This is a long, twisty drive with much to see. Allow plenty of time so you can move at a relaxing pace. The town of Crown King is the highlight of the trip, but you’ll also drive past interesting Cleator and Bumble Bee. Many marked hiking trails. Gas is available at the Crown King General Store, but hours vary so call ahead (928-632-7911). non-street-legal vehicles are not allowed on F.S. 52 north of Waypoint 02, or anywhere along Crown King Road, C.R. 59. Many great side roads for ATVs to explore. Impressive views descending from Crown King. Route can be driven in either direction.
Open in winter except during heavy snows.
(928) 443-8000Prescott N.F., Bradshaw R.D.
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Provide an Update08/05/23
Submitted by Karrie
Everything was great until after Crown King – I would say that the trail rating after that should be Moderate – very rutty, rocky, and there was one point where we had to do some large rock climbing with our Bronco on a considerable angle to avoid a complete drop-off on the right side of the 2-track. Anything on Senator Hwy is not for “regular” cars at all and was even challenging for our Bronco (with the Sasquatch package). Still fun, though, and great views. It took us about 6-1/2 hours to complete with minimal stops.
02/05/23
Submitted by Oliver
Coming from Phoenix, from exit 248 in my stock 2020 Jeep Wrangler Rubicon. It was a fun adventure, but need to wait a few more weeks so the snow can melt. The most frustrating part was that I’m pretty sure I could see the maintained road about a half mile away. I chose this trail because it was rated as easy and I was by myself on one of my first excursions. The first half of the trail from interstate 17 to Crown King was very easy. I think even a normal car could have probably done the trail pretty easily. Things began to change after Crown King. As I started into the mountains, the road became more and more snow-filled and muddy. There were several river crossings that were fun to go through, but I would recommend high clearance only. I was about three or four miles from the end of the trail when I came close to getting high centered. Since I was by myself, I decided to turn around when I ran into a lifted JK, Ford Raptor, Toyota 4Runner. The JK went first, and we decided if he couldn’t make it up then none of us could. Sure enough, he came back down the hill after not being able to get through the thick snow.
09/15/2021
Submitted by Gregory
We drove this trail today, starting from I-17, heading west, and planned to arrive in Prescott at the end of the day. The Senator Highway, Crown Kingdom Road is rated Easy (3rd Edition). That’s definitely true…until you get to Crown King. From that point onward to the west, the road quickly jumped to a seriously Moderate one with lots of washouts, rut straddling, and loose rocks as large as softballs and some the size of footballs. The only vehicles we saw driving past us(heading east) were lots of ATVs and a couple of jacked Wranglers. We made it about 3 miles before being forced to turn around and head back in our 4×4 camping van (lifted). Really bummed because we had planned to overnight in Prescott and spend the next day there. This was our first outing using your book so now I’m pretty leary of anything else. You might want to consider changing this rating or splitting it into two ratings, one for each road. Thanks for allowing feedback.
10/09/2020
Submitted by Ron
Drove the road up from I-17 to Crown King. Easy graded dirt road with some rock. From Crown King on Senator Highway heading to Prescott. The road was rutted with some tight spots. You will meet oncoming traffic, but there is usually plenty of room to get around each other. Fun ride! It was getting late so we bailed off Senator Highway at route 177 heading to Mayer.
TLDR: during monsoon season don't attempt without at least 8 inches of ground clearance and some experience. Rating- Moderate to...See More
I'd recommend Senator Highway as a moderate difficulty (on the easy end of that). It is not suitable for low...See More
