Sitgreaves Pass: The Most Thrilling Drive on Arizona’s Route 66
There are scenic drives, and then there is Sitgreaves Pass. The 42-mile stretch of historic Route 66 that winds through the Black Mountains between Kingman and Oatman is widely considered the most dramatic, visually stunning, and genuinely adventurous section of the entire Arizona Mother Road. Tight switchbacks, sheer drop-offs, expansive desert views, ghost town ruins, and the occasional wandering burro combine to make this corridor a bucket-list drive for Route 66 enthusiasts from around the world. It is the real thing — narrow, winding, steep, and absolutely unforgettable.
Where is Sitgreaves Pass?
Sitgreaves Pass sits at approximately 3,550 to 3,595 feet in elevation in the Black Mountains of Mohave County, Arizona, about 15 miles west of Kingman along the historic Route 66 alignment (also known as the Oatman Highway or Mohave County Highway 10). This entire corridor — from Kingman west to Topock near the California border — is designated the Route 66 Historic Backcountry Byway by the Bureau of Land Management, covering 42 miles of largely unspoiled original highway. Sitgreaves Pass is the dramatic high point of this byway, both literally and figuratively.
To drive it heading west from Kingman, take Andy Devine Avenue (Route 66) west out of downtown. After passing through Golden Valley, the road begins to climb steeply into the Black Mountains toward the pass.
The History of Sitgreaves Pass
Named for a Pioneer Explorer
Sitgreaves Pass takes its name from Captain Lorenzo Sitgreaves, an officer in the U.S. Army Corps of Topographical Engineers who led the first scientific expedition across Arizona in 1851. Sitgreaves’s survey mission was to assess whether the Colorado and other rivers in the region could be navigated by steamboat. His route took him through this mountain terrain, and the pass was later named in his honor by subsequent military surveyers who followed his general path.
The Gold Rush and the Road
The corridor through the Black Mountains was already a significant travel route before Route 66 — it predated the highway as a trail frequented by Native Americans for thousands of years, then by Spanish explorers and American military expeditions in the 18th and 19th centuries. The discovery of gold in the Oatman area in the early 1860s, followed by major gold strikes in 1900 and 1915, brought a rush of prospectors, miners, and camp followers through the mountains and spurred the development of real roads where only trails had existed.
The National Old Trails Highway — the transcontinental automobile route that preceded Route 66 — incorporated this mountain crossing in the early years of automobile travel, making it one of the most feared and legendary stretches for early motorists. In 1926, when Route 66 was officially commissioned, the Oatman Highway through Sitgreaves Pass became part of the new national route.
Route 66’s Most Notorious Obstacle
For early Route 66 drivers in the 1920s and 1930s, Sitgreaves Pass was a genuine ordeal. The steep grade from Kingman’s valley floor climbed 9 miles to the summit, then dropped steeply into Oatman on the west side through a series of sharp hairpin curves. Early automobiles — including the ubiquitous Model T — lacked fuel pumps, relying instead on gravity to feed fuel to the engine. On such a steep uphill climb, this system failed entirely. The solution? Drivers reversed their cars up the Gold Hill Grade to the pass, letting gravity work in their favor. Local entrepreneurs made good money towing vehicles over the summit that couldn’t make it on their own power, charging $3.50 per haul in the 1930s.
Even for cars that could handle the grade, the narrow road, lack of guardrails, and dramatic drop-offs made the crossing genuinely dangerous. Dust Bowl migrants crossing from the Midwest to California in the 1930s faced Sitgreaves Pass as one of the final major obstacles before reaching the promised land. John Steinbeck’s The Grapes of Wrath captured the terror and relief of this crossing for the Joad family and thousands of real migrants who shared their experience.
By 1952, when Route 66 was realigned along a new corridor through Golden Valley to the south — eventually becoming Interstate 40 — the Oatman Highway was bypassed. Traffic through Sitgreaves Pass dropped dramatically, and Oatman itself was largely abandoned within a decade. The old road was left largely unchanged, which is precisely why it remains one of the most authentic and visually spectacular surviving sections of Route 66 anywhere in the country.
The Drive: What to Expect
Kingman to the Summit
Leaving Kingman, Route 66 passes through the flat expanse of Golden Valley before the Black Mountains begin to rise ahead. The road narrows as it enters the foothills, climbing steadily through desert scrub and rocky terrain. Volcanic formations dominate the landscape, and the views east back toward Kingman grow increasingly spectacular as elevation is gained.
