Route 66 was once the Main Street of America. It was officially decommissioned on June 27, 1985, but continues to draw a certain sort of traveler. If you like friendly people, small towns, and history, Route 66 has a lot to offer. Here are some of the more interesting places on the Mother Road. Be sure to tell us about your own experiences on Route 66 in the comments.
Standing guard over the Launching Pad Drive-in is a 20-foot tall green space man holding a rocket!
The Dixie is the oldest recognized truck stop on Route 66. In nearly 70 years, it has only been closed one day (due to a fire) and continues to offer motorists food and fuel, as well as a small Route 66 museum.
The Chain of Rocks bridge once carried Route 66 over the mighty Mississippi. The bridge had a unique 24-degree bend in the middle, which was necessary for boats navigating the river. Eventually, I-270 bypassed the bridge and it sat in disrepair for years, until it was turned into a pedestrian and bike path. Just downstream are two beautiful water intake towers that look like tiny castles.
If I could have only one dessert for the rest of my life, it would be Ted Drewe’s Frozen Custard. It is AMAZING!
Legendary outlaw Jesse James hid out from the sheriff in this cave system. Later, the cave was turned into a tourist attraction and the bumper sticker was invented here!
The Blue Whale was built by Hugh Davis as an anniversary gift for his wife. It was intended just for family use, but quickly became a popular swimming pond for tourists and locals.
Eccentric millionaire Stanley Marsh III commissioned this huge art piece. Ten Cadillacs are buried at an angle in the sand. The cars have been decorated by visitors with many layers of spray paint graffiti.
Believed to be the oldest continually operating motel on the Route, it is easily recognizable by it’s distinctive and beautiful neon sign.
Route 66 winds precariously through the Black Mountains on the way to Oatman. In nine miles, the road climbs 1400 feet and although it is dangerous with it’s many hairpin turns, the views are spectacular.
The famous Santa Monica Pier is just beyond the intersection of Ocean Avenue and Santa Monica Boulevard, the official end of Route 66. As of this writing, the Ferris wheel had been sold on Ebay and is being packed up and sent to Oklahoma City!
Contributor: Nicosia
wow the whale looks cool as!
First comment, wahey, I wanna do this route someday…
Awesome List! I wanna go on a roadtrip now =D
gr8 work nicosia!
6 and 2 look pretty cool, but the whale and the spaceman look a bit tacky.
Although I didn’t do a whole route 66 roadtrip, at times we were on parts of it. I think about the only thing I actually visited on the list was the Santa Monica Pier. Luckily it’s #1!
Umm…too American??
Nicosia: interesting list. I’m sure we can all learn something from this list, wherever we come from. How much of this route have you travelled?
Well, let's see, Route 66 is our "Mother Road", surrounded and traveled on by mostly Americans. People who choose Route 66 trips are generally wanting to have a genuine American experience. If it's "too American" for you, don't bother mixing with those of us who love & appreciate it. Go to Paris or something & practice your sneer. We'll be as American (and as Texan) as we want! Pat in Amarillo, TX
Jono, the only thing I have visited is the Santa Monica Pier too.
I would love to drive across the US following this route. So far I’ve only crossed on the Interstates.
sick
Stop *****ing complaining that it’s too American.
Route 66 is IN America
Get over it
Cool list
I want a whale
I can not even begin to name all the accidents I have seen happen on number 2. I am from Kingman, and the road out there is extremely narrow and tons of blind corners as well. To top it off it is a favorite of people wanting to test there skills at speeding. Most fail miserably.
I might be driving route 66 next year with some uni friends, once we’ve finished getting MA’s and BA’s and PhD’s and the like……. thanks for the mini tour guide!
@ Ash #10: I’m reasonably certain that Astraya was making a joke, especially considering that he immediately complimented the list.
Super interesting list, maybe I’ll turn this into a road trip some day!
Nice list.
To anyone who’s done the trip: what was your travel budget?
