The best historic Route 66 motels in 2026 are the ones still run by people who answer their own phone: the Blue Swallow in Tucumcari, New Mexico, the two Wigwam Motels in Holbrook, Arizona and San Bernardino, California, the stone-cottage Wagon Wheel in Cuba, Missouri, and Hotel El Rancho in Gallup. Add Boots Court in Carthage, Missouri, Motel Safari and the Roadrunner Lodge in Tucumcari, and the Skyliner in Stroud, Oklahoma, and you can sleep in a piece of history in almost every state. Below are 15 I'd book again, state by state, each checked against 2025 and 2026 sources.
I'm Helena, and I drove the whole road from Chicago to Santa Monica in April 2026 for the Centennial Edition of my Route 66 Field Manual. We called the motels on the phone. If a place had closed, changed hands or stopped taking overnight guests, I'd rather tell you here than have you find out at 9 p.m. in the desert.
How I picked these historic Route 66 motels
Every motel on this list had to pass three tests. It has to be genuinely old, built for Route 66 traffic and still recognizable, and it has to take overnight guests right now, confirmed by a 2025 or 2026 news report, the owners, or recent guest reviews. And it has to have one thing you will remember ten years from now, like a garage beside your room, a concrete teepee, or neon that has been glowing since the Truman years.
Prices change fast in the centennial year, so I only quote a rate where I found a recent, specific number. Everywhere else, call the motel. That's also my first piece of booking advice, and I'll come back to it at the end.
Route 66 motels by state: the quick list
| Motel | Town | State | What makes it special |
|---|---|---|---|
| Braidwood Motel | Braidwood | IL | 1951 motor court with its original neon sign |
| Wagon Wheel Motel | Cuba | MO | Ozark stone cottages, oldest continuously operating motel on 66 |
| Rockwood Motor Court | Springfield | MO | 1929 stone cottages, oldest motel building in operation on 66 |
| Boots Court | Carthage | MO | 1939 motor court, radios in every room and no TVs |
| Skyliner Motel | Stroud | OK | 1950 motel reopened in January 2026, neon sign restored |
| Desert Hills Motel | Tulsa | OK | 1953 diagonal courtyard and the glowing green cactus sign |
| Cactus Inn | McLean | TX | 1951 motel with rooms themed for the Route 66 states |
| Blue Swallow Motel | Tucumcari | NM | 1939 motor court with garages between the rooms |
| Motel Safari | Tucumcari | NM | 1959 Googie design, breeze blocks and a camel logo |
| Roadrunner Lodge | Tucumcari | NM | Two motels in one, Magic Fingers beds and its own radio station |
| Hotel El Rancho | Gallup | NM | 1937 "home of the movie stars," rooms named for Hollywood guests |
| Wigwam Motel | Holbrook | AZ | 15 concrete teepees and vintage cars parked out front |
| El Trovatore Motel | Kingman | AZ | Pre-war motor court with Hollywood-themed rooms |
| Wigwam Motel | San Bernardino | CA | 19 teepees from 1949, plus a pool |
| Route 66 Motel | Barstow | CA | Round beds and a yard full of old cars |
Illinois
Braidwood Motel, Braidwood
Illinois is the thinnest state for vintage motels. Chicago and Springfield are hotel towns, and most of the old motor courts in between are gone or turned into something else. The Braidwood Motel, built in 1951 with its original neon sign, is still listed as operating in 2026, a short walk from the Polk-a-Dot Drive In.
It is a simple, budget stop, not a restored showpiece. I'd call ahead before planning a night here, because small independent motels in this stretch change hands quietly.
Missouri
Wagon Wheel Motel, Cuba
If you only sleep in one old motel in Missouri, make it this one. The National Park Service dates the Ozark sandstone cottages to 1936, built in a Tudor Revival style with steep gables and arched doorways, and the Wagon Wheel is known as the oldest continuously operating motel on Route 66. The neon wheel sign went up around 1947.
The motel changed hands in April 2026, when Christina and Rich Dinkela, who also own the Shamrock Court in nearby Sullivan, took over. The front office still answers at 573-885-3411.
