Peach Springs is located along historic Route 66 and also provides access to a one-day guided whitewater trip through the Grand Canyon. The area’s history, architecture, and nature each have a distinct connection to the Hualapai community. You can plan your stay around a range of interests, from the history of a trading post’s construction to a trip on the Colorado River.
Route 66, Trade, and Hualapai Heritage
Peach Springs served as real-life inspiration for Radiator Springs, the fictional town in the Pixar animated film Cars. The Peach Springs Trading Post also connects the town to Route 66: it is a historic roadside trading post and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
The building was constructed in 1928. Its features include stone walls, stepped gables, ponderosa pine vigas, and massive chimneys. Its appearance combines prehistoric and historic Southwestern architectural styles. Alongside these architectural details, the Trading Post’s former role also tells a story of exchange: Hualapai people could trade traditional baskets and food there for canned goods, fabric, medicine, and other processed goods.
The Hualapai Cultural Center features exhibits on the heritage of the Hualapai community. It is just a short walk from the Hualapai Lodge. The Trading Post and the Cultural Center highlight different aspects: one focuses on the history of a trading post, the other on the community’s cultural heritage.
Grand Canyon Rafting and Diamond Creek Road
The Hualapai River Runners offer a one-day guided whitewater trip that travels about 55 miles through the Grand Canyon. It begins in the highlands of Peach Springs and includes a hike to Travertine Cavern Falls. Its one-day duration makes the trip easy to plan as a stand-alone activity; the route and included hike also give you a concrete idea of what the trip involves.
Diamond Creek Road, also known as Indian Reservation Route 6, is the access route to the Hualapai River Runners’ Peach Springs experience. It provides direct public access to the Grand Canyon and the Colorado River. A permit is required to drive on Diamond Creek Road and to camp along the Colorado River. If you plan to do either, check the applicable permit requirements before your trip.
Distinctive Connections to Nature
The nature-related features are also specific. The Hualapai pyrg (Pyrgulopsis hualapaiensis), a rare endemic freshwater snail found nowhere else in the world, lives in the upper part of Peach Springs. Its connection to this place is exceptionally specific.
Goodding’s willow (Salix gooddingii) is used for basket weaving in the Peach Springs spring ecosystem. This connection to the plant adds another cultural dimension to the story of the historic trading post: baskets were both part of traditional craft and use practices and an item exchanged at the post in the past. Together with the rare freshwater snail, they offer two very different perspectives on nature in Peach Springs—one through the distinctive range of a species, the other through the use of a native willow.
Discover more destinations: Yucca, Lake Havasu City, Mohave Valley, Bullhead City, Colorado City, Kingman, Dolan Springs, Meadview.
View the broader travel overview: Mohave.
