For decades, queer communities along Route 66 have beckoned like neon lights flashing in the dark. Since the 1970s, as travelers and business owners started to come out of the closet and embrace diversity, queer-friendly pit stops began to pop up amid the traffic, signaling safe refuge along the way. Today, that sentiment still rings true. Museums, memorials, nightclubs, and Pride parades are all proof that the 2,448-mile Mother Road is a shared experience, unrestricted by homophobia or politics.
As someone who’s lived along Route 66 for 18 years and traveled in an RV for 2 years, I’ve clocked many miles on the Main Street of America. While safety precautions—especially for queer people—are important, there’s a sense of unity that’s as palpable as the pavement. Each drive is a welcoming adventure, whether I’m taking Route 66 to get onion burgers in my husband’s hometown of El Reno, Oklahoma; hiking at Petrified Forest National Park; chatting with locals in a gayborhood; or exploring queer history exhibits.
For travelers from all walks of life hitting the road to celebrate the Route 66 centennial this year, here are inviting LGBTQ destinations to visit on the way.
Route 66 has long been the great American unifier, connecting farmers and Dust Bowl migrants with travelers from all walks of life.
Photo by Yifu Wu/Unsplash
Catch a drag show at an LGBTQ cornerstone
Alton, Illinois | View on Google Maps
In the northern St. Louis suburbs, Bubby & Sissy’s has been a queer nightlife mainstay since 2001. The bar is known for its decadent drag shows, rainbow-themed Paint & Sip parties, monthly birthday potlucks, and the annual Miss Bubby’s Pageant. Drag brunch is held on Sundays, complete with bottomless mimosas and a buffet, and there are late-night dance parties and themed drag shows (like Leather & Lace) on weekends.
Connect at an LGBTQ community center
Springfield, Missouri | View on Google Maps
In the “Birthplace of Route 66,” where the highway got its name, the longest-running LGBTQ center in Missouri has been a haven since 1996. The GLO Center provides education and community networking, with a library stocked with queer literature and safe spaces to meet and mingle. The GLO Center also hosts events throughout the year, including stand-up comedy, queer artists showcases, and game nights.
Learn more about the queer playwright behind Oklahoma!
Claremore, Oklahoma | View on Google Maps
Before the wind came sweeping down the plains and onto Broadway, one of the defining texts in musical theater got its start in Claremore, Oklahoma. Born here in 1899, Rollie Lynn Riggs was a part-Cherokee playwright and gay man who penned Green Grow the Lilacs, a 1931 play about a love triangle in pre-statehood Indian Territory. It had a modest run at New York’s Guild Theatre but became a smash when Riggs sold the script to Rodgers and Hammerstein, who adapted it into Oklahoma! in 1943. The playwright is memorialized in his hometown, at the Claremore Museum of History, where two exhibits contain photographs, manuscripts, letters, and a painting by his lover, Mexican artist Ramon Naya, who lived with Riggs in Santa Fe.
Stay up late in the only gayborhood on Route 66
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
Stop a night in the 39th Street Entertainment District—Oklahoma City’s gayborhood—for drinks and community.
Courtesy of Visit OKC
The only gayborhood on Route 66, the 39th Street Entertainment District spans several blocks in northwest Oklahoma City, lined with LGBTQ community flags, rainbow bike racks, and murals. It also touts all manner of gay bars, like the Boom for drag dinner theater, Angles for dancing in a warehouse-size nightclub, Tramps for dive vibes, and the County Line for line dancing. Country Line is one of several bars inside the District, a midcentury- modern, motel-style LGBTQ resort with two outdoor pools (daily passes are available for nonguests). The 39th Street district is also the site of Pride on 39th, held early June.
Attend “Queer Nights” in Santa Fe
Santa Fe, New Mexico
Queer travelers, including writer Lynn Riggs, have long sought refuge in the artsy oasis of Santa Fe. That sense of high-desert sanctuary maintains today, exemplified by queer-centered programming at hotels. Every Monday is queer night at La Reina, an agave-centric bar inside El Rey Court, where queer guests and allies convene for social solidarity. Programming varies from mini makers’ markets to live music, with a portion of drink sales going to the Transgender Resource Center of New Mexico. At Hotel Glorieta, queer night is the third Friday each month at Lady Duff’s Lounge, with DJs spinning as guests sip Marigold Margaritas. And at the Mystic, “Somewhere in the Rainbow” is a queer night held on the last Thursday, with dancing and rotating cocktails (like the glittery Rainbow Eclipse), presented by the Santa Fe Human Rights Alliance.
Celebrate Pride on the Mother Road
Albuquerque, New Mexico
Each June, the longest urban stretch of Route 66 becomes a beacon of Pride. That’s when the Albuquerque Pride parade marches down Central Avenue in Nob Hill, past neon signs, motor courts, and street art. This year marks the 50th anniversary of Albuquerque Pride, held June 12–14, with the parade on the 13th, and a festival at Downtown Civic Plaza. After the parade, check out gay bars on Route 66, like Sidewinders Bar and Grill and Albuquerque Social Club.
Reflect at the AIDS Monument
West Hollywood, California | View on Google Maps
Located in the LGBTQ community of West Hollywood, STORIES: The AIDS Monument debuted in November 2025 to remember those lost, celebrate those who fought for progress, and educate future generations. A serene art installation, it consists of 147 bronze, 13-foot-tall pillars; 30 of them are engraved with reflective words—like “isolation” and “hope”—from the “Hear Our STORIES” oral history archive. They all light up at night, to conjure a candlelit vigil.
