Calico: California
The town of Calico was founded in 1881 in the Calico Mountains during the California Silver Rush. It used to be a thriving town with over 1,200 people. But it was quickly deserted after the fall in the price of silver.
Nowadays, it remains a famous Route 66 attraction to discover the ghost town and learn about our past. Calico has been restored to its original glory, allowing tourists to walk through an authentic Old West town.
You’ll see unique buildings like the saloon, post office, homes, and schoolhouse. The whole town of Calico is designated as a historical landmark and also an official county park.
The experience requires an entrance fee and has quite a few fun attractions, including going on a mine tour or seeing some of the live event reenactments right in the town’s streets.
If you genuinely want to complete this adventure, you can drive a bit further to find the end of historical Route 66 at the Santa Monica Pier in California. It’s instantly recognizable to any Baywatch fans.
You can visit the pier, take a stroll along the beach, or check out the boardwalk once you’ve reached the western end of this famous route. And once you’ve done all this, all that’s left…is for you to leave us a comment and let us know about your many adventures!
And if you’re looking for a different kind of experience, we’ve got just the thing. Check out: 5 Incredible US Places That Don’t Feel Like the US
6 thoughts on “Route 66: 8 Incredible Sights You Can’t Miss”
You missed the Wigwams in Holbrook,Az. And Meteor Crater out of Winslow.
Very interesting, and well worth the time and detours, to see some of older historic America.
ive been on every mile of old route 66 as my family moved to california from northern indiana well before I55 on I40 were started
I traveled Route 66 every summer of my life from age 12 (1949) with my Mom, Viola, and brother Tom Roberts and our dog Bootsie. We slept in inexpensive motels and an old hotel in Albuquerque, price $10 per night! What a great learning experience for us all!! We had a great fun 3 month trip, stayed in Los Cruses at the bottom of New Mexico, drove up to Santa Fe and stayed in Adobe huts. We called my Dad everynight to tell him where we landed.
We went to Indian festivals and had some very interesting experiences. One day we visited a Pueblo reservation, many Indians lived there. My Mom pointed her little Brownie Hawkeye at the old Indian chief to take his picture and he started chasing us, yelling at all the other Indians to chase us. We RAN for our 1949 Pontiac!! jumped in and took off. We found out he thought the camera would steal his soul! He was probably born in the 1890’s!
We drove over that bridge in our 1949 Pontiac, in 1949! We drove Route 66 every summer for 4 years. What fabulous memories.
My mom, grandma, sister and I traveled route 66 from Chicago to Monrovia, CA in 1943 when my dad was in the Army, stationed at Santa Anita race track in Pasadena, at that time an Army supply depot. My fondest memories of that trip are of lunches in little Route 66 cafes, where I would always eat a hamburger, along with a chocolate milk shake. Great memories still (at 87).