On a Route 66 map, the road runs 2,448 miles through eight states, in this order from east to west: Illinois, Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona and California. It starts in downtown Chicago and ends in Santa Monica. The main cities on the way are Springfield (Illinois), St. Louis, Springfield (Missouri), Joplin, Tulsa, Oklahoma City, Amarillo, Albuquerque, Flagstaff, Kingman, Barstow, San Bernardino and Los Angeles. New Mexico has the most miles of the route, and Kansas the fewest, about 13.
I'm Helena, and I drove every one of those miles in April 2026 for the Centennial Edition of my Route 66 Field Manual. The map at the top of this page shows the whole road at a glance. Below it is the part most maps leave out: the towns, state by state and in driving order, with the miles for each state and a note on why you'd stop.
What states does Route 66 go through?
Route 66 crosses eight states. Here they are in the order you meet them driving west, with the approximate miles of the historic route in each one.
| # | State | Miles (approx.) | Biggest cities on the route |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Illinois | 301 | Chicago, Joliet, Bloomington, Springfield |
| 2 | Missouri | 317 | St. Louis, Springfield, Joplin |
| 3 | Kansas | 13 | Galena, Baxter Springs |
| 4 | Oklahoma | 432 | Tulsa, Oklahoma City |
| 5 | Texas | 186 | Amarillo |
| 6 | New Mexico | 487 | Albuquerque, Santa Fe (before 1937), Gallup |
| 7 | Arizona | 401 | Flagstaff, Kingman |
| 8 | California | 316 | San Bernardino, Pasadena, Los Angeles, Santa Monica |
| Total | 2,448 | Chicago to Santa Monica |
A quick word on those numbers, because no two maps agree. Route 66 was rerouted many times between 1926 and 1985, so the miles depend on which alignment you measure. Wikipedia's own Texas page, for example, gives 179 miles for the latest alignment against 186 in the state-by-state count. New Mexico's 487 includes the original loop north through Santa Fe, which the 1937 realignment cut by about 107 miles. The state figures are rounded, which is why they add up to a few miles more than 2,448.
One more piece of trivia people ask me about: the road passes through three state capitals. Springfield, Illinois, and Oklahoma City were on it from 1926 to the end, and Santa Fe was on it until 1937.
Route 66 cities and towns, state by state
These are the places the old road runs through, east to west. Each table lists the towns I'd build a stop around, and below it are the smaller towns you'll pass on the way. For the full driving plan with nights, see my two-week Route 66 itinerary.
Illinois: about 301 miles
| Town | Why stop |
|---|---|
| Chicago | The Begin sign on Adams Street at Michigan Avenue |
| Wilmington | The Gemini Giant, moved to South Island Park in 2024 |
| Pontiac | Route 66 Association Hall of Fame and Museum, free |
| Funks Grove | Hardwood grove and a white chapel south of Bloomington |
| Springfield | The state capital and the biggest stop in central Illinois |
| Chain of Rocks Bridge | The 1929 Mississippi crossing on the state line, now for walkers and cyclists |
Also on the road: Cicero, Berwyn, Joliet, Braidwood, Dwight, Odell, Chenoa, Lexington, Normal, Bloomington, McLean, Atlanta, Lincoln, Carlinville, Staunton and Edwardsville, with Granite City near the river. A second alignment south of Springfield runs through Litchfield and Mount Olive.
Missouri: about 317 miles
| Town | Why stop |
|---|---|
| St. Louis | Ted Drewes Frozen Custard on Chippewa Street, a Route 66 address since 1941 |
| Eureka | Route 66 State Park on the Meramec River |
| Cuba | The Route 66 Mural City, and the Wagon Wheel Motel |
| Devils Elbow | A 1923 steel truss bridge over the Big Piney River |
| Lebanon | The Munger Moss Motel sign |
| Springfield | Where the number 66 was proposed by telegram in April 1926 |
| Carthage | Boots Court, a 1939 motor court with radios and no TVs |
| Joplin | The last city before Kansas, about 6 miles from the state line |
Also on the road: Pacific, Stanton, Sullivan, St. James, Rolla, Waynesville, St. Robert and Webb City. Between St. Louis and Springfield, I-44 runs close to the old road for long stretches, so it's easy to slip onto the interstate without noticing.
Kansas: about 13 miles
| Town | Why stop |
|---|---|
| Galena | Cars on the Route, and the 100-foot Route 66 Centennial Arch |
| Riverton | The 1923 Rainbow Bridge, the last Marsh arch bridge on the route |
| Baxter Springs | The last Kansas town before Oklahoma |
Kansas is the shortest state on the road because I-44 missed it by about a quarter mile, so none of its old pavement was ever replaced. It takes a morning, not a day.
Oklahoma: about 432 miles
| Town | Why stop |
|---|---|
| Miami | What's left of the nine-foot-wide Ribbon Road to the south |
| Catoosa | The Blue Whale, with a visitor center opened on May 30, 2026 |
| Tulsa | 11th Street, the Desert Hills Motel and its cactus sign |
| Stroud | The Rock Cafe, built in 1939 from leftover Route 66 sandstone |
| Arcadia | The Round Barn, built in 1898 |
| Oklahoma City | The state capital and the biggest city on the route in Oklahoma |
| Clinton | The Oklahoma Route 66 Museum, run by the Oklahoma Historical Society |
Also on the road: Quapaw, Commerce, Afton, Vinita, Chelsea, Foyil, Claremore, Sapulpa, Depew, Chandler, Edmond, Yukon, El Reno, Hydro, Weatherford, Elk City, Sayre, Erick and Texola. Oklahoma has more drivable miles of the old road than any other state, so give it two full days. I go deeper in my guide to Route 66 stops in Oklahoma.
