I40 west roadside must sees?

Those javelinas were in my front yard the other evening. I was at my neighbor's across the street. I couldn't walk home for fear of attack!

There a lot to see along I-40. In Amarillo, there is Palo Duro Canyon State Park and the Big Texan on Old Route 66. In New Mexico, Tucumcari still has dinners along Historic Route 66 and numerous murals painted on buildings plus other attractions. Santa Rosa is another Route 66 town and has the The Blue Hole and Santa Rosa Lake State Park which has a nice campground. In Albuquerque, the Pueblo Cultural Center and Petroglyph National Monument are worth visiting in my opinion. In Grants, there is the Mining Museum. Just South of I-40 going West from Grants are El Malpais National Monument, El Moro National Monument and the Ice Cave and Bandera Volcano. Acoma Sky City is said to be the longest occuppied location in the U.S. They give tours of the pueblo and there is an RV park next to the casino.

On the way to Flagstaff along I-40 are Petrified Forest National Park, Meteor Crater and Homolovi Ruins State Park. You can stand on the corner in Winslow Arizona.

In the Flagstaff area are Sunset Crater National Monument, Wupatki National Monument, and Walnut Canyon National Monument. Sedona/Camp Verde/Cottonwood are about an hour South of Flagstaff with Montezuma Castle and Montezuma Well National Monuments, Tuzigoot National Monument, Palatki and Honaki Ruins, V-Bar-V Heritage Site, Verde Canyon Railroad, Fort Verde State Park, Cathedral Rock, Gold King Mine, Jerome State Historic Park in the area.

All this before you even get to the Grand Canyon.

Janss wrote:
Here's a website you might want to peruse:
Roadside America

Look up your route on maps by State and check all the pinpoints to see what interests you.

Busskipper....nice pics. I especially love that Grand Canyon photo!

You might recognize this from a while back


Sedona has a lot to offer,

Busskipper wrote:

suprz wrote:
Heading west from mammoth caves KY, on I40 to the grand canyon in the fall and was wondering about sites to see along the way. DISCLAIMER... We will be moving right along, and not really doing more than overnights to get out to the grand canyon asap. Thats why i was just asking about roadside attractions etc...

Thx!

You could just skip all this and drive on into The Grand Canyon with the Herds of people and only see a small fraction of what is out there. Or you could drive in from the east catch just a couple of the many unbelievable spots that on along the route to the Grand Canyon.

Hopefully you drove all this way to see more than just the Grand Canyon?

Next question what are you going to drive by on the way home? Do you have a route - more things to see.

IMHO the trip should be as good as the destination.

BOL,

We are visiting mammoth cave in ky then going west on I40 grand canyon is the first big destination, then lower antelope canyon, then monument valley, then four corners monument, then mesa verde, then moab, then arches national park then head east into colorado, to see red rocks, and rocky mountain national park, then play it by ear on the way back to RI last year some of thebest places we visited were the spur of the moment stops on the way back! Best place in my mind was Laura Ingalls Wilder homestead in DeSmet South Dakota... 23 miles off the interstate on a dirt road in the middle of quiet and serene cornfields....... Most beautiful sunset ive seen in a long time

Pie Town NM

as seen on CBS Sunday morning

We took a similar trip last summer and had a lot of fun stretching our legs at lots of cool spots along I-40. You can see our favorites here: Roadside Attractions

Cadillac Ranch was definitely a favorite.

It sounds like the OP is on limited time and his big destination is Grand Canyon.

I'd suggest not siteseeing on the way out; do Grand Canyon and whatever time you have left, take in some other stops.

PenMan wrote:
I'd take a couple of days in Northern NM and ride the Cumbres and Toltec Railroad in Chama, NM. Fun ride and beautiful scenery.

I would certainly agree with this. In fact, we will be stopping by Santa Fe in just a few days. Even a day there would be great--and another day in Taos.

Here's a website you might want to peruse:
Roadside America

Look up your route on maps by State and check all the pinpoints to see what interests you.

Busskipper....nice pics. I especially love that Grand Canyon photo!

Get off at Winslow, AZ and stand on the corner (look for the mural). Some good historic Route 66 atmosphere.