Clinton (Route 66 Museum)

Clinton sits in Custer and Washita counties in western Oklahoma, about 80 miles west of Oklahoma City via I-40. It had 8,521 residents in the 2020 census. The city grew up as one of the largest Route 66 cities between Oklahoma City and Amarillo, Texas, hosting tourist businesses including restaurants, cafes, motels and filling stations along the highway.

Interstate 40 bypassed Clinton in 1970, routing cross-country traffic to the south; the original Route 66 corridor through town is now designated as an I-40 business loop. After World War II, Jack and Gladys Cutberth revived the U.S. Highway 66 Association in Clinton, where it promoted the “Main Street of America” from 1947 until the organization disbanded in the 1980s.

The Oklahoma Route 66 Museum, operated by the Oklahoma Historical Society on the historic Route 66 corridor, is the first state-sponsored Route 66 museum in the nation, showcasing artifacts and history related to the highway. Clinton also holds the Cheyenne Cultural Center, preserving Cheyenne heritage, and several sites on the National Register of Historic Places.

The Oklahoma Route 66 Museum is the anchor of a Clinton visit — the first state-sponsored Route 66 museum in the nation, operated by the Oklahoma Historical Society directly on the historic highway corridor. Admission fees and gift shop proceeds fund the museum's daily operations and programs. The museum's Plan Your Visit page lists hours of Monday through Saturday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., with site closings on November 11, November 26–27 and December 24–25, 2026. Adult admission is $10^*, seniors (62+) $8^*, students ages 6–18 $5^*, and a family of up to six $30^*; Oklahoma Historical Society members, veterans and active military with ID, and ages 5 and under are free. Confirm hours and fees on the museum's site before the visit.

*Fees subject to change, please check okhistory.org for updated information.

Pop Hicks Restaurant operated in Clinton from 1936 to 1999 as a Route 66-era establishment, though it is no longer open; confirming any current restaurant's status on its own site is recommended before planning around a named business.

A Best Western motel in Clinton was known to have hosted Elvis Presley during the 1960s as part of the town's Route 66-era travel history.

Clinton has no professional or college teams; the nearest major-market teams are in Oklahoma City, about 80 miles east.

3 more Highway Heads places lie within about 180 miles of Clinton (Route 66 Museum) in a straight line — far enough that most are a night away rather than an afternoon.

• Dodge CityKansasabout 170 mi
• TulsaOklahomaabout 170 mi
• WichitaKansasabout 180 mi

• Oklahoma Route 66 MuseumQuirky museumClintonabout 1 mile away

  Cost to see it

  Costs something — we did not find the price published

  When you can see it

  Only while it is open, and we did not find its hours published

  Nearest road

  I-40 / Route 66

  Decade-by-decade Mother Road museum with neon out front

  Read on the page we checked

• National Route 66 & Transportation MuseumQuirky museumElk Cityabout 27 miles away

  Cost to see it

  Costs something — we did not find the price published

  When you can see it

  Only while it is open, and we did not find its hours published

  Nearest road

  I-40 / Route 66

  Route 66 museum complex with giant roadside-style rocket

  Read on the page we checked

These are things you can go and look at, not a recommendation of any of them. Oddities move, get sold and quietly disappear more than anything else we list, so check anything you are driving a long way for. Where this list says we did not find a price or opening times published, that is exactly what we mean. A blank is not “free” and not “always open”. Some sit on private land and can only be seen from the road — please do not go onto anyone’s property. Every entry links the page we read it off.

Interstate 40 bypasses Clinton to the south; travelers following historic Route 66 need to take the marked business loop through town rather than staying on the interstate.

Check the Oklahoma Route 66 Museum's own site for current hours and admission pricing before visiting.

Clinton is a small town of about 8,500 people. The Oklahoma Route 66 Museum lists hours of Monday through Saturday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.; check each stop's own site for current hours before planning around it.

The historic Route 66 corridor through Clinton connects to the broader Route 66 route continuing toward Elk City and Amarillo to the west.

Oklahoma Route 66 Museum

Address

2229 W Gary Blvd, Clinton, OK 73601

Hours

Check the official site for current hours

Price

Check the official site for current admission fees

Link

okhistory.org/sites/route66

We checked fees, operating status and opening hours on 2026-09-23. These change without notice — confirm with okhistory.org, travelok.com and clintonok.gov the week you travel.

Straight-line distance from Clinton (Route 66 Museum), not drive time.

• Hobart Regional (HBR) — 37 miles
• West Woodward (WWR) — 71 miles
• Lawton Fort Sill Regional (LAW) — 73 miles