The best Route 66 RV parks are the ones that sit right on the old road and take big rigs: Enchanted Trails in Albuquerque, a former trading post with 135 sites; the Tucumcari KOA, with room for rigs up to 100 feet; Grand Canyon Railway RV Park two blocks from Route 66 in Williams; and the KOAs in Seligman, Kingman and Needles. Plan for the three stretches that don't suit an RV: Sitgreaves Pass in Arizona, posted at 40 feet maximum, the gravel between Glenrio and San Jon in New Mexico, and the nine-foot Ribbon Road in Oklahoma. Go in spring or fall.
I'm Helena. I drove all 2,448 miles from Chicago to Santa Monica in April 2026 for the Centennial Edition of my Route 66 Field Manual. This guide is for everyone doing it with a motorhome or a trailer: where to park the rig for the night, state by state, and which pieces of the old road to leave to the cars. Every campground below was checked against its own official page in 2026, and I list the maximum length each one posts.
Driving Route 66 in an RV: what changes
Most of Route 66 is easy in an RV. Long pieces of it run as two-lane highways or as frontage roads right beside I-55, I-44 and I-40, so you are never far from a wide road, a truck stop or a diesel pump. The hard parts are short and specific, and you can plan around every one of them.
What changes is fit. Small-town main streets, old bridges and diner parking lots were built for 1950s sedans, and a few old roads are limited by width, bridge weight or a posted length limit.
There is a nice bit of history behind the campgrounds, too. Kampgrounds of America opened its first campground in 1962 in Billings, Montana, after founder Dave Drum watched travelers driving past on their way to the Seattle World's Fair. A night cost $1.75. That was the same era when the interstates started bypassing Route 66, which is why so many RV parks along the route sit near an interstate exit rather than on Main Street.
Route 66 RV parks by state: the quick list
These are the RV parks and campgrounds I'd use as anchors, one or more per state. Maximum lengths are the numbers each campground posts on its own site; always confirm when you book.
| State | RV park or campground | Town | Max length posted | Season |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| IL | Springfield KOA Journey | Rochester, near Springfield | 80 ft | April 1 to November 1 |
| MO | St. Louis West / Historic Route 66 KOA Holiday | Eureka | 90 ft | All year |
| MO | Meramec State Park | Sullivan | Not posted; 50-amp sites | All year, showers April to October |
| MO, for Kansas | Joplin KOA Journey | Joplin | 80 ft | All year |
| OK | Elk City / Clinton KOA Journey | Foss, on Route 66 | 85 ft | All year |
| TX | Amarillo KOA Journey | Amarillo | 80 ft | Call to book |
| TX | Route 66 RV Ranch | Amarillo | Sites up to 90 ft | Call to book |
| NM | Tucumcari KOA Journey | Tucumcari | 100 ft | All year |
| NM | Santa Rosa Lake State Park | Santa Rosa | Not posted; 30 and 50-amp sites | Check with the park |
| NM | Enchanted Trails RV Park and Trading Post | Albuquerque | Long pull-throughs | Call to book |
| NM | USA RV Park | Gallup | Pull-throughs | Call to book |
| AZ | Holbrook / Petrified Forest KOA Journey | Holbrook | 110 ft | All year |
| AZ | Grand Canyon Railway RV Park | Williams | 65 ft pull-through, 55 ft back-in | All year |
| AZ | Seligman / Route 66 KOA Journey | Seligman | 73 ft | All year |
| AZ | Kingman KOA Journey | Kingman | 70 ft | All year |
| CA | Needles KOA Journey | Needles, on Route 66 | 90 ft | All year |
| CA | Barstow / Calico KOA Holiday | Barstow | 72 ft | All year |
| CA | Dockweiler RV Park | Playa del Rey, Los Angeles | 40 ft | All year, reservations only |
Illinois and Missouri: where the season is short
The eastern end is the one place where the calendar matters for campers. The Springfield KOA Journey in Rochester, a short drive from Springfield's Route 66 sights, is open April 1 to November 1 and takes rigs up to 80 feet. Downtown Chicago is no place for a motorhome, so I'd start from a campground outside the city and go in for the Begin sign by car or train.
In Missouri, the St. Louis West / Historic Route 66 KOA Holiday in Eureka is open all year and posts a 90-foot maximum, and it sits on the old Route 66 corridor west of St. Louis. Down the road near Sullivan, Meramec State Park has electric, water and sewer sites, some with 50-amp service, open all year. Showers and water at most sites run April 1 to October 31, and Missouri limits stays to 15 days in any 30 at a single park.
