Why this ride
From Holbrook it runs 146 km to Flagstaff; allow about 2 h 00 of riding. The stored terrain estimate reaches about 2,350 m; a measured road-elevation profile is not available. It suits an unhurried touring pace.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Historic Route 66: Holbrook to Flagstaff
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 146 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 2 h 00
- Journey
- One way; return travel is separate
Distance and timing basis
Ordered leg totals agree within rounding. Stop distances are approximate sums of rounded legs. Stops, delays, approach and any separate return travel add time. Basis: planning record, not independently verified geometry.
Reading history stays on this device. My road watch requires a separate selection; opening it does not subscribe this ride.
Distances and riding times are planning figures. Check local closures and conditions before you ride.
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Holbrook
Holbrook is a small town on Interstate 40 in northern Arizona, a place that still looks like the postcard for old Route 66. About five thousand people live here, among sunbaked streets, neon signs and dusty sidewalks. The Wigwam Motel, a ring of concrete teepees with vintage cars parked outside, opened in the 1950s and is a favourite photo stop. Across the street, curio shops sell turquoise jewellery and rubber tomahawks, and the diners offer big breakfasts and tall milkshakes.
Read the complete Holbrook write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Holbrook is where the day begins. Next is Winslow.
2. Winslow
Winslow, Arizona, is famous for a song. In 1972, the Eagles released Take It Easy, with the line about standing on a corner in Winslow, Arizona, and today a small park on the main street has a statue and a mural, and tourists line up to take their picture on the corner. The town sits on the old Route 66, on the high plateau of northern Arizona, beside the Little Colorado River, with a population of about nine and a half thousand, and a long railway history that shaped it.
Read the complete Winslow write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Winslow comes up about 53 km into the recorded legs. Next is Flagstaff.
3. Flagstaff
Flagstaff stands at about 2,100 metres, higher than most Alpine villages, and it feels it. The air is thin and dry, the sky is a deep blue, and the town is wrapped in the largest ponderosa pine forest in North America, with the San Francisco Peaks rising to the north. The tallest of them, Humphreys Peak, is 3,851 metres, the highest point in Arizona, and it holds snow into early summer. The peaks are volcanic, the remains of a huge cone that blew out long ago, and they are sacred to many Native nations, including the Hopi and Navajo.
Read the complete Flagstaff write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
The route ends here after 146 km.
Leg by leg
Holbrook to Winslow
Holbrook → Winslow is 53 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
Winslow to Flagstaff
Winslow → Flagstaff is 93 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
More motorcycle rides nearby
- Historic Route 66: Gallup to Kingman · 1261 km
- Historic Route 66: Gallup to Flagstaff · 704 km
- Historic Route 66: Winslow to Seligman · 512 km
- Red Rock Scenic Byway · 14 km