Tracking Fred Harvey’s Southwest Indian Detours

Fred Harvey's Indian Detours guided travelers through the Southwest, showcasing scenic and cultural wonders from 1926-1968.

The Fred Harvey Company had been serving guests in the American Southwest for nearly fifty years by the time the Indian Detours were established in 1926. As the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway crossed over Raton Pass from Southern Colorado into New Mexico in 1879, Fred Harvey followed right along, establishing a lunchroom in Raton and a hotel in Las Vegas. As the railroad expanded west, so did Fred Harvey with his restaurants and hotels in Santa Fe, Albuquerque, and Gallup, New Mexico, and Winslow, Williams, and Grand Canyon, Arizona. The Indian Detours were born in 1926 to encourage travelers to depart the train at a Fred Harvey Hotel and explore the scenic and cultural wonders of New Mexico and Arizona in a Harveycar or Harveycoach, thus bringing even more revenue to the company’s hotels and restaurants. While the Indian Detours lasted only until 1968, travelers today can still track the path of the Detours on modern paved roads, relaxing in comfortable hotels or RV parks along the way. With historic and contemporary photographs and maps, author Mike Butler brings Fred Harvey’s Southwest Indian Detours back to life in this book for modern-day travelers.