Route 66 in Kansas: Map, Towns & Things to See

What to see on Route 66 in Kansas

In Galena, the Kan-O-Tex Service Station is a 1934 filling station turned souvenir shop and snack bar, known for its ties to Pixar's Cars. Near Riverton the old road crosses Brush Creek on the 1923 Rainbow Bridge, a white concrete arch that is one of the most photographed bridges on the whole route. Baxter Springs keeps a 1930 cottage-style gas station that now serves as the Route 66 visitor center for Kansas, a good place to pick up maps and ask about the road ahead. Just off the highway, Treece is a mining town that was emptied by lead pollution and is now almost gone.

By kind, our 8 Kansas stops include 3 historic buildings, 3 retro roadside stops, 1 ghost town and 1 historic bridge.

The landscape tells the area's story. Grey chat piles, the waste left by lead and zinc mines, rise near the Oklahoma line: this corner of Kansas was part of the Tri-State Mining District, which spread across Kansas, Missouri and Oklahoma and emptied out as the mines closed. Galena's brick main street is a reminder of the boom years.

Towns, overnight stops and how long to allow

Route 66 towns in Kansas, east to west: Galena.

Allow an hour or two of driving and looking. There is no big overnight town on the Kansas stretch: Joplin, just east in Missouri, and Miami, just west in Oklahoma, have the motels. Galena and Baxter Springs have cafes and gas. With a spare hour, cross into Oklahoma for the emptied mining towns of Picher and Cardin, the other half of the same story.

Best time to drive Route 66 in Kansas

Any season works for so short a drive. Spring storms can build fast in this corner of the Plains, so check the forecast; in summer, go in the morning, when the light on the old filling stations is soft and the shops are opening.