Rockwood Motor Court, Springfield
The Rockwood was built in 1929 as stone cottages around a central courtyard, and the original cottages had one-car garages attached. It sat derelict for years until Phyllis Ferguson and Tim Phillips rehabilitated it and reopened it to guests in late 2019. In 2026 it joined Historic Hotels of America, which calls it the oldest motel in operation on Route 66.
So which one is older, the Rockwood or the Wagon Wheel? Both claims hold up. The Rockwood buildings are older, while the Wagon Wheel never closed, and that difference is exactly the kind of detail worth knowing before you choose.
Boots Court, Carthage
Boots Court opened in 1939, and a nonprofit foundation bought it in 2021 to save it. All 13 rooms are now restored and bookable. Each room has a radio and no television, the way it was when Clark Gable stayed here, and you can ask for his room.
The foundation has greeted visitors from more than 40 countries in a single five-month stretch of 2025, so this is not a quiet secret anymore. Book at 417-310-2989 or on its own website.
Kansas
Here is the honest answer for Kansas: the state's 13 miles of Route 66 have plenty to see in Galena, Riverton and Baxter Springs, but no vintage motel taking overnight guests that I could verify. A new gas-station-themed motor court called Petrol Motor Quart broke ground in Galena in February 2025, with ten cabins planned, and it is still under construction.
My suggestion is to drive Kansas in a morning and sleep at Boots Court, a short drive east in Carthage, Missouri.
Oklahoma
Skyliner Motel, Stroud
The Skyliner dates to 1950 and sits right on Main Street, Route 66, in Stroud. After a long renovation it reopened in January 2026, and its neon sign was restored and put back in November 2025. In August 2026 the owners put it up for sale, but they say it stays open for bookings while it is on the market.
It has only 10 rooms, which is the charm and the catch. Stroud is also home to the Rock Cafe, so dinner is a short walk away.
Desert Hills Motel, Tulsa
The Desert Hills has been on East 11th Street, Tulsa's stretch of Route 66, since 1953. Its 50 rooms are set diagonally around a U-shaped courtyard, and the green cactus neon sign is one of the best night photos in the state. Local TV still listed it as a working Route 66 motel in May 2026.
It is a budget motel with a famous sign, not a boutique hotel.
Texas
Cactus Inn, McLean
The old motels of the Texas Panhandle have had a rough few years. The Cactus Inn in McLean, opened in 1951 as the West Wind Motel, is the one I'd pick: rooms are decorated for the Route 66 states, and the neon cactus sign still stands.
In 2025 it was one of five Texas Route 66 businesses to win a beautification grant from the Texas Old Route 66 Association. Recent guests describe clean, fun rooms in a very quiet town, which is exactly what McLean is.
New Mexico
New Mexico has the richest concentration of old motels on the whole road, and Tucumcari alone could fill a week. If you only have one night in the state, spend it there.
Blue Swallow Motel, Tucumcari
This is the motel on more Route 66 postcards than any other, and it deserves the fame. Built in 1939, it is one of the few motor courts still operating in its original layout, with garages set between the rooms, several of them painted with murals. Robert and Dawn Federico have run it since 2020 and still keep original furniture and tile.
The motel's own booking page lists 2026 rates of $119.95 a night for a queen room, $129.95 for two full beds, $149.95 for the Lillian Redman Suite and $159.95 for the Family Suite. Book there or by phone rather than through an app.
Motel Safari, Tucumcari
Motel Safari has the breeze blocks, the Googie touches, the U-shaped drive-up layout and a camel on the sign, and its renovation kept the mid-century character. It is small too: a Porsche club booked all 14 rooms for a centennial tour in April 2026.
Roadrunner Lodge, Tucumcari
The Roadrunner is two motels that became one. The west side opened in 1947 as La Plaza Court, with pull-in garages and a listing in the Negro Motorist Green Book, and the two-story Leatherwood Manor was added next door in 1964. Owner David Brenner spent a decade restoring it, down to Magic Fingers vibrating beds and a private radio station playing 50s and 60s songs.
Brenner has listed the property for sale, and it was still welcoming guests in spring 2026. As with any motel on the market, confirm your booking a few days out.
