Route 66
The 'Mother Road' from Chicago to Santa Monica Pier in Los Angeles, about 3,940 km long, crossing eight states. Vintage gas stations, neon motels and desert towns line the way.
Route 66 opened in 1926. It runs southwest from Grant Park in Chicago, through Illinois, Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico and Arizona, to the Santa Monica Pier in California. It was decommissioned in 1985 when interstate highways replaced it, but about 85% of its length can still be driven, marked by brown 'Historic Route 66' signs. Highlights in order: the starting sign in Chicago, the Route 66 Hall of Fame in Pontiac, Illinois, the Chain of Rocks Bridge and Gateway Arch in St. Louis, Meramec Caverns, the Blue Whale of Catoosa and Tulsa, Oklahoma City, the Cadillac Ranch and Adrian's Midpoint Café in Amarillo, Texas, the neon motels of Tucumcari, Central Avenue in Albuquerque (the original route before 1937 detoured through Santa Fe), Gallup, Petrified Forest National Park, Winslow, Meteor Crater, Flagstaff, Williams (where you can connect to the Grand Canyon), Seligman, and Oatman, where wild burros roam. Finally, the route crosses the Mojave Desert via Barstow into Los Angeles. The full trip takes 2 to 3 weeks. If time is short, drive only the Arizona to California section, which takes 3 to 5 days. Parts of the old road are intermittent, so use a section-by-section guide or a navigation app, and expect to switch to I-40 or I-44 at times. Gas stations are scarce in the desert, so bring enough water and fuel. 2026 marks the road's centennial, with many events along the route, so book hotels in advance.