Get revved up in Grants with Route 66 nostalgia, outdoor adventures, and summertime festivities.
By Kelly Koepke
Jose Garcia can’t wait to shine up his classic cars—a 1966 Ford Thunderbird and a 1978 Chevrolet Charger—for the annual Spokes on 66 Car Show in downtown Grants. “Route 66 is the heart of Grants,” says the lifelong resident and car enthusiast. “It’s a proud part of our identity.”
As the Mother Road marks its centennial in 2026, Grants has tuned up its engine and polished the chrome on the former mining town. “We’re celebrating in a big way,” Garcia says. “The city is planning events, car shows, and festivals.” The town’s annual Fourth of July parade and celebration takes place along Route 66 (formerly Santa Fe Avenue), which has been dressed up with new and refurbished murals recognizing Grants’s historic mining past and nostalgic car culture. Other annual events include the 3-day Wild West Days Rodeo on 4th of July weekend, and the Rugged West Adventure Rally in August.
Route 66 Passport holders can visit the Cibola County History Museum and the New Mexico Mining Museum to stamp their booklet. The history museum includes exhibitions on the Mother Road, Mount Taylor Winter Quadrathlon, early homesteading, logging in the mountains, Native American culture, and regional development. The New Mexico Mining Museum highlights the state’s rich mining heritage with exhibits on mineral extraction, tools, geology, and the impact of the area’s uranium mining boom of the 1950s and ’60s.
The Route 66 centerpiece is Grants’s 18-foot-tall landmark—a drive-through arch with neon lights, painted flames, and a classic highway shield design. “The arch is a popular photo spot, capturing memories of trips along the legendary road,” Garcia says.
Beyond classic cars, Route 66 nostalgia, and reflections of the past, Grants serves as a gateway to outdoor exploration with two national monuments, the Zuni Mountains, and Mount Taylor, all within reach.
“Grants is the only place where the Continental Divide Trail, Route 66, and the New Mexico Backcountry Discovery Route meet,” says Les Gaines, former executive director of the Grants-Cibola County Chamber of Commerce and the New Mexico Mining Museum. A lifelong resident, he often shares his firsthand knowledge and passion for the area to highlight the endless possibilities that await visitors. “Our area is really underrated,” Gaines adds. “When I take people out, they say they never knew this was out here.”
Among his favorites are the Backcountry Discovery Route’s 1,200 miles of mostly unpaved trails crossing scenic high-elevation forests, mountains, deserts, and canyons. The trails around Mount Taylor, Quartz Hill, and the Zuni Mountains are a haven for hikers, bikers, horseback riders, and off-highway vehicle enthusiasts.
The long-awaited Quartz Hill Trail System opened 31 miles of single-track through ponderosa pine forests and volcanic terrain in the Zuni Mountains in 2025. “This is one of our most popular spots,” Gaines says. “People come from all over with UTVs and bikes, riding for hours without seeing anyone. It’s wilderness, but close to town.”
Gaines’s favorite hikes are in the Cibola National Forest’s Lobo Canyon Trail System. In fact, he’s part of a volunteer crew working together to create a three-mile stacked-loop trail through the system’s sandstone outcroppings and hoodoos near Coal Mine Campground.
If you’re not the hiking type, the road trip is worth it, Garcia says. He likes cruising toward La Ventana Arch or seeing the ancient carvings and petroglyphs at Inscription Rock at El Morro National Monument. “I like driving on Zuni Canyon Road through the Zuni Mountains too,” he says. “It’s a nice drive with pines and evergreens.”
Whether you’re a car enthusiast, history buff, or outdoor lover, Grants invites you to explore, celebrate, and “get your kicks” along the Mother Road this year.
