Yucca, Arizona sits quietly along Route 40 between Kingman and Topock, and was once the site of a 1950s alignment of Route 66 that thrived until the 1970s. Today, it’s only a shadow of its former self, with a scattering of ruins and roadside oddities, but in its time, Yucca held real promise. Now Yucca might get another chance in the spotlight thanks to the potential for a new copper mine to be built in the area.
The town originated in the 1880s with Yucca Station, a stop along the Atlantic and Pacific Railroad. In the early 1900s, the National Old Trails Road followed the tracks through the desert. When Route 66 was designated in 1926, it bypassed Yucca in favor of a route through Oatman to the north. The terrain around Yucca was flat, but deep sandy washes and periodic flooding made the road a rough and treacherous stretch. While Oatman’s steep mountain passes were difficult, it was better established and safer than the older Yucca alignment.
By the early 1950s, that changed. Advances in road-building techniques made it possible to construct a reliable route through the Yucca corridor. In 1952, Route 66 was realigned along the railroad and through Yucca. The town quickly responded. Gas stations, motor courts, cafes, and taverns appeared along the highway. It was a brief but bright boom.
One of the town’s signature landmarks was the Honolulu Club, a tropical-themed roadhouse that relocated from Oatman after the highway shifted. Nearby were the Joshua Motel, a Whiting Bros. Gas Station, and the Desert Star Motel, catering to the growing stream of cross-country travelers chasing the open road and the postwar dream.
But that dream faded just as quickly. In the early 1970s, Route 66 was widened and absorbed into Interstate 40. Rather than bypassing the town, the freeway cut directly through it. What had once been a central stretch of town became a corridor for fast-moving traffic. A pedestrian bridge was built to connect both sides, but the slower traffic, the kind that stopped for gas, meals, or a night’s sleep, was gone. Businesses closed. Yucca was left behind again.
Another reason for the town's early existence was the nearby Boriana Mine, once Arizona’s leading producer of tungsten. Developed in the early 1900s, it boomed during both world wars and again in the 1950s, producing over two million pounds of tungsten. Ultimately, in 1987, the mine was declared unviable for continued operations. Today, visitors can explore the crumbling mill site, concrete foundations, and tailings piles. A spring-fed pond still flows near the ruins, tucked into the hills of the Wabayuma Wilderness.
Also in that area is the Wabayuma Peak Trail. This remote trail offers some of the most scenic hiking in the region, climbing from desert scrub into high-elevation chaparral and oak woodlands. Once at the 7,400 ft. summit of Wabayuma Peak, you are rewarded with expansive views of the Sacramento Valley and surrounding ranges.
East of Yucca is the ten-mile-long Black Mesa, part of the Warm Springs Wilderness. Warm Springs and other small springs surrounding Black Mesa can be reached on an OHV route, taking either Franconia Rd or Polaris Rd to Warm Springs Rd. Note that a four-wheel drive vehicle is required to gain access to this wilderness. In this remote region, you just might spot a Desert Bighorn Sheep or two.
One of the more recognizable landmarks in Yucca is a 40-foot geodesic dome visible from the highway. This oddity was originally built as a sales office for a failed land development called Lake Havasu Estates. Buyers were promised lakefront homes, waterskiing, and full-service communities. In reality, the lake did not exist, infrastructure was minimal, and the company was eventually indicted on charges of mail fraud, misrepresentation, and failure to register lots. The dome later became a private residence and later a UFO museum called Area 66, dedicated to a rumored 1953 flying saucer crash near Kingman. It’s currently closed but remains a roadside curiosity.
Yucca may not be bustling, but it’s not forgotten. A proposed copper mine known as the Antler Project is currently under environmental review. If approved, it would cover roughly 192 acres of mixed public and private land just outside town. The Bureau of Land Management recently ended the timeframe for public comments on July 8, 2025. If this project moves forward, it will be interesting to see if the mine brings lasting economic renewal or simply continues the town’s long pattern of boom and bust. For travelers retracing Route 66 or chasing desert history, Yucca is still worth a stop. Truck on a pole, faded motel signs, and the skeletal remains of once-thriving businesses all tell the story of a town built on the promise of a road, and altered by the speed of progress.
It’s worth acknowledging that we’re living in a time where we no longer build new towns. Most of our development is focused on expanding existing large cities with typical suburban sprawl. Meanwhile, small towns like Yucca sit half-forgotten, with more potential than people care to notice. Maybe it’s time to rethink what growth really means.
Instead of letting these places fall into disrepair, what if we invested in them? Not just in nostalgia, but in real, tangible improvements, like housing, local businesses, and sustainable infrastructure. We find ourselves in the middle of a housing crisis, yet towns with good bones and history are left to the dust. People are retiring overseas, chasing affordability, while a thousand forgotten crossroads like Yucca wait for someone to care again. Picture it: a modern tapestry of the old West, stitched together with diners, repurposed motels, and real American businesses. Places where history is preserved, but not pickled. Places with character, jobs, and clean sidewalks. Not a theme park, not a museum—just a living town, given a second shot at relevance.
Yucca might not be booming. But it isn’t dead. And maybe that’s the kind of place we need to pay attention to right now. Before what’s left quietly blows away.
Photo Top: @66marikokusakabe via IG (aka Route 66 on My Mind Facebook group), Photo of Geodesic Dome: Rosemarie Mosteller - stock.adobe.com, Photos of Honolulu Club and Truck on a Pole: @david_k747 via IG
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