Coronado Trail, US-191

Driving

by Plot Along: Southwest

The Coronado Trail is the stretch of US-191 between Clifton and Alpine in eastern Arizona, roughly 90 miles and, by the most-quoted count, some 460 curves, which works out to a turn every quarter mile. It's one of the least-traveled federal highways in the country. It loosely follows the 1540 route of the Spanish conquistador Coronado, and you can drive it for long stretches without meeting another car.

From the copper-mining country around Morenci it climbs out of the Sonoran desert, switchbacking up onto the Mogollon Rim and through the White Mountains of the Apache-Sitgreaves National Forest. It passes the Blue Range, Rose Peak, and the high meadow at Hannagan, topping out near 9,000 feet in spruce and aspen before dropping toward Alpine.

Fully paved, but remote. There are no services and no fuel for long stretches, no guardrails in places, and the going is slow by design. Snow closes the high country in winter. Fill the tank at both ends and don't rely on cell coverage.

Learn more: en.wikipedia.org

Morenci (Giant Shovel)
The southern start in copper country, where US-191 skirts the vast Morenci open-pit mine, one of the largest in North America, with a giant retired mining shovel on display. Desert heat here before the long climb.
Rose Peak
Near the high point of the southern climb on US-191, around 8,500 feet on the Mogollon Rim, with long views over the Blue Range wilderness. The Rose Peak fire lookout stands on the summit above. About as remote as a paved road in Arizona gets.
Strayhorse
A forest campground and trailhead deep in the Apache-Sitgreaves backcountry, roughly midway along the trail in the tall pines.
Hannagan Meadow
A high mountain meadow at about 9,100 feet, home to the historic Hannagan Meadow Lodge, the one reliable outpost on the lonely middle of the route.
Alpine
The northern end, near the small ranching town of Alpine in Arizona's high White Mountains, where US-191 comes off the divide and services return.

Morenci (Giant Shovel)

Rose Peak

Strayhorse

Hannagan Meadow

Alpine