The 4Runner's Last Ride - The Drive into the Canyon

Saturday, June 6, 2026

Today we are headed to Peach Springs where the road starts that will take us down to the Colorado River and the Grand Canyon. We didn’t get an early start as we decided to have breakfast in the café before we left, but it was only an hour and half drive to Peach Springs so we had plenty of time.

We drove from Laughlin to Kingman, Arizona where we got on Interstate 40 for a few miles and then got off on old US66 for the drive to Peach Springs.  Peach Springs is on the Hualapai IndianReservation and is the headquarters for the tribe.  The tribe also operates the Grand Canyon Skywalk and a zipline that runs across a nearby canyon.

Our first stop in Peach Springs was the Hualapai Fish and Game Department to pick up a permit to drive the road down to the Colorado River as it is all on tribal land.  After getting our permit, we stopped at a nearby convenience store and picked up a few things for our lunch and then we were on our way.

The road down into the canyon is called Diamond Creek Road named because the road follows and is sometimes part of Diamond Creek.  It is recommended you have a 4-wheel drive high clearance vehicle to drive the road, but we never needed 4-wheel drive, but it did get pretty rough near the bottom and we were glad we had the high clearance.  There were also several crossings of Diamond Creek, but at this time of the year there was barely any water in it.  We did see one regular passenger car coming up the road as we drove down, but I don’t think I would do that; it would be too rough on the car.

After getting a permit and snacks, we started our drive through Peach Springs and down into the canyon.  It is a beautiful drive as you go deeper and deeper into the canyon.  At one point we were stopped by a tribal ranger to make sure we had a permit and he warned us that there were some vehicles coming up as the tribe runs rafting trips down the Colorado River.  Sure enough, a short time later, we saw a small convoy carrying a couple of rafts and guests up out of the canyon after their rafting trips.  They have rafting trips that both start and end here and also other companies end their trips here.

As we got near the end of the road we were surprised to see a big horn sheep and lamb crossing the road.  There were several others back across the road, but they wandered off in another direction.  We stopped to let them pass and watched them for a bit before moving on.

We finally reached the bottom and the Colorado River.  We did it, we had driven down to the Colorado River; the only place you can do that in the Grand Canyon.  There was no one there, but there were two large rafts, and we could see some people who were most likely guides waiting for their next guests relaxing up the river a bit.  It was a beautiful spot and since it was 108 degrees F, it was very tempting to cool off in the river, but we weren’t prepared for that.

We had planned to find a spot to eat our lunch along the river, but it was too hot for us and decided to eat in the car on the way back.  We wandered around a bit and took some pictures before starting our trip back to Peach Springs.  This was well worth the trip down here as it was a very beautiful and interesting drive.

There was a shaded picnic table, but it was too hot for us even in the shade to eat our lunch outside.

As we started back to Peach Springs, Val commemorated our last off road drive in the 4Runner.

There is a campground near the bottom of the canyon, but it is primitive.  There are pit toilets, but no water.  There is also a lodge in Peach Springs that looks pretty nice, but it got mixed reviews, so we decided to stay somewhere else.

It was late afternoon when we got back to Peach Springs and got back on US66 and headed east to the town of Seligman where we spent the night.  Seligman takes full advantage of being on old Route 66 and much of the town was themed around that.  Despite being off the beaten path, the town was full of people on a Saturday night.  We were staying at the old time looking Aztec Motel; it was a bit cramped, but very clean and we enjoyed our stay.  The café we chose for our dinner was less than memorable and we will not go back there, but it was full of people, so some must have been enjoying their dinner.

This was a fun and enjoyable day.  We did something unique by driving to the bottom of the Grand Canyon, we drove through some beautiful country and stayed in a town that had its roots back in the heyday of Route 66.  Tomorrow we’ll be somewhere totally different; the crowds and bright lights of Las Vegas.