Sunset Point

Sunset Point sits on Interstate 17 in Yavapai County, Arizona, at Exit 252, milepost 252. It is between Black Canyon City to the south and Cordes Junction to the north. The rest area is the obvious landmark here, but for truckers the real feature is the grade. The signed truck grade through this stretch is 6%, running about five miles between Sunset Point and Black Canyon City, with curves posted for 60 mph.

Direction decides how this pitch treats you. Northbound is the climb onto Black Mesa. Trucks are held to the right lane for about six miles north of Black Canyon City until past Sunset Point, and ADOT advises motorists to turn off air conditioners to avoid overheating on the ascent. Southbound is the descent, a 6% downgrade that begins with a brake-check sign near milepost 253 telling trucks and trailer-pullers to check brakes and equipment and use the rest area.

I-17 is the main north-south freight and travel route between Phoenix and Flagstaff, so this grade carries a lot of trucks. The Sunset Point pitch is a brake-fade and engine-overheat zone climbing, and a downgrade that wants a brake check going down. The rest area at MP 252 is the designated brake-check and cool-down stop on this stretch, and it serves both directions.

• Location: I-17 in Yavapai County, Exit 252 / milepost 252, between Black Canyon City and Cordes Junction (Wikipedia I-17 exit list; AARoads)
• Signed truck grade of 6% for roughly 5 miles between Sunset Point and Black Canyon City, with curves rated 60 mph (Mountain Directory)
• Northbound is the climb; trucks restricted to the right lane for about 6 miles north of Black Canyon City past Sunset Point (AARoads)
• Southbound is the descent; brake-check sign near MP 253 directs trucks to check brakes and use the rest area (Mountain Directory)
• The Sunset Point Rest Area at MP 252 is the designated brake-check and cool-down stop, serving both directions with separate truck and passenger parking (AARoads; ADOT)
• ADOT reopened the rest area in July 2023 after a roughly $7.5 million renovation; it serves more than a million visitors a year (ADOT, July 17, 2023)
• Studded tires are permitted on Arizona roads from October 1 to May 1 (ADOT Know Snow and Ice)

Arizona does not run a permanent numbered chain-control program like California or Colorado, so there are no named chain-up bays or R-1/R-2/R-3 levels at Sunset Point. Chains or snow tires are required only when ADOT posts them during a storm. When restrictions go up on northern routes, ADOT puts out signs such as "Chains or snow tires required" or "Chains or 4WD required." Studded tires are allowed October 1 to May 1.

Winter weather on this part of I-17 runs roughly November through March, but snow at Sunset Point's elevation is occasional, not routine. The heavier and more frequent snow hits farther north and higher, around Munds Park and Flagstaff and the SR 179 stretch toward I-40. There is no scheduled close: restrictions and closures here are situational, driven by snow, ice, or crashes rather than the calendar. ADOT does not publish a count of chain-posting days for this milepost. Check live status at az511.gov, the AZ511 app, or by dialing 511.

The Black Canyon Highway from Phoenix to Flagstaff, the corridor that became I-17, was completed in 1956. An early roadside rest area and picnic area already stood at Sunset Point by the mid-1960s, documented in a 1965 image held by the Arizona Memory Project. The final section of I-17 near Camp Verde opened in August 1978, completing the route; that segment had begun construction in February 1977.

More recently, ADOT reopened the Sunset Point Rest Area in July 2023 after a roughly year-long, $7.5 million renovation that restored the original pre-2010 restroom building and upgraded signage, sidewalks, lighting, ramadas, water, and septic. ADOT says the rest area serves more than a million visitors a year. From 2022 to 2025 the I-17 Improvement Project added a third lane on 15 miles from Anthem Way to Black Canyon City, opened in May 2025, plus about eight miles of flex lanes from Black Canyon City to Sunset Point. The flex lanes are Arizona's first: a reversible two-lane roadway that carries one direction at a time, typically northbound Monday through Saturday and southbound on Sunday. They opened for weekends on July 4, 2025, went to seven days a week in September 2025, and the project reached substantial completion in December 2025 at a total cost of $522 million.