Hotel El Rancho, Gallup
El Rancho opened in 1937 and earned the nickname "home of the movie stars" for the actors who stayed while filming in the area. Rooms in the main building carry the names of the stars who stayed, from John Wayne to Katharine Hepburn and the mezzanine above the lobby is covered in their photos. Owner Shane Ortega has been putting about $6 million into renovations, including new bathrooms and a restored restaurant.
It is technically a hotel, but it is the Route 66 overnight everyone remembers. One warning for Gallup: several older motels in town have been red-tagged, so stick to the ones you can confirm.
Arizona
Wigwam Motel, Holbrook
Fifteen concrete teepees, each about 30 feet tall, opened in May 1950 and are still run by the Lewis family. They closed after Interstate 40 bypassed the town and reopened in the 1980s. A '52 Ford and a '56 Buick sit parked out front, and in 2026 a night in a teepee costs around $120.
The family has said openly that the motel is not a money maker and that they keep it going for history. That alone is reason to sleep here.
El Trovatore Motel, Kingman
El Trovatore started in 1937 as a service station, and the tourist court was added in 1939, which makes it one of the few pre-war motels still standing in Kingman. Rooms are themed for Hollywood names like Marilyn Monroe, Elvis and John Wayne. A 2023 makeover redid the lobby and added two retro deluxe king rooms.
The tall neon tower is the landmark, so arrive before dark and watch it come on.
California
Wigwam Motel, San Bernardino
Built in 1949, this Wigwam Village has 19 teepees on Foothill Boulevard, right on the line between San Bernardino and Rialto. The Patel family bought it in 2002, restored it, and saw it added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2012. It has a pool, which matters after a day crossing the Mojave.
Route 66 Motel, Barstow
The Route 66 Motel on Main Street is kitsch in the best sense: round beds in select rooms, neon, license plates on the walls and a collection of old cars in the lot. It is a budget motel, and recent 2026 reviews mention road noise, so pack earplugs. For a last desert night before Los Angeles, it's hard to beat the photo.
Closed or changed: motels I left off this list
Famous Route 66 motels from five years ago include several you can no longer book the old way. This section is the proof of the method, and it's the part free blogs and AI-written ebooks usually skip.
- Munger Moss Motel, Lebanon, Missouri. The owners sold it in October 2024. The new company is turning most of it into studio apartments, with about 15 units for short-term stays through Airbnb and similar sites, and the famous sign now belongs to the city. The sign is still worth a stop, but it is no longer the classic motel experience.
- Route 66 Inn, Shamrock, Texas. Listed as permanently closed in summer 2026.
- Vega Motel, Vega, Texas. Closed to overnight travelers for well over a decade; only the owner's residence was opened as a rental.
- River Valley Inn, Needles, California. Closed when I checked it for the Field Manual.
- Six motels in Gallup, New Mexico. Red-tagged by the city at the time of my drive.
Closures like these are why my book marks every closed place as closed and flags uncertain ones with "verify operating status before travel." The rule we worked by was simple: if we couldn't verify it, we left it out.
Where to stay on Route 66: how to book these motels
- Call the motel directly. Many of these places have fewer than 20 rooms and one person at the desk. On the phone you can ask for a specific room, like a garage room at the Blue Swallow or Gable's room at Boots Court, which booking sites rarely let you do.
- Book the famous ones first. The Blue Swallow, both Wigwams and Boots Court fill up early in summer and fall, and 2026 brought centennial tours that bought out whole motels. Lock those nights in, then build the rest of the trip around them.
- Pick your season with care. Late spring and early fall give you the best weather and longer evenings to see the neon. Summer is busy and very hot in the Southwest. I wrote more about it in driving Route 66 in the fall.
- Reconfirm two or three days out. Several motels on this list changed owners or went up for sale in the last two years. A quick call saves you a surprise.
If you are still building your route, start with my Route 66 road trip planner, and check the centennial events calendar before you fix dates, because event weekends book out first. Wondering whether to skip the old road on long stretches? I compared the two in Route 66 vs I-40.
The short version
Sleep in at least one garage-court motel, one teepee and one stone cottage, and you will have felt three different decades of the road. For every state, the Centennial Edition Field Manual lists nine hotels across three price levels, each one called and confirmed during my April 2026 drive, so you are never guessing where tonight's bed is.