I’ve always wanted to drive thru US, not necessarily this route, but as a tourist anyway. I’d also probably need to rent a car.
Get your kicks on Route 66…
I’ve always wanted to do this road trip… maybe this summer.
cool list
thanks
Yes, of course I was joking. Get over it.
For the nostalgia buffs:
If you ever plan to motor west,
Travel my way, take the highway that is best.
Get your kicks on Route 66.
It winds from Chicago to LA,
More than two thousand miles all the way.
Get your kicks on Route 66.
Now you go through Saint Looey
Joplin, Missouri,
And Oklahoma City is mighty pretty.
You see Amarillo,
Gallup, New Mexico,
Flagstaff, Arizona.
Dont forget Winona,
Kingman, Barstow, San Bernandino.
Won’t you get hip to this timely tip:
When you make that California trip
Get your kicks on Route 66.
(Bobby Troup, sung by Nat King Cole and many others)
PS The lyrics website I copied the lyrics from included the spelling “Saint Looey”. The wikipedia article about the song (which I’ve just checked for further knowledge) specifies and spells “Saint Louis, (Missouri)”.
Thanks, guys! Glad you liked it! I have been on the Route in 6 out of eight states and can’t wait to go again. The people really are incredibly friendly and the places are so much more interesting than the monotony of the interstates. Btw- ligeia- the tackiness is part of the charm!
Juggz- The picture doesn’t quite capture the nature of the road, does it? Have you visited the Oatman burros?
Nicosia: I didn’t necessarily mean that tackiness was a bad thing, I find the whale pretty funny. Sorry, but I really don’t like the spaceman, I’m not sure why, though
ligeia- The spaceman is one of many Muffler Men… Here’s some more
http://www.roadsideamerica.com/muffler/
Nicosia: wow thats weird!! I like the one with the sinister moustache. I have to point out that Vikings didn’t wear horned helmets!! It bugs the hell out of me that this myth got so popular. Grrr.
If you like this kind of stuff, you might like my blog, Roadside Weirdness. Here’s the link http://roadsideweirdness.blogspot.com/
Hey Nicosia I like your weirdness! We have plenty of old ruined castles and churches in Ireland, I’d say you’d love that. Also, there is a very large concrete ram near where my boyfriend lives.
As an STL boy, I can attest to the great taste of Ted Drewes.
And the Chain of Rocks Bridge is awesome. Little trivia fact: It was used as the bridge in the final scenes of Escape from New York.
My wife owns a beauty shop right on Route 66 in Yukon, OK.
Ive lived in st louis my whole life and I have never been to Ted Drewe’s Frozen Custard. I really need to add that to my to do list.
I have driven every section of route 66 except the section out of Chicago. The route is not intact any more due to realignments and the construction of the interstates that replaced it and it can be quite confusing to follow 66 in places.
We did it in sections over a couple of years. We used information from http://www.historic66.com/description/ to plan our days out in detail – if you don’t do this you will regret it. Being lost out there in places is no fun.
It’s a great trip for people in the US to take. There is class and kitsch everywhere – more kitsch, I have to admit, but that’s what makes it so great.
history on road
Oh no. They cant sell the ferris wheel! Santa Monica pier just isnt what it is without the wheel!
Nicosia, great list…btw are you from Cyprus or something?
I’ve been to a number of places on Route 66, and have quite a collection of Route 66 maps and postcards. Best of all, though, I grew up not far from the Santa Monica Pier, Pacific Ocean Park, as it was known in the old days (and when it was much more extensive!), and spent many a hot day, and warm night, in it’s pleasant confines.
The rickety old wooden roller-coaster, which actually had sections free floating (if appeared from the coaster) above the ocean, and the ferris wheel, were the best.
Bumper cars, a wheel of death, the entire plethora of carnival rides were there for the asking!
It was perfection!
lol Astraya.