Along this section, watch for the entrance to Shaffer Fish Bowl Springs — a natural spring collected in a stone basin built in the 1930s, set against dramatic sandstone formations with sweeping valley views. It’s a quiet and often overlooked stop that rewards those who pull over and look around.
The Summit at Sitgreaves Pass
The pass itself tops out at approximately 3,550–3,595 feet, offering panoramic views in multiple directions. On a clear day, you can see west across the Colorado River valley into Nevada and California. The summit area has a small pullout for viewing and photography. A one-eyed burro has become something of a local celebrity at the pass viewpoint, occasionally greeting travelers who stop to take in the view.
Note that vehicles longer than 40 feet are not permitted over Sitgreaves Pass due to the tight switchbacks and narrow road width. RV travelers and those with trailers should take the I-40 route.
The West Side: Descent to Oatman
The western descent from the pass to Oatman is the most dramatic section of the drive — a series of sharp hairpin curves dropping approximately 915 feet in elevation over just 4 miles. The road is narrow, the drop-offs are steep, and the views are extraordinary. This is the section that sent early motorists reaching for their emergency brakes and that Rittenhouse’s famous Route 66 guidebook advised drivers to “keep in second gear going down.”
Along the descent, the ghost town ruins of Goldroad — a once-substantial gold mining settlement that peaked in the 1930s — are visible in the canyons below the road. The Gold Road Mine, which produced significant quantities of gold during the early 20th century, remains an active industrial site, visible from the highway but closed to public access.
Cool Springs Station
Just below Sitgreaves Pass on the western descent, the beautifully restored Cool Springs Station is one of the most photographed stops on the entire Route 66 corridor. Built in the 1920s as a gas station and tourist stop, destroyed in the 1960s, and lovingly rebuilt in the early 2000s, Cool Springs Station now serves as a Route 66 gift shop and museum. The setting — a compact adobe-style building surrounded by volcanic rock formations — is visually spectacular, particularly at sunrise and sunset when the light on the Black Mountains turns the stone to shades of amber and rose.
Oatman: The Destination at the End of the Pass
After the drama of Sitgreaves Pass, Oatman comes as both a relief and a delight. This former gold mining boomtown — which once had a population of around 10,000 at the height of the mining era — today hosts a population of roughly 200 permanent residents and hundreds of thousands of annual visitors who come for the famous wild burros that roam its main street, the staged gunfights, the eclectic shops, and the wonderfully preserved Western atmosphere. The historic Oatman Hotel — where Clark Gable and Carole Lombard reportedly spent their honeymoon night in 1939 after their wedding in Kingman — is the social center of town and serves food and drinks in a room wallpapered with thousands of dollar bills.
Tips for Driving Sitgreaves Pass
- Drive slowly — the speed limit ranges from 25 to 45 mph, switchbacks require full attention, and the scenery rewards it.
- Vehicles longer than 40 feet are not permitted over the pass — check your vehicle size before planning this route.
- Automatic transmission is strongly recommended; the steep grades and frequent gear changes make manual transmission challenging.
- The road is paved throughout but can be affected by debris after storms — check conditions in wet weather.
- Stop at Cool Springs Station on the western descent — it’s a perfect photography stop and often less crowded in the early morning.
- Allow plenty of time in Oatman — the burros, gunfights, shops, and hotel all deserve unhurried exploration.
- Carry water — no services exist between Kingman and Oatman along this route.
- Summer temperatures can exceed 110°F in the lower elevations near Oatman and Topock — early morning drives are strongly recommended from June through September.
Final Thoughts on Sitgreaves Pass
Sitgreaves Pass is Route 66 at its most raw and exhilarating. It’s a section of highway that hasn’t been sanitized for tourism, hasn’t been widened or straightened, and hasn’t been surrounded by gift shops and chain restaurants. It’s just the road — narrow, winding, dramatic, and alive with history. Every driver who navigates those hairpins is following in the tire tracks of Dust Bowl migrants, gold rush prospectors, military convoys, and generations of road-trippers who came before them. It is, without question, one of the most memorable experiences on all of Arizona’s Route 66 — and perhaps on the entire 2,400-mile length of the Mother Road.
Nearby Route 66 Highlights
- Oatman, Arizona — wild burros, gunfights, the historic Oatman Hotel
- Cool Springs Station — restored 1920s gas station on the Oatman Highway
- Shaffer Fish Bowl Springs — natural desert spring with canyon views
- Kingman, Arizona — Arizona Route 66 Museum, Mr. D’z Diner, Hackberry General Store
- Topock, Arizona — Old Trails Bridge and western gateway to Arizona’s Route 66
