Head Out on the Highway – Legendary Route 66 turns 100

Hundreds of communities across eight states are planning events and activities to celebrate the 100th anniversary of Route 66, a historic federal highway synonymous with freedom and adventure. Designated as U.S. Highway 66 on April 30, 1926, the highway connected Chicago and Los Angeles, providing a reliable route through the Midwest. Officially established on Nov. 11, 1926, it spanned approximately 2,500 miles across Illinois, Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona and California.

Initially, only a third of the road was paved, with the rest consisting of gravel, dirt, or wooden planks. It became the first completely paved U.S. highway in 1938, but the Interstate Highway Act of 1956 marked the beginning of its decline.

By the 1970s, the highway was no longer a primary transportation route. Even as the modern, efficient interstate system began bypassing the meandering highway, Route 66 had secured its place in pop culture, history and the hearts of road-trippers by the time it was officially decommissioned in 1985.

Today, Route 66 offers a diverse range of experiences, from cityscapes and open highways to ghost towns and urban areas. Visitors can explore legendary scenery, historic sites, museums, car collections, quirky landmarks, mom-and-pop eateries and neon-lit motels.

Reroutes, realignments, and reconstructions over the years make it difficult to trace the original road, but about 85% of the route is still drivable today. Some sections are scenic byways, state highways or frontage roads, not a continuous, signed route.

The original western terminus of downtown Los Angeles was extended to Santa Monica in 1936 and to the Santa Monica Pier in 2009. Last month, Chicago moved its most eastern point from downtown to the Navy Pier, creating a pier-to-pier connection.

Route 66 Air Tour

Aviation enthusiast Alan Winninger is organizing the Route 66 Air Tour (route66airtour.com), inspired by his work on the 2003 National Air Tour commemorating 100 years of flight. He aims to highlight the connections between Route 66 and aviation, including Charles Lindbergh’s choice of Winslow, Arizona, for his 1929 Transcontinental Air Transport airport and the presence of Ford products and Phillips 66 fuel on the road and in the air during Route 66’s early days.

Winninger envisions interested pilots flying the route together over a week, starting in Chicago with low-altitude daytime flights. They’ll stop at historic general aviation airports where communities can host events for all ages. Companies or individual pilots interested in participating can contact him at
alan@route66centennial.us.

Looking for adventure?

Route 66 formed the main street through most of the towns it touched and the shift in traffic affected these communities. A surge in nostalgia once the road was decommissioned fueled preservation and restoration efforts in the early 1990s as has this year’s centennial celebration. Here’s what to expect in each state.

Illinois

~301 miles diagonally from Chicago to St. Louis through farmland, small towns, cities, then crossing the Mississippi River – though you’ll travel more than 400 miles to take in all three of the state’s historic alignments

Don’t miss: In Springfield, explore 92 communities along Illinois’ Route 66 with one stop at the year-round Illinois State Fair Route 66 Experience; grab a corndog at Cozy Dog Drive In; spend a few hours at the Route 66 Motorheads Bar & Grill, Museum & Entertainment Complex.

Missouri

~317 miles from St. Louis diagonally to the southwest corner of the state through Ozark landscapes

Don’t miss: Springfield earned “Birthplace of Route 66” status when the name for the new road was sent via telegram from there during a planning meeting on April 30, 1926. See the original transmission and other fun displays at the History Museum on the Square. Book the room where Elvis Presley stayed in 1956 when performing in Springfield. The Elvis room at the Best Western Route 66 Rail Haven features photos – including one of Elvis’ mother in the room during his stay – and the tail end of a pink Cadillac transformed into a sofa.

Kansas

~13 miles cross the state’s southeast corner among the mining communities of Galena, Riverton and Baxter Springs

Don’t miss: The shortest stretch of any state, Kansas offers fun stops at the Gearhead Curios shop in a converted Texaco station and the only surviving Marsh arch bridge on the route. Brush Creek Bridge, or the Rainbow Bridge, is a concrete and steel truss design patented in 1912.

Oklahoma

~432 miles between the northeast border with Kansas and traveling diagonally southwest through Tulsa and Oklahoma City before exiting near Texola; the route crosses from eastern woodlands to western prairies

Don’t miss: Give yourself plenty of time to explore roadside attractions, from the whimsical 80-foot-long concrete Blue Whale of Catoosa to the 76-foot-tall Golden Driller statue in Tulsa. There are also car and transportation museums along the route, including the Oklahoma Route 66 Museum in Clinton.

Texas

~186 miles straight across the panhandle takes travelers through rolling plains and expansive, flat high plains where Amarillo is the largest city

Don’t miss: The state’s most photographed Route 66 attraction is Cadillac Ranch near Amarillo. Bring a can of spray paint to contribute to this public art experiment featuring 10 graffiti-covered Cadillacs partially buried nose-down in a wheat field. Forty miles to the west, you’ll reach Midpoint Café and Gift Shop in Adrian, where you’ll want a piece of pie and a photo of signage showing you’ve reached the route’s official midpoint: 1,139 miles to Chicago and 1,139 miles to Santa Monica.

New Mexico

~487 miles (an estimated 265 miles of the original route are still drivable) pass mesas, red rock outcroppings and pueblo-style architecture as the road travels straight across the central part of the state including the cities of Tucumcari, Santa Rosa, Albuquerque and Gallup

Don’t miss: Make time for the scenic Santa Fe Loop, which adds about 100 miles by following the original alignment from Santa Rosa up to Santa Fe then travels down to Albuquerque. The route was straightened to follow the modern I-40 corridor by 1937.

Arizona

~401 miles (approximately 250 drivable) through northern Arizona hits the major towns of Holbrook, Winslow, Flagstaff, Williams, Seligman and Kingman as well as ghost towns while traversing pine-filled mountains, painted desert and high-altitude volcanic landscapes

Don’t miss: The Kingman Visitor Center is home to the Arizona Route 66 Museum and the Electric Vehicle Museum plus a drive-thru shield popular for photo ops. The city calls itself the Heart of Historic Route 66 because it’s within the longest remaining stretch of original highway (158 miles).

California

~314 miles through Southern California span empty desert highways to congested Los Angeles freeways, passing through Needles, Mojave National Preserve, Oro Grande, San Bernardino, San Gabriel Valley, Pasadena and LA before ending at the Pacific Ocean in Santa Monica

Don’t miss: Posing for a photo at the end of the trail signpost on the historic Santa Monica Pier.

Make Plans

If you’re planning to explore Route 66, consider these tools:

The U.S. Route 66 Centennial Commission has a robust website at
route66centennial.org with events listed by date and by state along with official activities and initiatives.

Active Route 66 Associations in all eight states and several foreign countries can be found online.

Find itineraries and other resources on websites for state tourism agencies and destination marketing organizations of communities along the route.