Oatman Highway Historic Route

The Oatman Highway represents one of Route 66’s most challenging and scenic original alignments, abandoned by through traffic when the interstate system bypassed this tortuous mountain crossing in the 1950s. The route climbs from Kingman through the Black Mountains via a series of switchbacks and grades that’ll test your vehicle’s cooling system, cresting at Sitgreaves Pass (3,548 feet) before dropping into Oatman—a former gold mining boomtown where wild burros descended from prospectors’ pack animals roam Main Street begging for carrots from tourists. The road surface alternates between crumbling pavement and gravel patches where winter freeze-thaw cycles have taken their toll.

This is technically an easy trail since it’s mostly paved, but the steep grades, tight hairpins, and lack of guardrails demand respect. Any vehicle can make it, though RVs and trailers are strongly discouraged due to the sharp switchbacks. Summer temperatures regularly exceed 110°F in the valleys, making spring and fall the ideal seasons. No permits needed, but fuel up in Kingman—there’s nothing reliable between there and the Colorado River. The payoff is a genuine piece of Mother Road history and one of the West’s most authentic surviving mining towns.