Spanning 2,448 miles, Route 66 has earned its matriarchal moniker, “the Mother Road,” for its pioneering role in the rise of the automobile age and road-tripping culture. The route stretches from Chicago to Santa Monica, weaving its way through the heart of the United States and offering a glimpse of American culture that’s not normally visible from modern-day interstates.
After traveling in an RV for two years and tracing Route 66 to places such as Chicago and Arizona’s Petrified Forest National Park—and now living a block off Route 66 in Oklahoma City—I’ve developed an affection for this bygone byway. My husband and I love driving to his hometown of El Reno in Oklahoma or across states to see roadside kitsch and once-boisterous boomtowns. For a taste of Americana nostalgia, get your kicks at these seven charming towns on Route 66, listed from east to west.
Pontiac is in northeastern Illinois.
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Pontiac, Illinois
- Best for: classic cars and Lincoln lore
Pontiac showcases all manner of Americana, from strawberry-rhubarb pies at Edinger’s Filling Station to antique cars at the Pontiac-Oakland Automobile Museum. The Route 66 Association Hall of Fame & Museum, inside a former firehouse, boasts a vast collection of Mother Road memorabilia. This being the Land of Lincoln (where the late president lived for more than 30 years), Pontiac also contains several points on Illinois’s Looking for Lincoln trail, including a statue of young Abe at the Livingston County Courthouse and The Strevell House, where Lincoln spent the night in 1860, conversing with his friend, Jason W. Strevell, about his presidential prospects.
Cuba, Missouri
- Best for: mural chasing
Another 288 miles southwest of Pontiac, and some 84 miles past St. Louis’ Gateway Arch, Cuba earned its nickname “Route 66 Mural City” for its 14 pieces of street art detailed in a map available at the visitor center. These artworks line Route 66 through downtown, depicting various facets of local lore, including one of vintage cars at the restored Phillips 66 gas station. Look out for pilot Amelia Earhart, who made an unscheduled landing here in 1928, at the corner of Washington and Madison Streets. Later, spend the night at the stone-clad Wagon Wheel, the oldest continuously operating motel on Route 66.
El Reno, Oklahoma
- Best for: a savory taste of history
Some 440 miles southwest of Cuba, Missouri, El Reno boasts Oklahoma’s only rail-based trolley, its oldest Carnegie library, country music shows at the Centre Theatre, and murals of Fort Reno, a former U.S. Army cavalry post turned museum. El Reno’s claim to fame, though, is the birthplace of the fried-onion burger. The Depression-era novelty was invented at the bygone Hamburger Inn as a means of stretching pricey ground beef by smashing it with slivered onions. Taste sizzling history at downtown eateries like Robert’s Grill, a frills-free diner that opened in 1926 (the same year as Route 66), or at the annual Fried Onion Burger Day Festival in May.
Shamrock, Texas, is home to art deco buildings such as the U-Drop Inn Cafe.
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Shamrock, Texas
- Best for: art deco architecture and Wild West history
Just over the Texas Panhandle border, Shamrock offers a subdued stopover marked by historic filling stations, Wild West museums, and beautifully preserved architecture. Stop at the U-Drop Inn Cafe, a diner in a former gas station, for hearty Texas staples like pulled pork sandwiches and brisket burritos. From here, you can spot the Shamrock Water Tower, the oldest of its kind in Texas, while the nearby Pioneer West Museum houses multiple rooms filled with a range of items, from Native American artifacts to newspaper clippings from when Bonnie and Clyde came to town. Outside the museum, you’ll find the restored Magnolia Gas Station, a classic service pit stop from 1929, offering a well-preserved glimpse into the heyday of Route 66.
Tucumcari, New Mexico, has plenty of photo-worthy signs.
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Tucumcari, New Mexico
- Best for: neon nostalgia
Roughly 200 miles west of Shamrock, Tucumcari distinguishes itself as the “Heart of the Mother Road.” Here, vintage neon signs light the way to preserved-in-time motels, diners, and a kaleidoscope of murals—including a Route 66–themed display at Second Street—along Tucumcari Boulevard. The town is also home to the New Mexico Route 66 Museum, filled with old-timey gas pumps and classic cars.
The best part of Tucumcari is its collection of preserved motels and neon signs, illuminating the high-plains town like a beacon of yesteryear. Get some great photos at the Buckaroo Motel, whose sign depicts a bucking bronco, and the Blue Swallow Motel, a colorful inn offering tours and a gift shop.
Winslow, Arizona, is a town associated with the Eagles and their song “Take It Easy.”
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Winslow, Arizona
- Best for: Rock ’n’ roll and Southwestern cuisine
Best known for its reference in “Take It Easy” about “standin’ on a corner in Winslow, Arizona,” the high-desert town conjures the sense of wanderlust that the Eagles sang about. Winslow leans into it at Standin’ on the Corner Park, home to a massive Route 66 mural, a bronze statue of co-lead singer Glenn Frey, and an annual music festival in September.
Winslow’s railroad history is showcased at the Old Trails Museum, with collections commemorating Indigenous peoples, original trading posts, and Route 66. Nearby, Homolovi State Park preserves hundreds of Ancestral Puebloan archeological sites. And La Posada is a palatial hotel, founded in the 1920s, now serving some of the finest Southwestern cuisine on the route and selling Navajo art at the on-site Affeldt Mion Museum.
In Southern California, Barstow has many draws, including Bottle Tree Ranch.
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Barstow, California
- Best for: Main Street Americana and treasure-hunting
The Mojave Desert town of Barstow is another 409 miles down the Mother Road from Winslow. Its downtown Main Street is dotted with Route 66–themed installations. Barstow’s Route 66 Mother Road Museum, a former Harvey House hotel from 1911, spotlights automotive and railroad history. Visitors can sift for vintage wares at Barstow’s Treasure House Antique Mall and drink in the kitschy atmosphere of Route 66 at Elmer’s Bottle Tree Ranch, a “forest” of trees made from pipes and glass bottles just outside of town.
