Route 66 in Bloomington, Illinois
Bloomington and its twin town, Normal, sit about 145 miles from Chicago on Route 66, between Pontiac and Springfield. The stops we list under Bloomington also reach south along the old road to the small towns of Atlanta and Lincoln.
- About mile 145 of 2,448 from Chicago
- 27 stops in and around Bloomington
- Small-town overnight
Tap a dot to see that stop here.
Tap a dot for the photo and a link to the stop (the fork-and-knife markers are places to eat). Open Bloomington on the full map to filter by kind or add stops to your trip.
For Route 66 fans, two buildings stand out. Sprague's Super Service in Normal is a Tudor Revival service station honored in the Illinois Route 66 Hall of Fame, and the Downey Building in Atlanta is an 1867 storefront that once held the Palms Grill Café, a Route 66 bus stop. Normal also has the restored Normal Theater, a Streamline Moderne movie house the town saved in 1993, and the Camelback Bridge, a wooden truss bridge held up by rare Phoenix columns.
Bloomington itself is a county seat with deep political roots. The McLean County Museum of History is run by a historical society founded in 1892, and the historic districts around it are full of Queen Anne, Italianate and Prairie School homes. Among them are the boyhood home of Adlai Stevenson II and the Vrooman Mansion, where both Stephen A. Douglas and Abraham Lincoln gave speeches. Families can take a break at Miller Park, with its lake, zoo and preserved steam locomotive, or walk under the trees of the Fell Arboretum on the university campus in Normal.
Practical note: most stops are within a mile of the road, and the historic homes are best seen from the sidewalk. Bloomington–Normal works as a night on the Illinois stretch; Springfield, the state capital, is about 71 miles further on.
Top 10 Route 66 attractions in and around Bloomington
Retro roadside (1)
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Nature & parks (3)
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Museums (5)
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Historic theaters (1)
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Historic bridges (1)
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Historic districts (4)
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Historic buildings (12)
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Where to eat in and around Bloomington
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Next towns on Route 66
Route 66 in Bloomington: questions
- Did Route 66 go through Bloomington?
- Yes. Route 66 passed through Bloomington and Normal on its way across central Illinois, and stops like the Camelback Bridge and the McLean County Museum of History are about a tenth of a mile from the old road.
- What is there to see on Route 66 in Bloomington?
- We list 27 stops in and around Bloomington, mostly historic buildings, museums and historic districts. The ones our trip planner rates highest are Downey Building, Miller Park Zoo and American Giants Museum. Every stop is on the map above with a photo where one exists, and the distance from the old road.
- How far is Bloomington from the next towns on Route 66?
- Bloomington sits at about mile 145 of Route 66, counting from Chicago. The next town east with its own guide is Pontiac, IL, about 40 miles back. Heading west, Springfield, IL is about 71 miles on. Distances are measured along the road and rounded.
- Is Bloomington a good place to stay overnight on Route 66?
- It works for a night. Our trip planner ends a day in Bloomington when the day's miles fit, and otherwise prefers a bigger overnight town nearby.