Arizona Route 66 Motorcycle Trip

Arizona’s Route 66

U.S. Highway 66, popularly known as "Route 66," is significant as the nation's first all-weather highway linking Chicago to Los Angeles.

Created in 1926, the 2,400-mile ribbon of highway from Chicago to Los Angeles linked rural communities to urban ones, permitting an unprecedented flow of ideas and economic growth across the country. It saw the migration of Dust Bowl refugees; World War II troop movements; the advent of the car culture and automobile tourism; and it enabled large-scale settlement of the west. For many people in America and throughout the world, the highway has come to symbolize the spirit and freedom of America, and the pursuit of the American Dream.

Route 66’s glory years were from 1926 to 1970. The highway brought economic prosperity to the communities it passed through. Route 66 linked the isolated and predominantly rural West to the densely populated urban Midwest and Northeast. It also enabled one of the largest movements of people in the history of the United States. Route 66 transformed the American far west from a rural frontier to a pacesetting, metropolitan region.

Route 66 symbolized the new optimism brought about by the nations’ postwar economic recovery. For thousands of returning American servicemen and their families, Route 66 represented more than just another highway. It became the symbol of independence. With the opening of Route 66, any citizen could hop in their car and drive across the country anytime they wanted.

Route 66, celebrated in songs, books, and television, gained legendary status and has come to represent the essence of the American highway culture to generations of motorists who traveled the old highway during the more than fifty years of its lifetime. The old road represents an important chapter in American history.

No truck stop restaurant or chain eatery could ever have the ambiance of Route 66 icons such as the Dixie Truckers Home in Illinois, or the dozens of greasy spoon cafes strung out through every state the old highway crossed. What Holiday Inn can hold a candle to Holbrook, Arizona’s Wigwam Motel?

Arizona has some of the most memorable Route 66 adventures awaiting travelers on the old highway. Entering the state from the east, most of the route is now Interstate 40 as it passes through the Painted Desert and the high mesas that have been home to the Hopi and Navajo Indians for centuries.

Holbrook, founded in 1882, has accommodated travelers since Territorial days. Holbrook was a wild and woolly Old West town, where saloons carried named like the Bucket of Blood, and a day without a shootout seemed pretty dull. It was here, in September of 1887, that flamboyant Sheriff Commodore Perry Owens single handedly took on the Blevins gang in a shootout that would rival Tombstone’s OK Corral fracas. In less than a minute the brave lawman killed four outlaws and wounded another, while their bullets never found their mark.

One of the most memorable Route 66 landmarks is the Wigwam Motel, which first opened in 1950. Today, the “Wigwam Village” has been completely renovated and reopened. The nearby Navajo County Courthouse, built in 1898, is now a museum of Holbrook 's wild and colorful past. A short ride east is Petrified Forest National Park, with its amazing collection of rocks formed from ancient trees.

In Holbrook, Route 66 branches off from the interstate at Exit 289 and runs parallel to the highway on the north side for 2½ miles, then crosses under the interstate on Navajo Boulevard (State Route 77) for a few blocks before it turns west (right) on Hopi Drive for 1.6 miles before rejoining Interstate 40. The Wigwam Motel is on this stretch of Route 66 at 811 W. Hopi Drive, on the south side of the road. If you look south before turning onto Hopi Drive you will see several giant dinosaur statues in front of a petrified rock shop. These are always a big hit with children.

Traveling west, there are a couple of short patches of the old highway remaining, but unless you have time to spare, they are not long enough to make it worth leaving the interstate for. At Joseph City, the Jack Rabbit Trading Post opened in 1949, still welcomes travelers with souvenirs and cold drinks.

30 miles east of Holbrook, Winslow was a major stopping point for travelers along Route 66 in Arizona. Though Interstate 40 bypasses the downtown area, it is worth a stop to see the beautifully restored La Posada Hotel, once a Harvey House. Built in 1929 for the Santa Fe Railroad, La Posada has been called the “last great railroad hotel.” When Route 66 was at its peak, many cafes, trading posts, motor courts, and garages operated all along the highway through town, and a few remain open today.

