On June 2-5, 2025, the National Trust for Historic Preservation’s “Preserve Route 66” initiative and HOPE Crew (Hands-On Preservation Experience Crew), in partnership with the Arizona Route 66 Association and the Arizona State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO), will host the Preserve America Youth Summit in northern Arizona. This year’s summit will celebrate the centennial of Route 66 and feature significant historic places associated with development and tourism along the Route, as well several of the state’s prominent historic sites, including Homolovi State Park in Winslow and Riordan Mansion State Historic Park in Flagstaff.

The program will examine preservation and conservation challenges as well as interpretive opportunities at historic properties to develop ideas for the centennial of Route 66 with a focus on the relevance of these places to our future leaders. Participants will include 45 middle and high school students and teachers. Students were chosen through a competitive application process and, once accepted, offered the opportunity at no cost. 

Participants will visit Homolovi State Park on Tuesday, June 3 from 8-9 a.m. Homolovi State Park serves as a center of research for the late migration period of the Hopi people from the 1200s to the late 1300s. Exhibits explain the archeology of the ancient people of Homolovi, and the park also includes the Winslow-Homolovi Observatory for night sky viewing, a campground and hiking trails that showcase petroglyphs and archaeological sites.

On Wednesday, June 4 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., participants will visit Riordan Mansion State Historic Park in Flagstaff. This Arts and Crafts style mansion was built in 1904 as the home to the Riordan brothers, who worked for the Arizona Lumber and Timber Company. At the heart of the Flagstaff community for over 50 years, their efforts advocating for progressive improvements included educational facilities such as the Normal School, which grew into today’s Northern Arizona University and the creation of Coconino County with Flagstaff as its county seat.

The culminating event of the Youth Summit is a town hall, a moderated ‘question and answer’ session with the students responding to questions they have worked on throughout their time at the summit. National and local representatives from government, public lands, and preservation organizations will serve as the panelists, joining both in person and virtually. The Town Hall will take place Thursday, June 5 from 9:30-11:30 a.m. at the Assembly Hall at the Cline Library at Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff, Arizona.

The Arizona State Historic Preservation Office is a division of Arizona State Parks and Trails and works with local governments,  state and federal agencies, tribes and the public to identify, evaluate, and preserve historic and archaeological properties that have significance for local communities, the state of Arizona, and  the nation.

To learn more about the Celebrating the Centennial of Route 66 Youth Summit, visit PreserverationYouthSummit.org.