Arizona Route 66

Our western road trip takes us to northern Arizona and it's old historic Route 66. Route 66, the main route from Chicago to Los Angeles during the years prior to the Interstate Highway system, actually started out as a series of wagon trails leading settlers to the southwest.

View of the Painted Desert

 As the years went by, the wagon trails linked together to form a direct route to the west coast. In Arizona, as in several other states, portions of Route 66 were often called by other names. In Arizona that name was the Beale Wagon Road. More or less, the Beale Wagon Road was a straight line route across northern Arizona, fairly similar to today's Interstate 40. The wagon road was given it's name  from Lieutenant Edward Fitzgerald Beale who in 1857 was assigned the job of building a wagon road across New Mexico and Arizona near the 35^th parallel. That same road today is vey close to the Interstate 40 and the old Route 66 alignments.

Painted Desert Inn

The surviving portions of Route 66 still feature many historic landmarks, and in northern Arizona, National Parks and other historic sites can be found near the old "Mother Road" in just about every direction. One fun stretch of the old Route 66 is the portion from the New Mexico order to Williams Arizona, just south of the Grand Canyon. The Navajo and Hopi Indian Reservations, historic old west towns, National Parks, frontier trading posts, a world renown observatory and a wildlife park are just some of the things to do  and enjoy along Arizona's old Route 66.

West From the New Mexico Border 

Staring out west from the New Mexico border,the historic Hubbell Trading Post as well as Window Rock Arizona, the Navajo Nation capital, and the scenic Canyon de Chelly (promounced da-shay) is to the north. Exiting Interstate 40 on US Hwy 191 North, about 30 miles inside Arizona, will take you north toward the Canyon. Further west, directly off Interstate 40, is the exit for the Petrified Forest National Park and the Painted Desert. The photo above is of the Painted Desert Inn, built in the late 1930's and was operated for a time by the Fred Harvey Company. The building was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1987. These are located about 20 miles further west from the Hwy 191 exit. If you're on Interstate 40 and have not visited these, they are definitely must stops. The visitor center is just about a half mile north of the Interstate and you'll enjoy the video presentation in the small theater area.

You should find our Western Trips article on the Hubbell Trading Post very interesting.The trading post was and is on the Navajo Reservation. Also see a visit to the Desert Botanical Garden / Phoenix

The Old West Town of Holbrook 

Old Navajo County Courthouse Museum

The next stop west is Holbrook Arizona which is about 30 miles west of the Petrified Forest exit. Holbrook is a very interesting old frontier town with plenty of history. Make a stop at the old Navajo County Courthouse which is a great museum along with the old jail still intact. This was a jail built in the east and shipped by rail to Holbrook. It's an interesting exhibit and the museum is full of artifacts from 1800's and early 1900's Holbrook.

See our related article on Holbrook Arizona and Navajo County.

Winslow Arizona and the La Posada

Arizona has the distinction of having more preserved old Route 66 pavement than any other state. When you drive west from Holbrook, you can pick up a portion of Route 66 at the Joseph City exit which will continue west to Winslow Arizona at which time the old highway runs straight through town. A stop at La Posada, the old Harvey House and still a famous operating hotel, is well worth the stop.

La Posada Hotel staircase, Winslow

 The hotel is adjacent to the BNSF rail tracks and a stop for Amtrak's Southwest Chief. The hotel is beautiful and you'll get plenty of good pics and most likely will want to check in for a night. Winslow was built as a railroad town and at one time was a Santa Fe Railroad division point. It's no longer a division point but is very busy with BNSF freight traffic going and coming from the west coast. Many people visit La Posada via the Southwest Chief. See our Western Trips article on the historic La Posada.

Flagstaff on Route 66

Flagstaff Arizona is about 57 miles west of Winslow. Flagstaff is located at the base of the scenic San Francisco Peaks and was directly on old Route 66 which still passes through the middle of town. Santa Fe Avenue is the Old Route 66 through town. Driving westbound on the Interstate, you can pick up Santa Fe Avenue by taking the I-40 Business exit on the east side of town. Santa Fe Avenue will take you right to the historic district of downtown Flagstaff. Flagstaff must stops in addition to the downtown historic district is the old AT & SF train depot which houses the Chamber of Commerce and now serves as the depot for Amtrak's Southwest Chief train. On the west side of Flagstaff is the world famous Lowell Observatory.

One of the large telescopes at Lowell Observatory

You can take guided walking tours of the grounds and telescope buildings and have the opportunity at night to view the universe through one of their powerful telescopes. The observatory is located on Mars Hill and it's a great vacation or side trip stop for young or old. The portion of old Route 66 that you can still drive through Flagstaff would be from Interstate 40 exit 204 west of town which will take you through Flagstaff and you'll enter Interstate 40 at exit 191. 

You'll enjoy our Western trips visit to the Lowell Observatory.

Williams...The Gateway to the Grand Canyon

Going further west on Interstate 40 toward Williams which is where the Grand Canyon Railway begins on it's trip to the Grand Canyon's south rim. If you're traveling westbound on the Interstate, old Route 66 runs from Exit 165 to Exit 161. Parallel one-way streets run through downtown. Bill Williams Avenue which goes eastbound is the old Route 66. Another interesting travel fact is that all of downtown Williams Arizona is on the National Register of Historic Places. There's a relatively new wildlife park which is a lot of fun and it's just east of Williams at 1500 East Route 66.

Bears at Bearizona

The park is named Bearizona and allows visitors to experience animal wildlife all from the comfort and safety of your own vehicle.It's really a great side trip and also offers live bird shows with the Bearizona staff. Bears, bison, wolves and many other animals are seen in their natural habitat. It makes an excellent addition to a family road trip through northern Arizona.

Eighty Seven Original Miles of Route 66

The largest stretch of Route 66 that remains today in Arizona runs from Seligman, to Kingman. In Seligman, the old Route 66 alignment is Railroad Avenue and when you enter Kingman, the road becomes Andy Devine Avenue. The distance of old Route 66 between the two towns is 87 miles and takes about one and one-half hours to drive. Since this is such a long stretch of the old Mother Road, it's very popular as an alternative to the Interstate. Lots of old sites from the highway's glory days are still there to see.

One of the things so unique about the old Route 66 through Arizona is that it can comprise an entire vacation considering all of the sites along the way. Many people of course pass through this part of the state quickly on Interstate 40 but if you have the time, there's plenty of sites and things to do that can easily make a one or two week vacation.

(Photos from author's private collection)