If you are planning to see the Kansas stretch, the Joplin KOA Journey is open all year and takes rigs up to 80 feet, a short drive from the state line. I could not verify an RV park on the Kansas road itself on an official site, so I'd use Joplin. The 13 Kansas miles themselves are short and slow; I describe them in Route 66 in Kansas.
Oklahoma and Texas
Oklahoma has more drivable miles of the old road than any other state, and most of it is RV-friendly. The Elk City / Clinton KOA Journey has a Route 66 address in Foss, takes rigs up to 85 feet and is open all year. Clinton's Oklahoma Route 66 Museum is a short drive east, so it works well as the last Oklahoma night. For the stops worth pulling over for, see my guide to Route 66 stops in Oklahoma.
In Amarillo you have two good choices. The Amarillo KOA Journey, just off Route 66, posts an 80-foot maximum and has a seasonal pool; when I checked its page in October 2026, online booking was unavailable and it asked guests to call 806-335-1792. Recent guests mention the trains and planes nearby. The Route 66 RV Ranch on West I-40 offers sites up to 90 feet.
New Mexico: the best RV state on Route 66
New Mexico has the longest stretch of the route and the best mix of campgrounds. The Tucumcari KOA Journey takes rigs up to 100 feet and is open year round; the Simoneau family took it over in April 2022. Park there, then drive the car or walk to see Tucumcari's neon at night.
West of town, Santa Rosa Lake State Park, north of Santa Rosa on NM 91, has reservable sites with water and electric hookups, 30 and 50 amp, more non-reservation sites, showers and a dump station. Santa Rosa's Blue Hole is a short drive away.
In Albuquerque, the place to stay is Enchanted Trails RV Park and Trading Post at 14305 Central Avenue NW, on old Route 66 on the West Side. It was once a trading post on the highway, and today it has 135 sites with 30 and 50-amp hookups, long pull-throughs, a heated pool, and vintage trailers parked around the grounds. On November 7, 2026, the free Chrome and Neon at 100 centennial event starts there, so book early if your dates line up. In Gallup, USA RV Park sits at 2925 West Historic Highway 66, with pull-through sites and full hookups. For the rest of the state, read my guide to Route 66 stops in New Mexico.
Arizona: Petrified Forest has no campground
This catches people out. Petrified Forest National Park, the only national park with a piece of Route 66 inside it, has no campground. The park says it plainly: there is no RV, car or front country camping. The only overnight option is backpacking, with a free permit from a visitor center on the day you go.
So sleep in Holbrook. The Holbrook / Petrified Forest KOA Journey is open all year, posts a 110-foot maximum with 100-foot pull-throughs, and its pool runs from May into late September. The park service also lists Homolovi State Park, near Winslow, among the nearby state parks with camping.
In Williams, Grand Canyon Railway RV Park has 124 paved sites with full hookups, two blocks from Route 66 and next to the depot where the Grand Canyon train leaves. Pull-through and buddy sites take up to 65 feet total vehicle length, back-ins up to 55 feet, and it is open all year. Farther west, the Seligman / Route 66 KOA Journey is all pull-through, posts a 73-foot maximum and is open all year, and the Kingman KOA Journey posts 70 feet and is also open all year.
Sitgreaves Pass: leave the big rig in Kingman
The Oatman Road west of Kingman is the most famous drive in Arizona and the one RV stretch with a posted limit. The Bureau of Land Management says vehicles over Sitgreaves Pass, between Golden Valley and Oatman, can be no more than 40 feet long, and there are signs in Golden Valley to remind you. The road is paved but narrow, with hairpin curves, steep grades and almost no guardrails.
If your rig is longer than 40 feet, or you are towing, take I-40 from Kingman toward Topock and visit Oatman by car from the west side, or unhitch your tow car in Kingman and drive the pass in that. More on the whole state in my guide to Route 66 stops in Arizona.
California: Needles to the Pacific
The Needles KOA Journey has a Route 66 address, 5400 Route 66, takes rigs up to 90 feet and is open all year. For something on the water, Moabi Regional Park, a San Bernardino County park on the Colorado River near Needles, has RV sites with full and partial hookups, run by a concessionaire, Pirate Cove Resort.
