The Mother Road. The Federal Highway Administration’s designated byway runs 1,409 miles across six states; our guides on it run from Chicago as far west as Flagstaff.
- The route
- Historic Route 66, an All-American Road
- How long
- 1,408.6 miles end to end. The Federal Highway Administration suggests: “You can drive the entire byway in four or five days, but to enjoy it, plan for several days per state.”
- How far apart
- Our stops on it sit within 1371 miles of one another.
- Fees
- None to drive the byway itself; individual sites set their own.
Our guides along it
8 guides across 5 states. Where you start, where you stop and how long you stay are yours to pick.
ChicagoIllinois
The eastern end of the route.
SpringfieldIllinois
Illinois’s capital, with the old alignment running south through town.
St. LouisMissouri
Where the route crosses the Mississippi.
TulsaOklahoma
On the route’s north-eastern leg through Oklahoma.
Oklahoma CityOklahoma
The middle of the Oklahoma stretch, about a hundred miles south-west of Tulsa.
Clinton (Route 66 Museum)Oklahoma
Built around the state’s own Route 66 museum, on the original corridor through town.
AlbuquerqueNew Mexico
The New Mexico stretch, straight through the middle of the city.
FlagstaffArizona
The furthest west our guides reach on this byway.
What our guides already say about sites on it
Each of these is written up in the guide named beneath it. Nothing on this page is new text.
Cozy Dog Drive In
The Route 66 diner that claims to have invented the corn dog on a stick; its founder started selling them in 1946, and the family still runs it. The restaurant’s own site gives its address as 2935 S. 6th St. in Springfield “on Old Route 66” and says it has been on Route 66 since 1949.
from Springfield
Lincoln, Illinois
The city’s own history page says the town, established in 1853, was named in honor of Lincoln, and describes a watermelon-juice christening that year as “a quirky piece of local lore.” A watermelon statue stands near the railroad depot. The city places itself at the crossroads of U.S. Route 66 and Interstate 55, about 28 miles north-east of Springfield in a straight line.
from Springfield
Oklahoma Route 66 Museum
The first state-sponsored Route 66 museum in the nation, operated by the Oklahoma Historical Society.
I-40 Business Loop (historic Route 66)
The original highway corridor through town, bypassed by the interstate in 1970 but still the historic route travelers can drive today.
Elk City, Oklahoma
Another Route 66 town further along the historic corridor, about 27 miles west of Clinton in a straight line, and home to the National Route 66 & Transportation Museum.
Weatherford, Oklahoma
Weatherford is about 16 miles east of Clinton in a straight line, toward Oklahoma City. Route 66 follows Main Street through the city, and Interstate 40 also serves it.
In this corridor, and not in a guide yet
Listed so this page is not mistaken for a complete one.
- Pontiac, Illinois — A Route 66 town between Chicago and Springfield, and in no guide yet.
- Tucumcari, New Mexico — On the eastern New Mexico stretch, and in no guide yet. Nothing we publish covers the 400 miles between Oklahoma City and Albuquerque.
- Seligman, Arizona — On the long Arizona alignment west of Flagstaff, and in no guide yet.
Where these facts come from
- The byway’s length, designation, suggested time and fees — fhwaapps.fhwa.dot.gov, checked 2026-11-02