US 191 in Eastern Arizona between Clifton & Alpine

[DouglasC]

Wondering about this section of road, sometimes referred to as the "Coronado Trail". Supposed to be a lot of ups & downs on a twisty road. Anyone have any 1st hand experience with this road?

[mileshuff]

Hank85713 wrote:
Be careful when you plan to go. SOme years ago 2 girls tried to go south and the road was closed and eventually locked closed up by Alpine. Needless to say they got stuck one had to have foot amputated as I recall. Tried to sue the state (lost as I recall) but that is one of the hazards of these type roads. The area in the pictures is about it would seem where the guy I was with almost rode off the road with his wife!

I believe that was Route 273 which is a dirt road around the Big Lake area. Those girls obviously took a serious wrong turn. Not sure what they were doing there since they were skiing at Sunrise and heading back to Colorado. All of those dirt roads in that area are closed in the winter but the state had not put up the normal signs and barricades hence the law suit.

[RV_daytrader]

Here is what dangerousroads.org says....

This infamous road is tightly hairpinned and bumped, an exquisite winding mountain drive with sharp and blind curves and hairpin switchbacks leading the traveler over the mountains. This is a very dangerous mountain road with many sharp curves and little or no shoulders on steep cliffs. The entire road is paved. It’s one of the least traveled federal highways. This is a meandering, moseying, slow-motion drive. The 123 miles of pavement between Springerville and Clifton feature 460 curves skirting the eastern edge of the Apache-Sitgreaves National Forests. Thrilling, scary and dramatic, but speedy it’s not

[Lauren]

191 - been there, done that with TV. NOT for RV's by any means.

[trailertraveler]

2gypsies wrote:
...find another route to get to the Alpine/Greer area and stay there...

AZ/NM-78 and US-180 provide an alternate route between Three Way and Alpine. Still Mountain driving, but no low clearance tunnel and no posted length limit that I recall. There are even a few Forest Service campgrounds along US-180 if you want to take a break. There is a Forest Service campground at Luna Lake outside of Alpine and a couple South of Alpine near Hannagan Meadow that would allow you to explore the area.

[2gypsies1]

DouglasC wrote:
We've traveled Utah 12 north from Escalante to Torrey in a 40' MH with a toad so don't mind grades and curves.

US12 is a very easy drive compared to 191.:E

If all you want to do is to see the scenery along the way, definitely yes, stay near Clifton area. Roper Lake State Park in Safford is very nice. Or better yet, find another route to get to the Alpine/Greer area and stay there.

[Hank85713]

Be careful when you plan to go. SOme years ago 2 girls tried to go south and the road was closed and eventually locked closed up by Alpine. Needless to say they got stuck one had to have foot amputated as I recall. Tried to sue the state (lost as I recall) but that is one of the hazards of these type roads. The area in the pictures is about it would seem where the guy I was with almost rode off the road with his wife!

[More_To_See]

It appears 191 is open right now but being high altitude and winter time you might want to check road conditions depending on when you're heading that way.

[DouglasC]

Thanks for all the posts so far. We were considering leaving the MH at a campground in Clifton and just driving north by car maybe 50 miles and then returning to the campground - just to see some of the scenery. We've traveled Utah 12 north from Escalante to Torrey in a 40' MH with a toad so don't mind grades and curves.

[More_To_See]

Everything above should be considered. However, we take 191 all the time when in the area. Best perhaps not to do it on a summer weekend when all the bikers and sports cars are out there but otherwise it's doable and a great drive. A very lonely stretch of road though. Be sure to check your fuel gauge. There is no reason not to take 191 if you know your rig and can clear the tunnel.

[mileshuff]

Route 191 used to be Route 666 nicknamed The Devil's Highway. Much of it is like the photos below except that some areas have much tighter turns.

[TucsonJim]

I don't like that route when I'm not towing. If I have my FW, I'll avoid it at all costs.

[bdpreece]

Did it with a 40ft motorhome towing a car only because we did not know any better. Since we survived I have to say it is doable but I would not do it again.

[Hank85713]

1st time we did this was with 10 ft cabover camper in the pu. Not a fun trip down. Next time was with motorcycles and yes much better until 1 guy almost ran off road! Anyhow this is one of those you DO NOT want to drive in an RV unless its a class b only. It is a nice drive IF you can drive and look at same time but with 15mph curves I dont think you will find it so.

[2gypsies1]

Yes. We mistakenly took the road from the north from Alpine to Clifton with our 40' motorhome. Luckily it was in October without the summer traffic. I will say it was a beautiful drive downhill with the fall colors. It has VERY tight turns though. The first sign we came to that stated something like 'no vehicles over 40'' was in a place where there was no turnaround. In fact, there were no turnarounds until we reached Clifton. 🙂 There was also a tunnel with a 12'7" clearance. Obviously, we cleared it.

After that trip we purchased the "Mountain Directory for Truckers and RVers". We then knew what those mountain highways were REALLY like and could choose the ones we could take comfortably.