Williams is the Gateway to the Grand Canyon

“If you ever plan to motor west, Travel my way, take the highway that is best. Get your kicks on Route 66.” ~lyrics by Bobby Troup

So the song goes, and so should visitors who long for the simpler days. The city of Williams is a fun side jaunt on the way to the Grand Canyon.

The nostalgia and fun of Old Route 66... soda fountains, classic cars, cowboy culture and neon lights; lives on in the historic town of Williams, Arizona.

Well worth a visit on your way to the south rim, you’ll find this tourist fave a convenient pitstop before or after a must-do excursion to Grand Canyon National Park — hence the city’s apt slogan ‘Gateway to the Grand Canyon’. One of the magical ways to see the Grand Canyon in fact, is to hop aboard a train at the Williams depot. The Grand Canyon Railway offers a relaxing and scenic trip down memory lane as you imagine yourself to be a traveler from the past riding the rails in times gone by.

Williams is a diehard town. It was the last town on Historic Route 66 to finally be bypassed by Interstate 40 in 1984. This maverick cowboy town has survived to the delight of its many annual visitors who come to Williams to enjoy street gunfights, classic car shows, rodeos, The Polar Express train ride, and more. It seems safe to say that William “Old Bill” Williams, the town’s founder and legendary mountain man, — whose statue watches over the city from Monument park — would be pleased by the progress and simultaneous timelessness of his namesake town.

Williams Visitor Center 200 W. Railroad Ave. Williams, AZ 86046 experiencewilliams.com