“Get Your Kicks, On Route 66!”
Driving down Route 66 from Chicago to LA is a bucket-list-worthy experience for many traveling enthusiasts.
Crossing eight states: Illinois, Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, and California, this trip is more about the journey than the destination itself. And you’ll find many famous attractions along the way.
This road was built in 1926 as a way to create the shortest possible route connecting the West Coast and Midwest. Unfortunately, due to modern advancements in highways, it was deemed ineffective in 1985.
But the Route 66 Corridor Preservation Program was designed to save its historical and cultural significance. You can now travel on this historic route to explore charming small towns and roadside attractions.
You’ll see incredible landmarks, statues, restaurants, and neon signs in every state. But a disclaimer before we get to our list: Since Route 66 has been officially decommissioned, the highway won’t appear on any modern GPS systems.
So you’ll have to use an old-fashioned map or a guidebook. With that in mind, here are 8 Route 66 attractions worth visiting TODAY!
Side Note: We’ve included just a few of our favorites, but this route has MANY more attractions just waiting to be explored!
You missed several of the great sights on Route 66 The Round Barn in Oklahoma, Painted Desert, Meteor Crater, Grand Canyon, I made 4 round trips on the actual Route 66 from Amboy, Ca to Edwardsville, IL from 1951-1958.
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).
We drove over that bridge in our 1949 Pontiac, in 1949! We drove Route 66 every summer for 4 years. What fabulous memories.
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!
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