WTF this list is TOO AMERICAN.
must be some more american propoganda. jkjk
Sus- No, I am from Kentucky. When I was born, my parents thought I was going to be a boy, so they didn’t have a girl’s name picked out. I went without a name for two days until my mom saw an article about the conflict in Nicosia, Cyprus in a newspaper.
CJ- Chicago is really not all that great unless you are planning on going to Lou Mitchell’s for breakfast. The west is way more fun!
Great list but it could have been so much bigger. There are a lot of interesting things to see along Route 66. If any of you decide to travel it, come visit me. It runs right through my city in Missouri.
Cheeshy- Where in Missouri?
I followed Route 66 once. Other interesting places not listed I saw were: The Texas Steakhouse in Amarillo (Home of the 100oz steak), the giant cross in Broom, TX, the Meteor Crater and Tepee Hotel in Holbrook, AZ, and the Petrified Forest. Going down Route 66 is something everyone should try at least once in their lives!
I used to live near Santa Monica blvd. I was delighted when I found out it was part of route 66.
hey cool list! America is cool
Bill:
You mean the Big Texan Steak House where you can undertake the challenge of eating a 72 ounce steak and the entire meal with it within an hour. If you can do it then your meal and I think the meals of everyone with you are free.
Cadillac Ranch is REALLY cool. I’m from Amarillo but I live in Beaumont now. Stanley Marsh III actually did other stuff like that. He used to have his cronies go around town asking people if they wanted signs in their yards. If they agreed then he would have artists make them signs and his people would install them in their front yards. It was all free of charge. He seems to like art projects of a different nature.
Nicosia- that’s cool, it’s a pretty place…you should go sometime!
I love Santa Monica, I never get tired of going there to walk on the pier or promenade. perks of living in southern california lol
Re: Cadillac Ranch
You say decorated, I say defaced.
Bigwig Rabbit: I must say – I did think that too when I first saw it
Nice list, just a pity I live on the other side of the globe, we have the cango caves here, which is similar to the pic. in # 6.
I’ve been on 66 many, many times in the course of traveling, mostly when I was younger, yet I do not remember most of these attractions. I have a terrible memory, though. I’m forever confusing attractions, or remembering something, but not knowing what it was called or what state it was in. Wish I’d taken more pictures. I only have the rare souvenir to prove I was even there in the first place.
When I was a kid we travelled the western half of route 66; can’t tell you expenses, but the price of gas was around 55 cents a gallon… Ah, the ‘good old days’… well, sort of.
List brings back memories. Adrian, Texas (the mythical half-way point), the brand new I40 bypass (ugly even then), Winslow, AZ (sing it, baybee!)…
I went to the Santa Monica Pier in August. I loved out there, I love the west coast. A real shame that the ferris wheel is being taken away. Hopefully another one gets put up.
I think I may have to do a follow-up list… There are just too many cool places on the road!
Nicosia: great idea
THERE IS NO REASON THE SPACEMAN SHOULD BE ON THIS LIST! I LIVE TEN MINUTES AWAY FROM IT. . . . . . . . ITS NOT THAT AMAZING AT ALL
Great list, Nicosia! I’ve never driven on Rt. 66 but I’ve always been curious about it.
#38 Bill, the name of the steak joint in Amarillo is ‘The Big Texan’ and it’s a 72 oz. steak.
http://www.bigtexan.com/
The whale seems like an odd anniversary present.
Very nice.
Island_Boggs(52) – ow, ow, ow… my ears!!
Back bout a zillion years ago I hich hiked from Columbus, Ohio to Los Angeles. I picked up 66 in St Louis and followed it the entire stretch. This was all pre Interstate. Ahh, those really were THE DAYS!!
Nicosia (37): Springfield.
I love the Santa Monica Pier! I have the pleasure of visiting at least twice a year (I always try to take a little time out from my business trips). I cant belive the wheel is being taken down!! It will never look the same…