Historic Route 66 - Arizona

Seasons

Best Time to Drive

• The Scenic Road Trip offers a wonderful drive year-round.

Driving Directions

• This is a disjoint Scenic Road Trip comprised of seven pieces. The longest segment runs from the California-Arizona border east on SR 65 and I-40 to end near Ash Fork. Going east, the next piece is a minuscule segment in Ash Fork. A third piece is in Williams. A fourth runs from Flagstaff to Winona. A fifth is in Winslow, and the final two bits are in Joseph City and Hollbrook, respectively.

Road Trip: 

• Starts: Topock
• Ends: Petrified Forest National Park and Painted Desert
• Time to allow: 2 days

Anytime of year is a good time to relive the 50s/60s on Rt 66. Spend as little as 3 days, but a week is ideal.

Day 1

Start
Landmark: 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.

Start
Landmark: Havasu National Wildlife Refuge

From desert bighorn sheep to the endangered southwestern willow flycatcher, birds and other animals at Havasu National Wildlife Refuge rely on the life-giving waters of the lower Colorado River. The refuge protects 30 river miles - 300 miles of shoreline - from Needles, California, to Lake Havasu City, Arizona.

• Location: Located at the Arizona-California border along Route 66.

Stop
Landmark: Oatman

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.

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.

Stop
Landmark: Kingman

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.

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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