Winslow Visitor Center (Old Trails Museum)

Winslow was founded in 1882 as the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway extended its main line west from New Mexico into Arizona Territory. The site was selected as a division point — a location with major railroad infrastructure where train crews changed, locomotives were maintained, and railroad operations were divided into smaller segments. Division points required substantial labor forces and substantial physical infrastructure, and small towns at division points typically grew rapidly through the late 19th and early 20th centuries as railroad workers, their families, and supporting businesses concentrated in the area.

By 1900 Winslow had developed substantial railroad infrastructure including a roundhouse for locomotive servicing, a large rail yard for freight assembly, division administrative offices, and housing for railroad crews. The Santa Fe Railway was one of the largest employers in northern Arizona, and Winslow's economy was substantially dependent on railroad operations across its first several decades. The town's commercial district along Second Street and Kinsley Avenue developed to serve railroad workers and their families.

The railroad era continued through the early and mid 20th century with substantial scale. Winslow remained an important Santa Fe division point through World War II and into the post-war years. The decline of passenger rail in the 1950s and 1960s reduced the town's railroad-dependent economy, though freight operations continued and continue to the present day. The original 1880s-era railroad infrastructure has been largely replaced or demolished, but the historic downtown commercial district that developed to serve railroad workers remains substantially intact and is the area most Route 66 tourists explore today.

Route 66 was commissioned in 1926 and the highway's alignment ran directly through downtown Winslow along what is now Second Street. The Route 66 era added a second economic anchor to Winslow's railroad-dependent economy — service businesses serving Route 66 travelers (filling stations, motels, restaurants, garages, drugstores, gift shops) developed alongside the existing railroad-serving commercial district. By the late 1930s Winslow had become a recognized stopping point on the cross-country Route 66 corridor with substantial travel infrastructure.

The 1930 opening of La Posada hotel substantially elevated Winslow's profile. La Posada was the showpiece of the Fred Harvey railway hotel system and was unusually prestigious among Route 66-corridor hotels — its guest list during the 1930s and 1940s included Hollywood celebrities, political figures, scientific luminaries, and the upper end of American leisure travelers. Winslow's economy and cultural identity through the 1930s, 1940s, and into the 1950s were substantially shaped by the combination of Route 66 traffic, railroad employment, and the La Posada-associated tourism.

The post-World War II decline of passenger rail and the eventual construction of Interstate 40 (which bypassed downtown Winslow in the 1970s) gradually eroded the town's tourism economy. La Posada closed in 1957; many Route 66-era businesses closed across the 1960s and 1970s. By the 1980s and early 1990s Winslow was in substantial economic decline, with significant downtown vacancy and a substantially reduced tourism base. The combination of the 1999 Standing on the Corner Park development and the 1997-onward La Posada restoration has substantially revitalized downtown Winslow across the past 25 years.

Winslow sits roughly 70 miles south of the Hopi Reservation — the homeland of the Hopi Tribe, one of the oldest continuously-inhabited communities in North America with traditional village sites dating back at least 1,000 years. The Hopi-Winslow connection has been substantial across the town's full history. Winslow served as a primary commercial and transportation gateway for the Hopi Reservation through the railroad era; many Hopi residents traveled to Winslow for trading, employment, and services, and many Winslow merchants developed long-standing trading relationships with Hopi communities.

The museum's Hopi-related exhibits cover both the historic Winslow-Hopi commercial relationship and the broader Hopi cultural context. Displays include traditional Hopi pottery, kachina dolls, textiles, photographs from the 1880s-1950s documenting Hopi village life, and interpretive material on Hopi history, religious traditions, and contemporary cultural practices. The museum coordinates with the Hopi Cultural Center and other Hopi institutions to ensure the displays present Hopi culture respectfully and accurately.

Visitor information services include practical guidance for travelers interested in visiting the Hopi Reservation. Staff can advise on which villages are open to non-Hopi visitors, photography and recording restrictions (most Hopi villages prohibit photography and recording — restrictions that visitors must understand and respect), respectful visitor protocols, the Hopi Cultural Center museum and restaurant on the reservation, and seasonal ceremonial calendars. The museum's staff is unusually well-informed on Hopi visiting protocols compared to other regional visitor centers.

The Old Trails Museum's visitor information function is substantial despite the museum's small size. Staff and volunteers provide free Route 66 driving guides covering the Arizona portion of the highway (Flagstaff to Holbrook and beyond) plus the broader cross-country Route 66 corridor. The guides include maps, attraction listings, suggested itineraries, and practical information on gas stations, restaurants, lodging, and other traveler services along the route.

Information on specific Winslow-area attractions includes La Posada hotel tour schedules and how to access the formal building tour, Turquoise Room restaurant reservation guidance, Standing on the Corner Park photography tips, Meteor Crater discount information (the museum can sometimes provide reduced-admission vouchers for Meteor Crater), and information on nearby Petrified Forest National Park (60 miles east via I-40) and the Painted Desert (also accessed via Petrified Forest).

Beyond Route 66 and La Posada, the museum can provide information on regional natural attractions, the Hopi Reservation visiting protocols mentioned previously, recommendations for restaurants in Winslow and the surrounding region, and information on Winslow-area lodging options at multiple price points. The visitor information services are most useful for travelers who have an hour or two to plan their Winslow visit; quick stop-in visitors can also benefit from grabbing a Route 66 driving guide and asking a few specific questions.

The museum is officially open Tuesday through Saturday from 11am to 3pm — a 4-hour daily window that limits when travelers can visit. Closed Sundays and Mondays. The limited hours reflect the all-volunteer operating model; staff cannot maintain longer hours without additional funding. Travelers should plan their Winslow visit to overlap with open hours; afternoon visits (typically 1-3pm) are generally easiest to align with travel itineraries.

Admission is free. The museum operates entirely through volunteer staffing and community donations; a small donation box at the entrance is the museum's primary funding source and visitors are encouraged to leave a few dollars to support ongoing operations. Larger donations support specific projects like exhibit conservation, archive digitization, or building maintenance.

Plan 45-60 minutes for a focused museum visit including the main exhibits, the visitor information desk, and time to gather Route 66 driving guides and other reference materials. Combining the museum with Standing on the Corner Park (two blocks south, 5-minute walk) and La Posada (three blocks south, 5-minute walk) produces a natural 3-4 hour downtown Winslow afternoon. The museum is genuinely the best starting point for first-time Winslow visitors who want practical orientation before exploring the rest of the downtown attractions.