Westbound, from Lake Michigan to the Pacific
Illinois, Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona and California. Use the desk, then read the notes beneath.
A state-by-state road trip
Pick a state and travel west from Chicago toward Santa Monica. Each stop has a credited photograph and a sourced note. This desk is about U.S. Route 66 itself — not a general planner for other famous drives.
Westbound, state 1 of 8
Illinois
The road begins in Illinois, from the shores of Lake Michigan and across the agricultural fields. [source] Approximately 300 miles of Historic Route 66 in Illinois can still be travelled. [source] A Shell station built in 1926 still stands on the route in Mount Olive. [source]
A Shell station built in 1926 on Route 66 in Mount Olive, Illinois. Photograph taken between 1980 and 2006.
Westbound, state 2 of 8
Missouri
From Illinois the highway runs on into the rolling hills of the Missouri Ozarks. [source] The Old Chain of Rocks Bridge, photographed here, is a historic Route 66 crossing of the Mississippi between Illinois and St. Louis.
The Chain of Rocks Bridge, a historic Route 66 crossing of the Mississippi between Illinois and St. Louis, Missouri, 10 September 2009.
Westbound, state 3 of 8
Kansas
The highway then passes through the mining towns of Kansas. [source] This photograph was taken in Baxter Springs, one of the Kansas towns on the surviving historic alignment.
A Route 66 sign in Baxter Springs, Kansas, 2 April 2021.
Westbound, state 4 of 8
Oklahoma
The road then crosses Oklahoma, where the woodlands of the East meet the open plains of the West. [source] In John Steinbeck’s 1939 novel The Grapes of Wrath, the Joad family travel west on Route 66 from Oklahoma toward California. [source] Tulsa still marks the highway with a gateway sign.
A Route 66 gateway sign in Tulsa, Oklahoma, 29 November 2020.
Westbound, state 5 of 8
Texas
Across the open ranch lands of Texas [source] stands one of the route’s best-known roadside buildings: the restored Tower Conoco Station and U-Drop Inn in Shamrock, in the Texas panhandle.
The restored Tower Conoco Station and U-Drop Inn in Shamrock, in the Texas panhandle, 4 February 2013.
Westbound, state 6 of 8
New Mexico
The highway then enters the mesa lands of New Mexico. [source] In Tucumcari, the Blue Swallow Motel is one of the motor courts that still face the old road.
The Blue Swallow Motel on Route 66 in Tucumcari, New Mexico, 5 July 2006.
Westbound, state 7 of 8
Arizona
The mesa lands continue into Arizona. [source] In Holbrook, the Wigwam Motel — concrete rooms shaped like tipis — is one of the route’s most photographed places to spend the night. Interstate 40 later replaced much of this stretch. [source]
The Wigwam Motel on Route 66 in Holbrook, Arizona, 7 October 2006.
Westbound, state 8 of 8
California
The road crosses the Mojave Desert and runs on toward Los Angeles and the shores of the Pacific. [source] The National Park Service describes a 2,400-mile ribbon of pavement from Chicago to Santa Monica. [source] In Barstow, the Route 66 Motel still wears the highway’s name.
The Route 66 Motel in Barstow, California, 31 July 2012, on the highway’s run across the Mojave toward the Pacific.
The line across the continent
The National Park Service follows the highway from the shores of Lake Michigan across the agricultural fields of Illinois, to the Missouri Ozarks, through the mining towns of Kansas, across Oklahoma, over the open ranch lands of Texas, into the mesa lands of New Mexico and Arizona, across the Mojave Desert, and finally to Los Angeles and the shores of the Pacific Ocean. [source]
Illinois still offers approximately 300 miles of Historic Route 66 that can be travelled today. [source]
Looking for other famous roads? They are not covered here. road-trips.motoring.im — coming soon will be the home for other drives and for family trip planning.
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