Don’t forget to stop and see the statue of a young man with a guitar on a downtown corner in honor of the old Eagles song Take It Easy, when they sang the line “Standin’ on a corner in Winslow, Arizona …” Winslow is part of the real West, and it is not uncommon to see cowboys right off the range or Native American women in traditional dress.

West of Winslow, such roadside icons as Twin Arrows and Two Guns are fading rapidly, in spite of occasional efforts to revive these famous Route 66 landmarks that began to die the day the interstate replaced the Mother Road .

Twenty miles west of Winslow, Exit 233 will take you to Meteor Crater, site of a massive crater created when a meteorite crashed into the earth some 50,000 years ago. Meteor Crater includes a visitor center and campground.

The magnificent San Francisco Peaks, snowcapped for much of the year, tower over Flagstaff. For years, dozens of motor courts and cafes beckoned to the weary Route 66 traveler, and many of these have outlasted the coming of the interstate. Route 66 (I- 40 Business Route ) leaves the interstate at Exit 204 and winds its way through town, past the old roadside businesses as well as dozens of newer shopping centers and fast food joints.

Currently, the downtown area along Route 66 is undergoing a redevelopment, and the Santa Fe Train Depot has been reborn as a visitor center. A "must see" is the Museum Club on Route 66, an old log structure built in 1918. Five living trees support the building, which now houses a dance hall and music club.

You can expect a lot of stop and go traffic along the thirteen miles of Route 66 in Flagstaff before it rejoins Interstate 40 at Exit 191, and unless you have lots of patience, it is not fun to ride down the surface streets.

Route 66 again departs from the interstate at Exit 165 in Williams, the last Route 66 town to be bypassed by Interstate 40. Williams is known as "The Gateway to the Grand Canyon ," and the 1½ mile stretch of Route 66 through the heart of the small town was once thick with motels, restaurants and shops.

Today Williams is still a busy place, and the entire downtown area is listed in the National Register for Historic Places. Route 66 buffs will appreciate the neon signs of the intact 1940s "Motel Row."

Fifteen miles west of Williams, Route 66 takes a short detour at Exit 146 and runs the length of Ash Fork. Some of the motels, gas stations and businesses have operated in the same location here since the highway's beginning in 1926.

State Route 66, which follows one of the many routings of the old U.S. 66, leaves the interstate at Exit 139 and runs west 34 miles to Seligman. Another option is to continue west on the interstate to Exit 123, and follow Route 66 into Seligman.

No Route 66 traveler should miss Seligman, rich in scenic and historic value. Longtime resident Angel Delgadillo, the former town barber, is one of the founders of the Historic Route 66 Association of Arizona and one of the most avid supporters of Route 66 in the country. He is credited with helping to preserve the longest stretch of the historic highway in the nation, from Seligman west 140 miles to Topock, on the Colorado River near Needles, California.

Today, a visit to Seligman is a step back in time, and tourism is still an important part of the small town’s economy. Angel has retired from cutting hair, but he still welcomes visitors to his small Route 66 Museum next to the barbershop. Angel's nephews, J.D. and Robert Delgadillo, operate the famous Snow Cap Drive In, where they supply a generous serving of humor along with your food, and if you don’t stop, you’ve missed an important part of the Route 66 experience.

From Seligman, Route 66 crosses the high desert, passing historic Grand Canyon Caverns. This famous tourist attraction is one of the largest registered dry caverns in the United States. Discovered in 1927, the Caverns offer a forty-five minute underground guided tour. You will drop twenty-one stories (3/4 of a mile,) by elevator and walk through a string of caverns, some the size of football fields, with stalagmites, onyx, flowstone formations and the world’s largest deposit of Selenite crystals, including helictites.

Peach Springs is the tribal headquarters of the Hualapai Indian Reservation. At one time Peach Springs was a western terminal of the Santa Fe Railroad, with a road house, shops, a Harvey House restaurant, and a stage coach line. The Shell station in Peach Springs dates back to the 1920s and is one of the oldest continuously operated stations to be found on all of Route 66.