The Barstow / Calico KOA Holiday posts 72 feet and is open all year. Between Needles and Barstow, think hard before taking a big motorhome onto National Trails Highway. San Bernardino County posts load limits on many of the old timber bridges there, and on its posted list, last updated in 2016, a few were limited to 3 tons, far under the weight of a motorhome. The county also lists closed segments for bridge replacement. Check its road closures page the week you go; in a heavy rig I'd take I-40 across the Mojave and visit Amboy as a side trip from the interstate.
The end of the road is the hardest place to park. The closest RV campground to Santa Monica is Dockweiler RV Park in Playa del Rey, Los Angeles County's only RV campground on the beach. It posts a 40-foot maximum, takes reservations only, up to 90 days ahead, with no walk-ins, and has a two-night minimum in summer. In 2025 the county listed full-hookup sites at $65 to $75 a night, went cashless on August 1, 2025, and closed the public dump station. Leave the RV there and get to the Santa Monica Pier by car or rideshare.
Route 66 sections to avoid in an RV
Here are the stretches I'd skip or plan around with a motorhome or a trailer.
| Section | State | Problem | What to do |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chain of Rocks Bridge | IL / MO | Walkers and cyclists only | Park nearby and walk it |
| Ribbon Road, Miami to Afton | OK | Pavement only nine feet wide | Drive it in the car, or skip it |
| Glenrio to San Jon | NM | 17 miles of gravel, washed-out bridge, rough creek-bed detour | Use I-40 between the two towns |
| Sitgreaves Pass, Oatman Road | AZ | 40-foot length limit, hairpins, few guardrails | I-40 via Topock, or visit by car |
| National Trails Highway, Mojave | CA | Old timber bridges with load limits, closures | Check county closures; I-40 in a heavy rig |
The Ribbon Road, also called the Sidewalk Highway, was paved in the early 1920s and is only nine feet wide. Ottawa County voted in 2024 to grind up its asphalt, and a July 2024 compromise kept one mile untouched. Meeting oncoming traffic there means putting a wheel on the shoulder, which is fine in a sedan and stressful in a 35-foot motorhome.
Between Glenrio, on the Texas line, and San Jon, the original road is 17 miles of gravel. A flash flood in May 2023 washed out a new bridge, and Route 66 News reported in October 2024 that the replacement would not be ready by 2026. The county built a gravel path through the creek bed that compact cars can manage in dry weather, but Route 66 News reported that large RVs and trucks probably shouldn't attempt it, and nobody should try it after rain.
For the full list of places where the interstate is the smarter choice, and where it robs you of the best parts, see Route 66 vs I-40.
When to take an RV on Route 66
Spring and fall are the RV seasons on Route 66. In the Midwest, several campgrounds simply close in winter: the Springfield KOA runs April to November, and the Meramec State Park showers run April to October. In the desert, summer heat is hard on engines, tires, generators and people, and the BLM says the Oatman Road is best visited from October through April. Flagstaff and Williams sit high enough for snow in winter.
That leaves May to early June and mid-September through October as the sweet spot, the same window I recommend for cars. I wrote more about it in driving Route 66 in the fall. In the centennial year, check the Route 66 centennial events calendar too, because festival weekends fill the campgrounds as fast as the motels.
Booking tips for Route 66 camping
- Book the anchors first. Williams, Holbrook, Tucumcari and Albuquerque are the nights that fill. Lock them in, then build the rest around them.
- Call when the website won't book. Several campground pages I checked asked guests to phone instead.
- Know your real length. Measure bumper to hitch of the tow car, not just the motorhome, before you compare it with a posted maximum.
- Keep a car for the narrow bits. A tow car turns every "RV can't go there" into a short side trip.
Prefer a real bed some nights? Mix in a few old motor courts from my list of the best Route 66 motels, and ask about rig parking when you call. And if you are still working out the days, start with the Route 66 road trip planner.
The short version
Sleep at the RV parks that sit on the old road, like Enchanted Trails, Tucumcari, Williams, Seligman and Needles, and use the tow car for the three stretches that don't suit a rig: the Ribbon Road, Glenrio to San Jon and Sitgreaves Pass. Plan the old alignments from a map, not the navigation app. That's what the Route 66 Field Manual is for: 169 maps and 105 GPS waypoints you can tap into your own navigation app, all checked on the road in 2026.
