Exploring the Mother Road in Northern Arizona
The people, places and stories that shaped Route 66's first century
In 2026 history buffs, auto enthusiasts and road-trippers mark the 100th anniversary of that famous American highway, Route 66, and nowhere does its story unfold with more charm and character than across Northern Arizona. From the volcanic foothills near Oatman to the Painted Desert near Holbrook, this portion of the Mother Road offers a vivid look at how a highway helped shape the American West—and how its legacy continues in the communities along the way.
Boundary Cone Butte to Oatman
Crossing into Arizona from the west, the first major landmark is Boundary Cone Butte, a volcanic neck rising sharply above the desert floor. Long before automobiles arrived, this butte guided Indigenous travelers, miners, and surveyors through the foothills of the Black Mountains. In early spring, the meadows below the butte light up with California poppies, providing one of the most colorful gateways of the entire highway.
Just ahead lies Oatman, a former gold-mining boomtown where the Old West still lingers in weathered wooden storefronts and staged gunfights. The real stars, though, are the burros, descendants of those left behind by miners. They roam the streets freely, greeting visitors as if they’ve been doing it for a century—which, in Oatman’s case, they nearly have.
Sitgreaves Pass and the High Desert Beyond
Leaving Oatman, the highway climbs and twists toward Sitgreaves Pass, one of the most dramatic and historically significant segments of Route 66. At 3,586 feet, it follows the alignment of Edward Fitzgerald Beale’s 1857 wagon road. Early motorists navigated the narrow curves with far less horsepower and far less room for error, turning this crossing into a true adventure. Today the pass still delivers sweeping views of the Black Mountains and the Colorado River valley beyond.
Descending the east slope brings travelers into Kingman, long one of the busiest hubs on the Mother Road. Kingman thrived during the postwar travel boom, offering motels, cafés, service stations, and neon-lit streets that welcomed thousands of families heading west. Much of that mid-century identity remains visible today.
Peach Springs, Seligman, and Williams
Beyond Kingman, Route 66 opens onto broad plateaus and arrives at Peach Springs, tribal headquarters of the Hualapai Nation. In the classic era of auto travel, Peach Springs served as a key rest stop before the steady climb toward Flagstaff. Its deep cultural roots and surrounding high desert make it one of the quieter but more significant stops along the way.
Farther east lies Seligman, a small town with a big role in Route 66 preservation. When the interstate bypassed Seligman in 1978, local barber Angel Delgadillo spearheaded an effort to protect and promote what remained of the old road. That movement helped spark the wider Route 66 revival, and today Seligman is known for its restored storefronts, classic cars, and unmistakable mid-century atmosphere.
Continuing through the high-country pines leads to Williams, one of the most authentically preserved Route 66 towns in America. Known as the “Gateway to the Grand Canyon,” Williams also holds the distinction of being the last town along the Mother Road to be bypassed by Interstate 40—in 1984. Its main street still glows with neon, classic diners, and motor courts, offering an experience that feels remarkably unchanged.
Between Williams and Flagstaff lies the small community of Parks. The Parks in the Pines General Store and Deli stands along a quiet stretch of Route 66 between Williams and Flagstaff, its vintage 76 sign and weathered red storefront preserving the classic character of mid-century roadside travel in Northern Arizona.
Flagstaff and the High-Country Crossroads
East of Parks, the road climbs into the world’s largest contiguous Ponderosa Pine forest and arrives in Flagstaff, the largest city on Arizona’s stretch of Route 66. Here, the Mother Road intersects with the city’s lumber, railroad, and cultural history.
Just west of town is the historic McAllister Ranch, founded in 1916 by William Beeson. The ranch once supported farming and livestock operations along the early Route 66 corridor. Its stone barns and 20th-century house still stand, now repurposed by the City of Flagstaff for Public Works while preserving the site’s historic fabric.
Downtown Flagstaff is anchored by the well-known intersection of Route 66 and Humphreys Street, where signs point toward the Grand Canyon, Albuquerque, and Phoenix.
Portions of the original Route 66 alignment survive as part of the Flagstaff Urban Trails System, keeping the historic roadbed alive and woven into the city’s daily life.
Flagstaff also has an unexpected link to pop culture. When Jackson Browne wrote the lyric “standing on a corner in Winslow, Arizona,” he was actually in Flagstaff, on the corner of Route 66 and Switzer Canyon Road near the old Dog Haus restaurant. Winslow later built an entire park around the lyric—perhaps the most famous misunderstanding in Arizona music history.
East of downtown stands the historic El Pueblo Motel, whose distinctive neon sign remains a Route 66 landmark. During World War II, El Pueblo served as a training site for the U.S. Marine Corps’ Navajo Code Talkers, who practiced the unbreakable code that would play a crucial role in the Pacific theater. The surviving buildings and sign remain important reminders of this chapter in American history.
Winona, Two Guns, and the Painted Desert
A short drive east leads to Winona, famous for its brief but memorable mention in Bobby Troup’s 1946 classic “Get Your Kicks on Route 66.” The original 1930s steel truss Winona Bridge still stands north of town, preserved as a rare example of early highway engineering.
Farther along, perched on the rim of Canyon Diablo, sits Two Guns. In the early 20th century, it served travelers with a gas station, zoo, trading post, and campground. But when Route 66 realigned—and later I-40 redirected traffic entirely—Two Guns fell into decline. Today, its stone ruins and the nearby 1915 Canyon Diablo Bridge offer a stark look at how dependent small communities were on the Mother Road.
Holbrook and Petrified Forest National Park
The bustling town of Holbrook continues the Route 66 tradition with classic motor courts, vintage neon, and mid-century relics that keep the spirit of the road alive. Like many towns along the route, it preserves one of the fragments that together tell the full story of the Mother Road.
East of Holbrook, Route 66 enters Petrified Forest National Park, the only national park in the country containing an original stretch of the historic highway. The alignment here is no longer paved; instead, a faint roadbed and a straight line of telephone poles mark where the Mother Road once crossed the desert. A weathered 1932 Studebaker stands beside the alignment, creating a quiet memorial to the many travelers who passed through long before the interstate era.
A Century of History on America’s Most Famous Highway
Route 66 was never a single, seamless road. It evolved constantly, realigning with the needs of motorists and eventually yielding to the interstate system. Today it survives in segments—some preserved, some repurposed, some fading quietly into the desert.
Yet even as a road of scattered pieces, Route 66 remains unified in its purpose.
Created in 1926, it became a conveyor of hope during the Great Depression and Dust Bowl era, a military corridor during World War II, and a symbol of postwar opportunity. It carried families westward, shaped the economies of small towns, and helped define America’s relationship with the freedom of the open road.
Northern Arizona remains one of the best places to trace that history—through mountain passes, high-country towns, wartime motels, neon-lit streets, and desert horizons marked only by telephone poles and sky.
As Route 66 marks 100 years, its legacy endures not because it is fast or efficient, but because it represents something lasting; the belief that the journey ahead holds promise, and that the road itself tells a story worth preserving.
See more of Jeff’s Route 66 pictures at the Route 66 Gallery.
Jeff Goulden is a nature, landscape, wildlife photographer and writer based in Flagstaff, Arizona. His work has appeared in Audubon, National Geographic, Nature Conservancy, Wilderness Society and other publications.
See more of Jeff's photography at www.JeffGouldenPhotography.com. Downloads are available at Getty Images. Selected fine art prints and other unique photo products are available at Fine Art America.
Oh Jeff , this is just wonderful! I am always amazed at your beautiful work both the imagery and the history! Thank you!