Coronado Trail

Arizona's wildest paved climb, reputedly 460 curves from the desert at Clifton up into spruce forest near Hannagan Meadow, on the old Route 666 alignment.

The Coronado Trail follows US 191 (formerly the notorious US 666, the 'Devil's Highway') as it climbs from the copper-mine country around Clifton and Morenci up into the high White Mountains of eastern Arizona. The renowned stretch runs from the alpine village of Alpine north to Hannagan Meadow, where the road tops out around 9,370 feet, passing the Blue Vista overlook on the Mogollon Rim and a near-endless succession of tight, often blind switchbacks. It is widely cited as one of the least-travelled paved roads in the country and among the twistiest, with long stretches lacking guardrails and posted speeds dropping to walking pace on the worst bends. Most sources reckon on three to four hours to cover the full byway. Mind the unfenced drop-offs, the slow logging and ranch traffic, and ice or fog that linger at altitude well into spring.