Arizona Backroads

Snake Eyes
500

Cave Creek to Camp Verde · April 17 - 18, 2027

A weekend on Arizona backroads in a car you bought for about $500. Desert, gold towns, Route 66, pine forest, and red rock, with a night of camping and a lot of trash hauled out. There's no entry fee.

Join the mailing list Rain, snow, or fire-ban date: April 24 - 25

A free junk-car run across central Arizona

The Snake Eyes 500 is a weekend run on Arizona backroads, in the spirit of the Gambler 500. We leave Cave Creek at dawn on Saturday, cross the desert to Wickenburg, climb Yarnell Hill, and camp in the Prescott National Forest. Sunday follows Williamson Valley Road to Route 66, runs through Williams, drops through Sedona, and finishes in Camp Verde.

The idea is to buy the car for about $500. That's the spirit of the event, not a hard rule, and anything street-legal is welcome. We stop twice to clean up dumped trash, and whoever hauls the most wins the Jackpot. It's capped at about 15 cars, nothing is timed, and nobody is racing. Anyone who wants rougher roads can take the optional hard line on Castle Hot Springs Road and Schnebly Hill Road. Those cars run on their own pace and catch up with the group at the long lunch breaks, at camp, and at the finish. If you want in, join the mailing list below.

The route

About 350 miles in one weekend, mostly dirt and old highway, with one night of camping.

  1. 1SatCave CreekMeet at dawn. The hard line takes Castle Hot Springs Road
  2. 2SatWickenburgTrash pickup #1, then a long brunch where everyone regroups
  3. 3SatStanton and Yarnell HillGold-camp ghost town and the Granite Mountain Hotshots Memorial
  4. 4SatPrescott and Chino ValleyFuel up, then head north
  5. 5SatWilliamson Valley RoadCamp in the Prescott National Forest
  6. 6SunSeligman and Ash ForkTrash pickup #2 on the gravel, then old Route 66
  7. 7SunWilliamsLong lunch where everyone regroups
  8. 8SunSedonaDown Oak Creek Canyon, or Schnebly Hill Road on the hard line
  9. 9SunCamp VerdeFinish, trash count, and the awards dinner

Schedule

Times will firm up after the route is scouted.

Saturday, April 17

  1. 6:00Meet in Cave Creek, fuel up, driver's meeting
  2. 6:30The 2WD line takes the Carefree Highway to Morristown. The hard line takes Castle Hot Springs Road
  3. 7:45Trash pickup #1 near Wickenburg
  4. 9:30Long brunch in Wickenburg. The hard line rejoins here. Headcount
  5. 11:00Stanton Road past the ghost town
  6. 12:15Yarnell Hill and the Hotshots Memorial
  7. 13:30Prescott, then Chino Valley
  8. 16:00Camp on Williamson Valley Road. Headcount

Sunday, April 18

  1. 6:30Breakfast and camp sweep
  2. 7:15Gravel north through the Prescott NF, with trash pickup #2
  3. 9:30Seligman, then old Route 66 to Ash Fork
  4. 11:00Long lunch in Williams. Headcount
  5. 12:45The 2WD line takes Oak Creek Canyon. The hard line takes Schnebly Hill Road
  6. 14:15Sedona photo stop, then Cottonwood
  7. 15:45Finish in Camp Verde: trash count and awards dinner

Crew

It takes about 16 people to run this safely. Open spots are marked in red. If one fits you, join the mailing list and pick the job. We'll follow up by email.

JobCrewStatus

Rules

  1. 1

    It's free. We split only real costs like toilets and the dump fee.

  2. 2

    Cheap, street-legal cars. Aim for about $500 for the car itself. It must be registered and insured, with working lights and brakes.

  3. 3

    Stay on the roads. No cutting new tracks, ever.

  4. 4

    Nobody gets left behind. We count heads at every stop. Hard-line cars are counted at the long lunches, at camp, and at the finish.

  5. 5

    No drinking and driving. Beer waits for camp.

  6. 6

    Pick up more than you brought. That's the whole point.

Awards

Between now and April

  1. Mid Oct 2026Call the land agencies
  2. Nov - DecScout the route in a regular car
  3. Jan 15Lock the route and the camp
  4. Feb 1Announce it and open sign-ups (15 cars max)
  5. MarchSponsors, food stops, tow company
  6. Apr 11Weather, snow, and fire-ban go/no-go call
  7. Apr 17 - 18Go.

Join the run

The mailing list is how everything happens: car sign-ups, crew jobs, route news, and the go/no-go call the week of the run. Only a handful of emails before April.