Route 66 facts: start, end, miles and states

What is Route 66?

Route 66 is one of the original U.S. highways, created in 1926 to link Chicago with Los Angeles. It was nicknamed the Mother Road and the Main Street of America, and for half a century it carried migrants, truckers and vacationers west. It lost its highway status in 1985, but most of the old road survives and is driven today as a historic route.

Today it is less a single road than a string of old alignments, town main streets and frontage roads, lined with the motels, gas stations and roadside giants that grew up to serve it. We have mapped 823 of those stops; the best Route 66 attractions page picks the highlights of each state.

Where does Route 66 start and end?

Route 66 starts in downtown Chicago, by Grant Park: westbound drivers begin at the Begin Historic Route 66 sign on Adams Street, across from the Art Institute, one block north of the 1926 starting point at Jackson Boulevard and Michigan Avenue. It ends about 2,448 miles later in Santa Monica, California, where the End of the Trail sign has stood on the pier since 2009. The highway's official end was about a mile inland, at Olympic and Lincoln Boulevards.

The road first ended in downtown Los Angeles, at Broadway and Seventh Street, and was extended to Santa Monica in the mid-1930s; the pier was never its official end. Both ends are big-city starts, so most people spend a day at each. See what is near the start in our Chicago town guide, including Lou Mitchell's, the classic breakfast stop before heading west, and what waits at the finish in the Santa Monica guide, where the Heal the Bay Aquarium sits under the pier. The map above marks both ends.

How long is Route 66?

Route 66 is about 2,448 miles long, the figure most often quoted for the road from Chicago to Santa Monica; some sources round it to 2,400. The exact number depends on which alignment you follow, because the highway was rerouted many times between 1926 and 1985, and some stretches have two or three versions a few miles apart.

On our map every stop has a mile mark measured along the road from Chicago, rounded and always "about": St. Louis sits near mile 327, Amarillo near mile 1,194 and Flagstaff near mile 1,892. The trip planner uses the same miles to split any stretch into days.

What states does Route 66 go through?

Eight states. From east to west, Route 66 runs through Illinois, Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona and California. Kansas has only a short corner of it, about 13 miles, while Oklahoma, New Mexico and Arizona each hold several hundred miles of the old road.

How long does it take to drive Route 66?

Plan on about two weeks for the whole road, driving roughly 175 miles a day with time for stops. About 10 days is the practical minimum if you want the old road rather than the interstate, and most guides suggest two to three weeks. The driving alone takes around 54 hours at the 45 mph average our planner uses, because so much of the old road is two-lane road through small towns.

Our 14-day Route 66 itinerary shows one way to split the road, with an overnight town and the best stops for each day. To change the pace or the number of days, open it in the trip planner.

When was Route 66 built?

Route 66 was created in 1926, when the new system of numbered U.S. highways gave the Chicago to Los Angeles road its famous number; its official birthday is November 11, 1926. Much of it followed older roads and trails, and the whole route was paved by the late 1930s. The road turns 100 in November 2026.

Springfield, Missouri calls itself the birthplace of Route 66: the number was proposed in a telegram sent from a Springfield hotel on April 30, 1926. Many of the buildings on our map date from the road's first decades, like the 1926 Soulsby Service Station in Mount Olive, Illinois.

Why is Route 66 famous?

For decades it was a main road west. In the 1930s Dust Bowl families followed it to California, and John Steinbeck called it the mother road in The Grapes of Wrath. After World War II it became the great vacation road, celebrated in the 1946 song “(Get Your Kicks on) Route 66” and the 1960s TV series Route 66.

The businesses that competed for those travelers left the road its look: neon motels like the Blue Swallow Motel, giants like the Gemini Giant and diners like the Rock Café, which is tied to the 2006 Pixar film Cars that introduced the road to a new generation.

Is Route 66 still open? Can you still drive it?

Yes, most of it. Route 66 was taken out of the U.S. highway system in 1985, after the interstates replaced it, but long stretches survive as local roads, state highways and frontage roads, many signed Historic Route 66. It is often said that around 85 percent of the old road can still be driven; some parts lie under Interstates 55, 44 and 40.

Williams, Arizona was the last town on the road to be bypassed by the interstate, in 1984. Some of the best drivable stretches are in Oklahoma, around Stroud, and in western Arizona, where the old road climbs to Oatman.

What is the best time of year to drive Route 66?

April to June and September to October are the easiest months: mild weather, long days and most seasonal attractions open. High summer is very hot in the Mojave Desert and western Arizona, and winter can bring snow to the high country around Flagstaff and across New Mexico, so check the forecast before crossing the mountains.

In summer, do the desert stretch between Kingman and Barstow early in the day. Flagstaff sits at nearly 7,000 feet, so evenings there are cool even in July.

Where is the halfway point of Route 66?

In the Texas Panhandle. The Midpoint Café in Adrian, Texas, claims the halfway mark, 1,139 miles from either end by its own count. That is shorter than the usual total because the road's length depends on the alignment, but it is the spot travelers stop for the midpoint photo.

See the Midpoint Café on the map, about 70 miles west of Amarillo and Cadillac Ranch.

Which state has the most miles of Route 66?

Kansas has the least, about 13 miles in its southeast corner. The longest stretches run through Oklahoma, New Mexico and Arizona, several hundred miles each, and Oklahoma is often said to have more drivable miles of the old road than any other state.

Stops are another matter: our map has the most in Illinois and California, thanks to the big-city museums at each end of the road. Every state page, like Oklahoma, lists all of its stops east to west.

Is Route 66 dangerous?

Not today, beyond the usual care on rural two-lane roads. In its busy years it was nicknamed Bloody 66 for its many crashes on narrow pavement. The practical risks now are long empty stretches with no fuel or phone signal, summer desert heat, and tight mountain curves, like the road over Sitgreaves Pass to Oatman in Arizona. Fill up in towns, carry water, and drive the loneliest parts in daylight.

The emptiest stretch is the Mojave between Needles and Barstow in California, past Roy's Motel and Cafe in Amboy. The road between Essex and Amboy there has been closed since 2014 while its bridges are rebuilt, with the work expected to finish in 2027; the usual detour is Interstate 40 and Kelbaker Road, and the stretch from Ludlow to Amboy is open. Our planner shows the distance between stops for every day, so long gaps are easy to spot.