Williams, Arizona

Williams, Arizona is named for an old mountain man, Bill Williams, who also has the local mountain named for him.  Williams really got its start in the 1880 when the transcontinental railroad came through.  Williams grew to a “rough and rowdy” frontier town catering to the cowboys and railroad workers with saloons and brothels.

Old Train Depot is now the Visitor Center

Williams is billed as the “gateway to the Grand Canyon”.  Although it is 60 miles away from the south rim, Williams is the nearest town of any size along Route 64.  Driving across I-40, Route 64 is your exit for a straight shot north to the park.  Williams is also the home of Grand Canyon Railway which runs several tours daily to the Park and back.

Williams is a small community of about 3000 folks and is comprised of primarily hotels, motels (Motel 6 actually has two locations in this small town), eateries, and souvenir shops.  It seems well equipped to house and feed the vast number of Grand Canyon tourists during the peak summer season.

Williams is also located on Historic Route 66.  In fact, you might say it is located in the median of Route 66 with a line of stores extending for about 6 blocks between the east and west bound lanes.  Friday night when we were in town for dinner, we saw dozens of vintage 1950 and 60 era cars and trucks.  There were so many, you might think you had stepped back in time. They were gone today, so we are guessing there was a gathering of some sort this weekend.  Williams has the distinction of being the last Route 66 town to be bypassed by the interstate.    

Open for service only, no gas.

That’s all there is to Williams, but the town folks are proud of their place on the map.  If you are visiting the Grand Canyon or a Route 66 enthusiast, consider spending a little time in Williams.  It’s worth the effort.

Built in 1897 as saloon and bordello

Instead of staying in Williams and driving the 60 miles one way each day to the Grand Canyon, we have decided to move our home to a small campground just outside the National Park.  We’ll do that tomorrow morning and be set for a few days of exploring and hiking in the park.