State by State Route 66 Highlights

Route 66 crosses eight states and three time zones. Some of the best-preserved sections include the stretch between Springfield, Missouri and Tulsa, Oklahoma; the road west of Seligman, Arizona; and the Oatman Highway through the Black Hills of Arizona. Here’s a look at Route 66 attraction highlights state by state, along with a general overview of directions from east to west.

Chaparral Trading Post in Arizona
Chaparral Trading Post in Arizona. Photo © Candacy Taylor.

Illinois

Chicago: It’s here in America’s third-largest city that the Mother Road begins. It snakes southwest through Illinois and into St. Louis, Missouri. Though much of the route has been replaced by I-55, there’s still plenty of two-lane blacktop to explore. From Chicago, Route 66 heads to Pontiac.

Make your first stop the Route 66 Association Hall of Fame & Museum, one of the best Route 66 museums on the journey. You’ll learn about the 1908 Race Riots on a walking tour in Springfield, and in Funks Grove, stop for “sirup” at Funks Grove Pure Maple Sirup.

Missouri and Kansas

Route 66 through Missouri gives you your first glimpse of Ozark country—tree-covered hills that gently rise and dip, and lush valleys that spread before you. This leg of the trip starts in St. Louis, where you’ll stroll the unusual Chain of Rocks Bridge, get interactive at the fun-for-everyone City Museum, and taste a custard “concrete” at Ted Drewes Frozen Custard. Take a break from the car with a walk around Laumeier Sculpture Park in Kirkwood, visit the Trail of Tears Memorial in Jerome, and spend a day in Springfield, the official birthplace of Route 66.

Route 66 only covers 13 miles (20.9 km) through Kansas, but there are several places worth a stop, like Cars on the Route in Galena and stop for sandwiches at Nelson’s Old Riverton Store in Riverton.

Oklahoma

Oklahoma has more drivable miles of Route 66 than any other state. You’ll cross early roadbeds and one of the longest bridges on the Mother Road, plus you’ll learn about some of the most significant racial events to shape our country’s his-tory. In Catoosa, you can check out an oddball roadside attraction, the Blue Whale. Spend a few hours in Tulsa soaking up the art deco architecture before paying a visit to the Greenwood Cultural Center, which details the Tulsa Race Riot. In Weatherford, you can tour real rockets and spacecraft at Stafford Air & Space Museum.

The Woody Guthrie Center in Oklahoma
The Woody Guthrie Center in Oklahoma. Photo © Candacy Taylor.

Texas

Route 66 runs directly west across the Texas Panhandle, parallel to I-40. The drive is peaceful and solitary, punctu-ated by rusting grain silos that jut out of the horizon and tiny towns set in the middle of nowhere. Don’t miss the art deco marvel, Tower Station and U-Drop Inn, in Shamrock. In Groom, get pictures of the Leaning Water Tower before continuing west to Amarillo, where the famed Cadillac Ranch shows off 10 vintage Caddies buried nose-deep in a field. A slice of pie at the MidPoint Café in Adrian marks the halfway point of this road trip and is a must-do.

New Mexico

From Texas, Route 66 crosses into the luminescent landscape of red rocks and eternal sunsets that is New Mexico. Tucumcari, a former outlaw town, boasts plenty of retro neon signage, while artsy Santa Fe beckons travelers to browse the galleries and stay for a traditional New Mexican meal. The route slides south to Albuquerque before winding past Acoma Pueblo, which offers a fascinating look at American Indian history and culture. In Gallup, you’ll meet the nicest townsfolk ever as you traverse the sidewalks on the Mural Walking Tour.

Arizona

I-40 is the present-day Route 66 in eastern Arizona. It takes you along the high desert and through quirky Southwest towns such as Holbrook and Winslow (overnight at La Posada Hotel & Gardens) before heading into the pine trees of mountainous Flagstaff and Williams. After reaching the iconic Delgadillo’s Snow Cap Drive-In in Seligman, Route 66 opens up to miles of untouched road all the way to Kingman. Brave the hairpin curves through the Black Mountains on the way to the mining town of Oatman.

California

The California stretch of Route 66 is marked by the stark beauty of the desert (Joshua Tree and the Mojave) and the glitz and glitter of Los Angeles before it concludes at the Santa Monica Pier. Stop in Oro Grande to explore the “forest” at Elmer Long’s Bottle Tree Ranch and indulge in the big portions at Emma Jean’s Holland Burger in Victorville. Pay a visit to Fair Oaks Pharmacy, a 1915 soda fountain in Pasadena. And then head west to the Pacific Ocean to mark your journey’s end.

author Jessica dunham

Jessica Dunham

About the Author

Jessica Dunham lives in Phoenix with her husband and two spunky dogs, but inherited a family summer home on Lake Champlain in Vermont. This seemed heavenly to her, until she tried to imagine getting there from halfway across the country. Then it required some effort and a little imagination. The only way to transport the herd from one place to another was to pile into a Jeep and drive. That's is how she came to know and love the Mother Road, and became an expert on the ins and outs of Route 66. 

She's since driven from Phoenix to Vermont and back again six times, traversed the Southwest portion of Route 66 hundreds of times, napped in leafy parks, slept in a wigwam and at a Best Western, camped in tents, dined at mom-and-pop eateries, met strangers, and made friends in almost every town dotting the famed highway. She's seen the sun rise over Illinois cornfields and watched it set over the Pacific Ocean. After all this, she considers the beating heart of blacktop from Chicago to Santa Monica home.

Formerly a travel guide editor at Madden Media, Jessica is now a freelance travel writer. Her writing has been featured in PHOENIX magazine, Valley Guide, Phoenix Travel Guide, Arizona Visitor's Guide, Midwest Living, Phoenix New Times, Modern Luxury, Annapolis Visitors Guide, Connecticut Visitors Guide, Runner's World, Jane, Discover South Carolina, and more. Jessica is also the author of The Open Road: 50 Best Road Trips in the USA.

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