Destination Route 66
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Route 66 opened in 1926 and once ran about 2,400 miles from Chicago to the Pacific. It carried families west during the Dust Bowl years and later became the road of the American road trip, lined with motels, diners and neon signs. The highway was officially retired in 1985, but long stretches survive, and people still drive them for the kitsch and the scenery. Destination Route 66 follows the road through three lenses: roadside attractions, regional food and scenic wonders. The series covers the western half, from Arizona's Painted Desert and Petrified Forest through Seligman, Kingman, Oatman and Needles to Santa Monica. This bookable trip goes further and drives the whole thing, from Chicago to Los Angeles. The link below opens the full trip, and you can change any part of it.
Start Where the Neon Starts
The trip begins in Chicago, where the road starts at Lake Michigan. From there, you cross Illinois to Springfield, then continue to St. Louis, where the Gateway Arch rises over the Mississippi River. A night follows at the Route 66 Rail Haven in Springfield, Missouri, a motel built around the road's history, so the stay is part of the trip. Farther west, Tulsa and Oklahoma City carry the story through Oklahoma, with brick streets, old service stations and diners that have been feeding travelers for generations.
A petrified log sits in the Painted Desert at Petrified Forest National Park in Arizona. The colorful rocks are exactly why the desert earned its name.
Cross the Desert Half
West of Oklahoma, the landscape opens up and the stops get bigger. In Amarillo, you stay at the Big Texan Motel, next to the steak ranch known for its giant steak challenge. Then comes Santa Fe, which gets two free days of its own. The city is known for its green chile, plaza markets and high-desert light, and it's a good place to slow down after the long drive. Along the way, Tucumcari and Gallup add the neon signs and diners the highway is known for.
From New Mexico, the route heads into Arizona. It passes through Flagstaff and the Kaibab National Forest to the Grand Canyon, where you spend a night at Thunderbird Lodge near the South Rim. The canyon at sunrise is worth getting up for. The road then runs west past Williams to Hoover Dam, the concrete dam on the Nevada border, where you can look out over the Colorado River.
End at the Ocean
The desert half ends in Las Vegas, where the neon gets bigger and brighter, and then you drive on to Los Angeles. Your base there is near Universal Studios, so you can ease into the city before the last drive to the coast. Route 66 ends at the Santa Monica Pier, where the road meets the Pacific. You can stand at the end-of-the-trail sign and then watch the sun set behind the pier's Ferris wheel.
The Santa Monica Pier offers an enjoyable way to mark the end of your historic drive.
The link below opens the full trip. Spend longer in Santa Fe or change any other leg, then click through and shape it into your own.
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