Williams

Nestled in the pines among the foothills of Northern Arizona, Williams, Arizona is a place where the past comes alive in many different ways.  Where else can you meet a Wild West gunfighter, a fur-clad Mountain Man and a ‘50’s-style sock-hopper in one day? 

With a long history linked to famous travel routes from the Old Spanish Trail to Route 66, Williams is named for one of the many colorful characters that called it home, trapper Bill Williams.  Today, the town is now best known as the Gateway to the Grand Canyon. 

Since the arrival of the Santa Fe Railroad in 1901, tourists from all over the world have used Williams as a base for exploring the Grand Canyon, continuing to do so even when the train stopped running back in 1968.  As it turns out, the Grand Canyon Railway would merely be on a temporary hiatus, as railway service to the South Rim was reinstated by Max and Thelma Biegert in 1988.