There’s something seriously cool about driving down a historic highway where neon signs still glow and vintage gas stations line the road.
Arizona is home to some of the best-preserved sections of historic Route 66, and driving this legendary highway is like taking a road trip straight back to the 1950s.
You’ll find everything from wild donkeys wandering through dusty streets and old-fashioned diners serving milkshakes to fascinating ghost towns, colorful desert landscapes, and roadside stops packed with vintage cars.
Ready to hit the Mother Road?
Here’s everything you need to plan the ultimate Arizona Route 66 road trip, including the best stops, must-see attractions, and fun detours you won’t want to miss!
1. Oatman
Located along historic Route 66 in western Arizona, about 50 minutes from Kingman, Oatman is a quirky former gold-mining town famous for its wooden sidewalks, Old West buildings, and wild burros that wander freely through the streets.
These friendly donkeys are descendants of pack animals used by local miners, and you can watch them stroll past souvenir shops, poke their noses into storefronts, and occasionally cause hilarious traffic jams.
Stroll down Main Street to grab a bite at the Oatman Hotel Restaurant & Saloon, browse shops selling Route 66 souvenirs, and catch the famous Wild West gunfight shows performed by costumed actors..
When you’re ready to leave Oatman, follow the winding Sitgreaves Pass section of Route 66 toward Kingman.
This scenic mountain road climbs to around 3,550 feet before descending through the Black Mountains, offering incredible views along the way.
2. Kingman
Known as the “Heart of Historic Route 66,” Kingman is where vintage neon signs, classic diners, and colorful roadside attractions celebrate America’s most famous highway.
Start at the Arizona Route 66 Museum, located inside the historic Powerhouse building on Andy Devine Avenue, where you’ll find vintage cars, old photographs, and exhibits exploring the highway’s history.
Just down the road, grab a burger and milkshake at Mr. D’z Route 66 Diner, a bright turquoise-and-pink restaurant packed with retro decorations, then snap photos of the giant Route 66 road shield painted nearby.
For something completely different, visit the Kingman Railroad Museum inside the historic train depot or explore Locomotive Park, where you can see a massive steam locomotive built in 1928.
3. Hackberry General Store
About 35 minutes from Kingman, the Hackberry General Store is one of the quirkiest stops along Arizona’s Route 66, with rusty vintage cars, old gas pumps, and faded advertising signs scattered around a former roadside service station.
The store sits in the tiny community of Hackberry, where the original mining town dates back to the 1870s, and today its dusty grounds are packed with Route 66 memorabilia that makes every corner worth photographing.
Outside, you’ll spot classic cars, vintage advertising signs, antique fuel pumps, and weathered license plates, while the shop inside sells postcards, T-shirts, magnets, and other nostalgic souvenirs.
Best of all, you can wander around the outdoor displays for free, making this a fun, quick photo stop before continuing east.
4. Seligman
Continue about an hour’s drive from Hackberry General Store to Seligman, a small railroad town famous for helping save historic Route 66 after Interstate 40 bypassed the community in 1978, leaving many roadside businesses struggling to survive.
In 1987, local barber Angel Delgadillo helped lead the movement to preserve the old highway, earning Seligman its nickname, the “Birthplace of Historic Route 66,” and you can still visit his famous Angel & Vilma Delgadillo’s Original Route 66 Gift Shop.
Stroll along the colorful main street to find vintage cars, funny roadside signs, and the famous Snow Cap Drive-In, where the Delgadillo family has been serving burgers, milkshakes, and playful jokes since 1953.
Don’t miss the colorful murals and cartoon-inspired decorations around town, which helped inspire the fictional town of Radiator Springs in Pixar’s Cars.
5. Williams
About 40 minutes from Seligman, Williams is a charming mountain town surrounded by the pine forests of Kaibab National Forest, best known as the “Gateway to the Grand Canyon” and the last Route 66 town bypassed by Interstate 40 in 1984.
One of the coolest things to do here is ride the historic Grand Canyon Railway, which first opened in 1901 and takes you on a scenic 65-mile journey from Williams to the Grand Canyon’s South Rim aboard vintage train cars.
Back in town, stroll along historic Route 66 to check out colorful neon signs, old-fashioned diners, and the famous Cruiser’s Route 66 Cafe, where you can grab burgers and barbecue inside a former gas station.
For more fun, visit Bearizona Wildlife Park, where you can drive through large animal enclosures to spot black bears, wolves, bison, and other North American wildlife.
6. Flagstaff
Just 40 minutes from Williams, Flagstaff sits at an elevation of nearly 7,000 feet, making it one of the highest cities along Route 66, with towering ponderosa pines, mountain views, and a lively downtown packed with historic brick buildings.
Start by exploring the historic downtown area, where you’ll find the famous Hotel Monte Vista, opened in 1927, and the Flagstaff Visitor Center, housed inside a 1926 train station where you can watch freight trains rumble past.
For something out of this world, visit Lowell Observatory, where Pluto was discovered in 1930, and peek through historic telescopes to learn about planets, stars, and distant galaxies.
If you have extra time, drive about 40 minutes to Sunset Crater Volcano National Monument, where you can walk the 1-mile Lava Flow Trail through black volcanic rocks left behind by an eruption roughly 900 years ago.
7. Winslow
About an hour from Flagstaff, Winslow is a small Route 66 town made famous by the Eagles’ 1972 hit “Take It Easy,” which turned an ordinary street corner into one of the highway’s most photographed attractions.
Head straight to Standin’ on the Corner Park, where you can pose beside a bronze statue of a guitar-playing man, admire the colorful mural featuring a girl in a flatbed Ford, and snap photos of the giant Route 66 shield painted on the road.
Just a few blocks away, check out La Posada Hotel, a beautiful 1930 railroad hotel designed by famous architect Mary Colter, with gorgeous gardens, Southwestern artwork, and a restaurant called the Turquoise Room.
For an outdoor adventure, drive for about 30 minutes to Meteor Crater, a massive impact crater measuring nearly 4,000 feet across and 600 feet deep.
8. Petrified Forest National Park
Finish your Arizona Route 66 road trip at Petrified Forest National Park, about a 50-minute drive from Winslow, where 225-million-year-old fossilized trees, colorful badlands, and ancient rock formations create some of the most unusual scenery in the state.
This is the only national park that contains a section of historic Route 66, marked by a rusty vintage Studebaker and a row of old telephone poles tracing the highway’s former path.
Drive the 28-mile park road to explore the Painted Desert’s red and purple hills, stop at the historic Painted Desert Inn, and walk the 0.75-mile Crystal Forest Trail to see giant pieces of petrified wood scattered across the ground.
Don’t miss the 1-mile Blue Mesa Trail, which winds between striped blue, purple, and gray hills, or Newspaper Rock, where you can spot hundreds of ancient petroglyphs carved into dark boulders.
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