slight right onto the ramp, then another slight right after .1 miles onto I-40 BL. For 0.6 miles.
Turn left onto the ramp and after 0.3 miles merge onto Purple Heart Trail for 32.0 miles
Take the Meteor Crater Rd exit- EXIT 233 and after 0.3 miles turn right onto Meteor Crater Rd and after 5.7 miles, make a slight left to end at Meteor Crater.
Distance from Previous Site: 40.79 miles / 65.3 km Travel Time from Previous Site: 41 minutes Suggested Time at This Site: 20 minutes Stand at the top of Meteor Crater and marvel at how well preserved this site is; 50,000 years ago a giant meteor impacted the earth with the equivalent force of 20 million tons of dynamite, changing the landscape around the point of impact and leaving a vast crater 2.4 miles in circumference and 550 feet deep.
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Overnight Point: Winslow
Directions from previous place: Start out going west toward Meteor Crater Rd and after .1 miles, turn slightly right onto Meteor Crater Rd and follow it for 5.7 miles.
Merge onto Purple Heart Trail and continue for 17.8 miles before taking the Winslow exit, then turn right onto AZ-99 after .3 miles and follow the road for another 1.8 miles.
Turn left onto AZ-99 and after .1 miles, take another left onto US-66 W for another .1 miles to end in Winslow.
Distance from Previous Site: 26 miles / 41.6 km Travel Time from Previous Site: 30 minutes Visit the town that is the home to the Eagles song. "Take it Easy" and enjoy a night in the only existing Harvey House today while you enjoy some historic Route 66 sites.
Total Distance Traveled in Day 1: 304.89 miles / 487.8 km
Day 2
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Stop 1: Holbrook
Directions from previous place: Start out going northwest on US-66 W and after.1 miles, turn left onto N. Kinsley Ave, then take another left onto US-66 E for 1.3 miles before the road turns into AZ-66 N.
After 1.9 miles, turn left onto AZ-66 and travel for .1 miles before merging onto Purple Heart Trail; take that road for 27.2 miles before taking the Holbrook exit for .3 miles.
Turn right onto W. Hopi drive and follow it for 1.5 miles, then turn left onto N 1st St, ending at Holbrook.
Distance from Previous Site: 32.83 miles / 52.5 km Travel Time from Previous Site: 35 minutes Suggested Time at This Site: 30 minutes Explore Navajo, Hopi and Apache country near the town of Holbrook, as well as may Route 66 era icons in the Wigwam Village and the PowWow Trading Post.
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End: Petrified Forest National Park and Painted Desert
Directions from previous place: Start out going north on N 1st St toward E Arizona St for .1 miles before turning left onto E. Arizona St. After another .1 of a mile, turn right onto Navajo Blvd for .6 miles before merging onto I-40; travel for 24.3 miles.
Take exit 311 toward Petrified Forest National Park for .3 miles, then turn left onto Petrified Forest Rd.
Distance from Previous Site: 26.14 miles / 41.8 km Travel Time from Previous Site: 25 minutes Suggested Time at This Site: 45 minutes Come view the remains of what was once a grand forest. Thriving approximately 225 million years ago, you can see petrified remains of fallen trees as you take in the wide views of the Painted Desert. Peer at the painted cliffs; one of the visible signs of the humans that once occupied this area over the last 10,000 years.
