Dangerous Roads

Coronado Trail Scenic Byway is a road located in Arizona, with a total length of 123.0 mi / 197.9 km, going through the Apache-Sitgreaves National Forest.  The driving time is between four to five hours, including over 400 switchbacks and curves through the Coronado Mountains, high desert and forests, and seeing former Native American footpaths first used as horse paths by Conquistadors and prospectors, then as wagon trails for pioneers. While admiring the scenic beauty, imagine nomadic tribes of hunters, gatherers, trappers, outlaws, homesteaders, lumberjacks, and ranchers living along the byway.
Seeking the riches of the legendary Seven Cities of Cibola, Spanish explorer Francisco Vasquez de Coronado's 1540 route ran close to this scenic Byway. Today's riches along this Byway are of a different nature -- vistas stretching for miles on end and an abundance of varied recreational opportunities and wildlife. Travel on the only road that had its name changed by the Bible. Only two years ago US 191 was US 666 and nicknamed "The Devil's Highway."



The Spaniard Francisco Vásquez de Coronado became the first known European to lead an expedition into the USA when, in 1540, he and a large group of settlers crossed the Mexican border near the Huachuca Mountains, site of the present day Coronado National Memorial. From here they headed northeast, over the White Mountains in the east of the state and then, after side trips to Hopi land and the Grand Canyon, continued through New Mexico and into Kansas. Their route through Arizona coincides largely with US 191 (formerly US 666), and the 123 mile section between Clifton and Springerville is named as the Coronado Trail to commemorate the exploration, though as with the national memorial there is no visible trace of the expedition. Instead the route, or indeed all of US 191, is a showcase for the varied and spectacular scenery of eastern Arizona, from the Sonoran Desert grasslands and valleys of the southeast corner, across the steep and heavily wooded White Mountains, down into the more barren lava fields and red plains of the Petrified Forest region and finally into the sandy expanses of the Navajo Indian Reservation.



The edge of the asphalt and a sharp dropoff to a deep canyon leave no room on the shoulder for a safety guardrail or a bike lane on this mountain road's curve.
With more than 500 separate curves between Morenci and Springerville, the Coronado Trail is reputed to be the least-traveled federal highway in the nation. According to the state Highway Department, cars on this road are spaced an average of 19 minutes apart. And that's including rush hour. Plus, it's about 100 miles between gas stations.