Ave., Silver City, NM 88061(575) 538-6386museum.wnmu.eduPalace Hotel106 W. Broadway, Silver City, NM 88061(575) 388-1811silvercitypalacehotel.comTo Lordsburg and Beyond
The end of this route is in Lordsburg, a small town with about 2,700 people, a Greyhound stop, and an Amtrak station. It lies 45 miles south on NM 90 (for a description of this relatively flat stretch of road, see Scenic Side Trip 3). When you drive into the town from Silver City, you’ll notice signs for Motel Drive. Don’t be fooled. The street name refers to the string of old motor courts along that stretch of road, only a few of which are still operating. They’re relics of a bygone era, and their singular virtue is being very inexpensive. Beware of that. When it comes to hotels, you generally get what you pay for. There’s an assortment of newer, nicer, chain hotels clustered near the I-10 interchange at the center of town (off Main Street).
If you’re continuing on to Phoenix or points west, the Interstate is certainly the fastest way to get there, but if you don’t mind skipping Tucson, you should take a look at Scenic Side Trip 4. That route is actually a shortcut to Phoenix, and it passes through some amazing terrain. There are also three full-day scenic side trips between Lordsburg and Tucson, another full-day side trip that surrounds Tucson, and yet another that follows back roads from Tucson to Phoenix. Study the routes. Decide how much time you have to spare. If all you know of Arizona is what you’ve seen from the Interstates, you’re going to be very pleasantly surprised!
Scenic Side Trip 3
Lordsburg to Willcox, Arizona,
via Silver City, Alpine, the White Mountains, the Coronado Trail, and Morenci
374 miles, 9 hours 45 minutes for drive time, more for optional routes, stops, and sightseeing
There and back again on the Devil’s Highway
This scenic detour will add 290 miles and 8 and a half hours of driving to a journey between Lordsburg and Willcox—a drive that would ordinarily take no more than an hour on the Interstate. This is a full-on adventure that includes US 191, the Coronado Trail, one of the twistiest and least traveled roads in the entire U.S. Highway system. An optional 90-mile loop through Arizona’s White Mountains is reason enough to make this a two-day odyssey, with a cool night spent in a cabin or campground amid the world’s largest stand of Ponderosa pines, under a bright canopy of stars.
Lordsburg, Silver City, and US 180
The route begins off Interstate 10 in Lordsburg at the Main Street exit. Follow Main Street northwest to the edge of this small town and pick up US 70/NM 90 toward Globe and Silver City. Just outside the town limits, follow NM 90 as it splits off to the right; as you travel north and east, the Burro Mountains rise up on your left.
After about 30 miles, you’ll come to the Tyrone Copper and Gold Mine, an open-pit operation on the site of what was once a quite beautiful mining town called Tyrone. The Phelps Dodge Corporation built Tyrone as a planned community, a “dream city” for employees of their mines in the area. Instead of brothels and saloons, Tyrone had good schools, a hospital, and an elegant train station with chandeliers and marble drinking fountains. But after World War I, when the price of copper plummeted, the mining company pulled out, and the dream city became an unusually elegant ghost town. In the mid-1960s, copper prices were up again, so Phelps Dodge started digging the pit mine that you see today. The remnants of the lovely ghost town were simply scooped up along with the rocks and the dirt to get to the riches underneath.
Silver City has its charms (see Scenic Side Trip 2), but if you don’t plan to stop, you can take the truck bypass route to US 180 and avoid the traffic in town. From here, US 180 leads west toward a range of low mountains, then northwest along the base of that ridge. After 30 miles, just before the town of Cliff, you’ll cross the Gila River as it comes down out of the higher mountains to the east, the forested peaks of the Gila Wilderness.
Twenty miles farther along, the road starts to climb up into the high country. After you pass through the rural communities of Pleasanton, then Glenwood, bear right onto NM 174, go about a mile, then turn right on Catwalk Road. Follow the signs for the Catwalk National Recreation Trail in Whitewater Canyon, a distance of about 4 miles.
Catwalk National Recreation Trail, Gila National Forest
From the picnic area, a very cool trail leads into the narrow canyon; part of it consists of a metal catwalk attached to the canyon wall, from which you can look down on the rushing waters 20 feet below. The original catwalk, which was built of wood, was installed to facilitate maintenance of a pipeline that carried water for mining operations and for the small town of Graham, at the mouth of the canyon. That rickety structure was never very safe, and it was wiped out more than once by floods roaring down the canyon. In the 1930s, when the pipeline was no longer needed, the catwalk was rebuilt for recreational purposes, and it was later upgraded to the sturdy structure you’ll see today. This canyon is just 20 feet wide and the cliffs tower 250 feet overhead. From the trail, you get a thrilling perspective.
Leaving the recreation area, retrace your route back to US 180, turn right, and follow the road for 4 miles to NM 159, Bursum Road. Turn right again, and follow the twists and turns of what used to be a haul road for mule teams pulling ore wagons from the mines at Mogollon (pronounced Muggy-ohwn). The road is paved, and it’s maintained, but it’s not for the faint of heart. It’s steep, it’s narrow, there are sheer drop-offs, and it’s barely wide enough for cars to pass one another going in opposite directions. If you elect to drive it, take it slow and be careful.
What’s left of the once booming hamlet of Mogollon, some 6 miles farther along, is now a ghost town, with wonderfully dilapidated buildings that make great photographs. Some of the buildings have been restored and taken over by artists and craftsmen, sparking a revival of sorts for this remote community, and there are tours of the place offered on summer weekends.
Leaving Mogollon, drive back the way you came on NM 159 and keep going until you rejoin US 180.
Note. You can save about 25 miles and at least an hour of driving if you skip Catwalk Trail and the Mogollon ghost town. Simply stay on US 180 and keep going until you reach Alpine.
| Lordsburg, Silver City, and US 180 Highlights |
| Tyrone Copper and Gold MineNM 90 S. & Tyrone Mine Road, Tyrone, NM 88065(505) 538-5331Catwalk National Recreation Trail5 miles from Glenwood, NM, at the end of NM 174 (Catwalk Road)(575) 539-2481Mogollon Ghost Townmogollonenterprises.com |
Alpine and the White Mountains of Arizona
US 180 runs north through pine-clad mountains for another 50 miles, through the small town of Luna, and then crosses into Arizona. The first Arizona town you’ll come to is Alpine, set in beautiful mountains amid a stand of magnificent Ponderosa pines that stretches for 300 miles, from the Coconino National Forest of central Arizona all the way into the mountains of western New Mexico.
In the area around Alpine, and for many, many miles to the south, you’ll see lingering scars from the Wallow Fire of 2011. That disastrous blaze torched nearly 500,000 acres of forest, making it the largest wildfire in Arizona history. Ponderosa pines have extremely
