Guide · Arizona
Arizona, worth the detour.
32 hand-picked stops that never make the highway signs — the hidden gems, offbeat landmarks, and overlooked museums locals send you to, each with the story behind it and why it’s worth leaving the interstate.
Roadside Americana
9 stops in Arizona.
The 300-foot sandstone bluffs behind this ADOT welcome center have marked the spot since the Santa Fe Railway laid track here in the 1880s — it's the first (or last) thing you see crossing between Arizona and New Mexico on I-40, red rock walls rising straight out of the parking lot.
Querino Canyon BridgeA 1930 steel deck-truss bridge still spans Querino Canyon on a since-bypassed stretch of old Route 66, four miles southwest of Houck — the highway's 1947 realignment stranded it in place, so it's sat here quietly earning National Register status while I-40 traffic roars past a few hundred yards north.
Chief Yellowhorse Trading PostStep inside and you can stand with one foot in Arizona and one in New Mexico — the state line runs straight through the floor of a Navajo-family-owned trading post built into the base of the Painted Cliffs, turquoise cases on one side, sandstone bluffs looming outside.
ChlorideArizona's oldest continuously inhabited mining town, with a visitor center at the Mineshaft Market, the Roy Purcell "Journey" murals (1966) about 1.5 miles out a maintained dirt road, a 1917 jail, and the Jim Fritz museum (open most Saturdays).
Grand Canyon RailwayHistoric railway running daily Williams-to-South-Rim trains since 1901.
Hackberry General Store1934 Route 66 general store packed with memorabilia and vintage cars; classic photo stop.
Oatman Historic DistrictGold-rush town on the Oatman Highway where wild burros roam Main Street; staged gunfights.
Space Age Lodge1965 UFO-roofed motel and Space Age Restaurant; kitsch landmark.
Topock66Colorado River roadhouse/marina at the Route 66 river crossing.
Outdoors
10 stops in Arizona.
More than 300 Ancestral Puebloan sites — pit houses and four 14th-century pueblos — sit on a mile of ground just north of Winslow, excavated enough to walk a sidewalk through Homolovi II's plaza while Hopi families who trace ancestry to these exact rooms still visit today.
Bearizona Wildlife ParkDrive-through wildlife park (bears, wolves, bison) in the pines off I-40.
Fort Tuthill County Park413-acre Coconino County park 2 miles south of Flagstaff; former WWI/WWII National Guard training camp with National Register-listed buildings, amphitheater, campground, and the county fairgrounds.
Grand Canyon CavernsDry limestone caverns 200+ feet down with elevator access on Route 66; tours running.
Hualapai Mountain Park2,300-acre Mohave County park in the Hualapai Mountains, 15 miles southeast of Kingman, with elevations to 8,417 ft, hiking trails, and cabin rentals; open 9am-5pm.
Keepers of the Wild Nature ParkAccredited big-cat/exotic rescue sanctuary on Route 66; tours daily.
Kofa NWR - Palm CanyonHalf-mile trail into a slot canyon holding Arizona's only native fan palms; desert bighorn refuge since 1939. ~23 miles south of I-10 on US-95.
Old Trails Bridge1916 Route 66 arch bridge over the Colorado River between Topock, AZ and Needles, CA; carried auto traffic until 1948, later converted to a pipeline crossing and is NOT open to vehicle or pedestrian crossing. Viewable from a pullout on the California side near Topock.
Virgin River Canyon Recreation AreaBLM recreation area inside the I-15 Virgin River Gorge: paved overlook trail, narrows hike, river access.
Willow Beach (Lake Mead NRA)The only road-accessible point on the 30-mile Black Canyon stretch of the Colorado River below Hoover Dam; NPS-run marina and beach with boat rentals, a campground, fishing pier, and the Willow Beach Grill.
Culture
10 stops in Arizona.
Paolo Soleri's experimental 'arcology' rising from the high desert since 1970; tours, bronze-bell foundry, cafe.
Colorado River State Historic ParkArmy Quartermaster Depot (1864) that supplied the desert Southwest; river-history exhibits.
Hi Jolly Monument1903 pyramid tomb topped with a copper camel honoring Hadji Ali ('Hi Jolly'), camel driver of the Army's 1850s camel corps experiment, in the Quartzsite cemetery.
Museum of Northern ArizonaColorado Plateau anthropology and geology museum at the base of the Peaks, with a collection of about 800,000 objects.
Painted Rock Petroglyph SiteHundreds of petroglyphs on a basalt hill west of Gila Bend; BLM site with campground.
Pipe Spring National Monument1870 Mormon fort built over a desert spring on the Kaibab Paiute reservation; living-history ranch tours.
Quartzsite Museum (Tyson's Well Stage Station)Restored 1866 adobe stage station on the old Ehrenberg-Prescott road with mining and frontier artifacts; free admission, winter-season hours, run by the Quartzsite Historical Society.
Riordan Mansion State Historic Park1904 Arts-and-Crafts double mansion of Flagstaff's lumber-baron brothers; guided tours only.
Seligman Historic DistrictThe town whose bypass birthed the Route 66 preservation movement; angle: birthplace of Historic Route 66.
Yuma Territorial Prison State Historic Park1876 territorial prison cellblocks on a bluff over the Colorado; Arizona state park.
Food
3 stops in Arizona.
The date-shake oasis of I-8, with Medjool groves and the famous shakes.
Jacob Lake InnHistoric lodge at the US-89A/AZ-67 junction that every North Rim visitor passes; famous bakery cookies and the last food before the canyon.
Lutes Casino1941 domino hall and grill; potato tacos and the 'Especial' burger.
Plan the Arizona trip
Hidden gems, scenic drives, hikes — all in one Arizona guide.
See everything worth the detour in Arizona, then let Roamward build the trip around it. Know a Arizona spot we’re missing? Tell us — we’re building this with the people who actually drive it.