Erin and I drove along Highway 89 from Flagstaff up toward Page and the Grand Canyon on our Epic Arizona Trip and came upon the old abandoned Anasazi Inn Gray Mountain. This was about 40 miles north of Flagstaff, right south of Cameron. We drove into the parking lot and explored the murals and graffiti on the buildings.
What is the Anasazi Inn Gray Mountain?
The site includes an old inn or hotel with 112 rooms closed around 2005. It also has an adjacent gas station, above-ground storage tanks, and a few other smaller buildings that had all been boarded up but have graffiti and murals painted all over them. We love seeing murals and graffiti that enhance a building’s view. These sure did the trick!
There’s not a lot of history on these old buildings other than it used to be an Inn. Rates were somewhere between $29 to $119 per night depending upon the season. There supposedly was, at some point, a restaurant across the highway to get some food, and some said they had to pay for the rooms across the highway at the restaurant. The restaurant was reported to have burned down.
Other information indicated you could get some food from the Inn’s side of the highway as well. Again, not a lot of information on the Inn on the Internet which is a strange thing if you think about it these days.
The last time it was open for business appears to be maybe in 2005. The Anasazi Inn was supposedly a laid-back restaurant and motel with a calm atmosphere. It served a Navajo burger with fries. Yummy I bet!
Interestingly, they are still listed in a number of hotel web sites such as Yellow Pages (YP, LLC), Trivago, Yelp, HotelGuide.Net and Manta. This is another post from a visitor before the site had been boarded up and painted.
Note that this is property of their respective owners so am not advocating for graffiti or murals if not given permission or may be illegal in your area.
The Painted Desert Project
Chip Thomas, of the Painted Desert Project, decided this abandoned location could use some sprucing up a bit. The Painted Desert Project is an initiative of Chip Thomas, a primary care physician in the Navaho Nation, who for over 20 years has either put up murals and street paintings himself or recruited other artists to help tackle projects like the Anasazi Inn Gray Mountain.
The Project enhanced several abandoned buildings within or near the Nation over the years. They muraled few Navajo roadside markets to help attract people driving by on the highway to stop at the shops. The other drivers for Chip Thomas, and the Project, are to involve youth from the local communities and just have incredible art along the roadsides nearby and in the Navaho Nation. His goal is to make the world smaller, friendlier, and a beautiful place.
They have performed this artwork at several buildings in the Navajo Nation area mostly between Gray Mountain and Bitter Springs on Highway 89 and between Red Lake and Kayenta on Highway 160. You can check out more information on the Painted Desert Project at https://jetsonorama.net/the-painted-desert-project/ and on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/thepainteddesertproject.
We say they did their work pretty well. It’s a cool work of art and fun to check out. If you’re driving along Arizona Highway 89, swing by, stretch your legs, and take some pictures. This is definitely a one-of-a-kind.
Where is the Anasazi Inn Gray Mountain?
The buildings are sitting on the edge of the Navajo Nation. It is located about 40 miles north of Flagstaff, south of Cameron, and right south of the Gray Mountain Trading Post intersection. We drove into the parking lot and explored the murals and graffiti on the buildings.
More Pictures of Anasazi Inn’s Murals and Graffiti
Closing
If you like this content, I know you will greatly enjoy all the other cool attractions to explore nearby the Flagstaff, AZ area. Check out all our other videos covering areas near the Anasazi Inn such as the Wupatki and Sunset Volcano Crater National Monuments. There’s even a pretty cool old bridge not far away in Cameron, Arizona. Check out our other Arizona travel posts and trip videos on YouTube at Travel with D and E.
Please put a comment down below if you have stopped by this Inn and what did you think about it.
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