Established in 1898, Valentine is home of the Truxton Canon Agency Bureau of Indian Affairs, U.S. Department of the Interior. In May of 1900, 600 acres of land were set aside and an Indian School was built. The school opened in 1917 and closed about 1937. It was reopened later and used until 1969. The building still stands today. Beyond the railroad tracks, the remains of the “Little Red Schoolhouse" are visible. Built in 1924, it was used by the non-Indian students who lived in the area.

Hackberry is another must see on our Route 66 trek across Arizona. The photogenic old Hackberry General Store is well worth the time to stop and explore.

Today Route 66, the I-40 Business Loop, runs straight through Kingman, and is still a major thoroughfare for travelers. The old downtown area on Route 66 has not changed much over the years, and a brief tour of Andy Devine Avenue and Beale Street will give you a glimpse of the past. Route 66 parallels the railroad tracks, and Kingman has always been a staunch Route 66 town, with many motels, cafes, and service stations.

Be sure to visit the Old Courthouse, where Clark Gable and Carole Lombard were married. Locomotive Park is home to Old Steam Engine #3759, which was donated by the Santa Fe Railroad. The Mohave Museum of History and Arts provides an exciting look into the past. Downtown also has the Beale Hotel, which was once home to cowboy movie actor Andy Devine.

The office and gift shop of the Historic Route 66 Association of Arizona is located in the Powerhouse Visitor Center on Route 66. The Powerhouse Visitor Center is also the home for the Tourist Information Desk, Powerhouse Hobby Shop, and the Kingman Area Chamber of Commerce.

Kingman is centrally located for many interesting side trips on your Route 66 tour: Lake Havasu City (home of the London Bridge,); Laughlin, Nevada, with its glittering casinos on the Colorado River; and Hoover Dam. Las Vegas is only 100 miles away.

Every year, the Historic Route 66 Association of Arizona invites you to participate in the "Annual Route 66 Fun Run." First held in 1988, the Fun Run has attracted people from all over the U.S. and many foreign countries.

The three-day event, held the first weekend of May, begins in Seligman and travels the 140 miles to Topock/Golden Shores. The event is open to all street legal vehicles, and is a great way to see a huge collection of vintage vehicles.

West of Kingman, Route 66 again leaves Interstate 40 to make a winding trip up the Black Mountains to the old mining town of Oatman. At an elevation of 2,400 feet in the Black Mountains, Oatman was once the last stop in Arizona before entering the dreaded Mohave Desert in California.

At one time Oatman was considered to be the richest gold mining district in the state of Arizona. The combination of mining and endless traffic on Route 66 made Oatman a boomtown. In 1953, Route 66 was rerouted through Yucca as the traffic had become too much for the steep, winding road.

Today, the town's only street is lined with historic buildings and boardwalks. In the middle of town is the famous Oatman Hotel. On the weekend, locals dressed up as desperadoes stage gunfights for the camera-toting tourists.

While in Oatman, be sure to meet some of the town's wild burros. Descendants of the work animals of the mines, these burros have found paradise. They wander through town, posing for photographs and begging handouts from the tourists, who feed them carrots bought in just about every shop in town. These critters are natural born hustlers and experts at playing the tourist game. The moment you run out of carrots, they are gone in search of a new best friend.

The route up to Oatman from Kingman is wonderfully scenic, but very steep and twisty, with lots of hairpin curves to test both your skills and nerves. In the old days, many travelers had to back their automobiles up the road, because their gravity fed fuel systems would suffocate on the steep grades!

The road down from Oatman to Topock and Golden Shores is much easier to travel. Topock, on the east bank of the Colorado River, doesn’t have much to offer, but if you are headed west, it is the last Arizona town on Route 66. The Route 66 bridge once carried travelers across the Colorado River toward Needles, California , and a long trek across the dreaded Mohave Desert . This old, arched steel bridge is now closed to vehicular traffic, and travelers cross the river on Interstate 40.

The Federal Bureau of Land Management has dedicated this section of highway from Topock/Golden Shores through Oatman to McConnico (west of Kingman,) as a "Historic National Back Country Byway." This truly signifies the importance and scenic value of this fascinating stretch of the original Route 66.

No matter how you travel Route 66 across Arizona, from east to west or west to east, this is one trip you will remember for a lifetime!