Texas: about 186 miles
| Town | Why stop |
|---|---|
| Shamrock | The U-Drop Inn and Tower Conoco Station, built in 1936 |
| McLean | The Cactus Inn, a 1951 motel with its neon cactus |
| Groom | The leaning water tower |
| Amarillo | Cadillac Ranch, ten Cadillacs nose-down in a field since 1974 |
| Adrian | The Midpoint Cafe at mile 1,139, halfway between Chicago and Los Angeles |
| Glenrio | A ghost town sitting right on the New Mexico line |
Also on the road: Alanreed, Conway, Wildorado and Vega. Outside the towns, most of the Texas route survives as the I-40 frontage road.
New Mexico: about 487 miles
| Town | Why stop |
|---|---|
| Tucumcari | The Blue Swallow Motel, Motel Safari and the Roadrunner Lodge |
| Santa Rosa | The Blue Hole, a spring-fed pool that stays around 62°F |
| Santa Fe | On the original route until 1937, now a loop off the main road |
| Albuquerque | Central Avenue, the old Route 66 through the city |
| Gallup | El Rancho Hotel, opened in 1937, with rooms named for movie stars |
The 1937 road runs through San Jon, Tucumcari, Santa Rosa, Clines Corners, Moriarty, Albuquerque, Laguna, Grants, Thoreau and Gallup. The older loop leaves at Santa Rosa, goes north to Santa Fe and comes back south through Albuquerque and Los Lunas. Between Glenrio and San Jon, the original road is gravel with a damaged bridge, so most people take I-40. More in my New Mexico Route 66 stops.
Arizona: about 401 miles
| Town | Why stop |
|---|---|
| Petrified Forest | The only national park with a stretch of Route 66 inside it |
| Holbrook | The Wigwam Motel, 15 concrete teepees since 1950 |
| Winslow | Standin' on the Corner Park |
| Flagstaff | The biggest city on the Arizona route, at about 7,000 feet |
| Williams | The last Route 66 town bypassed by I-40, in October 1984 |
| Seligman | Where the Route 66 revival started in 1987 |
| Kingman | El Trovatore Motel and its neon tower |
| Oatman | Wild burros on Main Street, over Sitgreaves Pass |
Also on the road: Lupton, Sanders, Joseph City, Winona, Bellemont, Ash Fork, Peach Springs, Truxton, Valentine, Hackberry and Topock. West of Kingman the road splits: the older alignment climbs over the Black Mountains to Oatman, and the later one runs through Yucca, the path I-40 follows today. See my full list of Route 66 stops in Arizona.
California: about 316 miles
| Town | Why stop |
|---|---|
| Needles | The first California town, and the place to fill the tank |
| Amboy | Roy's, which sells gas and souvenirs; its motel rooms weren't open yet in mid-2026 |
| Barstow | The Route 66 Motel, with round beds and old cars in the lot |
| Oro Grande | Elmer's Bottle Tree Ranch, free |
| San Bernardino | The Wigwam Motel, 19 teepees from 1949 |
| Pasadena | Colorado Boulevard, the old road into Los Angeles |
| Santa Monica | The End of the Trail sign on the pier |
Also on the road: Essex, Ludlow, Newberry Springs, Daggett, Victorville, Hesperia, Rancho Cucamonga, Upland, Claremont, Glendora, Azusa, Monrovia, Arcadia, Los Angeles, West Hollywood and Beverly Hills. In the Mojave, pieces of the old National Trails Highway are closed for bridge work, so check San Bernardino County's road closure page before you go.
Where Route 66 starts and ends
The road starts in downtown Chicago, at the Begin sign on Adams Street at Michigan Avenue, a few blocks from Lake Michigan. Since March 2026 there's also a ceremonial Begin sign at Navy Pier, about a mile and a half away.
It ends in Santa Monica. The End of the Trail sign on the pier went up in 2009 and gets all the photos, but the historic western end of the road is about a mile away, at Olympic and Lincoln boulevards. Driving the other way? Just read this page from the bottom up. I explain why I still prefer east to west in the Route 66 road trip planner.
How to use a Route 66 map on the road
A map like the one at the top is perfect for deciding where to go. It is not much help at the junction where the old road leaves the interstate and your phone insists you stay on I-40. Long stretches of Route 66 run right beside I-55, I-44 and I-40, and Google Maps doesn't treat it as one continuous road.
What works is a map at three scales: the whole route to plan the trip, a state map to plan the day, and a town map for the hour when you're looking for the motel and the diner. That's how I laid out the maps in the Field Manual: 169 of them, one overview, eight state maps, 31 segment maps and 129 town maps, plus 105 GPS waypoints you can tap instead of typing a town name. If you're still deciding how many days to give it, read how long Route 66 takes.
Eight states, one road
On a map, Route 66 is a red line from the lake to the ocean. On the ground it's a chain of small towns, each with one thing worth stopping for, and the line only makes sense once you know their names. Keep this list in the car, and let the map do what maps do best: show you how far you've come.
When you're ready to turn the list into a plan, the Route 66 Field Manual has a chapter for each of the eight states, with 9 hotels and 9 restaurants per state on three budgets, all checked on my April 2026 drive.
