Route 66 town guide · Missouri

Route 66 in Cuba, Missouri

Cuba is a small Missouri town about 409 miles from Chicago, in the rolling Ozark foothills between St. Louis and Rolla. It is known on Route 66 for its motel and its old downtown, and the stops we group here also reach east to Sullivan and Bourbon and into the caves along the Meramec River.

About mile 409 of 2,448 from Chicago
18 stops in and around Cuba
Small-town overnight

Tap a dot to see that stop here.

Tap a dot for the photo and a link to the stop. Open Cuba on the full map to filter by kind or add stops to your trip.

The star is the Wagon Wheel Motel, a Tudor Revival motel that has rented rooms without a break since 1938. Downtown, the Uptown Cuba Historic District holds 19 historic buildings, from an 1880s store to a 1930s city hall and fire station, and small museums fill a few of them. The tiny 1908 Cuba City Jail still has its guard room stove and hanging iron bunks, and the 1934 stone school annex, laid in a giraffe pattern, now holds county history.

East of town, the Meramec River valley is cave country. Meramec Caverns near Sullivan is Missouri's most-visited cave, a 4.6-mile system advertised by dozens of billboards along I-44, and Meramec State Park counts more than 40 caves in its forests and rocky glades. Onondaga Cave State Park adds cave tours, camping and swimming a little further off the road. The rest of our list is quiet history: old houses, the 1915 Hotel Cuba and several vanished Ozark settlements that are now little more than names on the map.

Practical note: Cuba is compact, so park once and walk the downtown. It makes a good small-town night between St. Louis and Springfield, and Rolla is about 44 miles further west.

Top 10 Route 66 attractions in and around Cuba

Wagon Wheel Motel, Café and StationA Tudor Revival Route 66 motel in Cuba that has rented rooms without a break since 1938.
Meramec CavernsMissouri's most-visited cave, a 4.6-mile system advertised by dozens of billboards along I-44.
Meramec State ParkA big state park on the Meramec River with more than 40 caves, forests and rocky glades.
Pea RidgeA vanished Washington County town named for a ridge said to grow nothing but peas.
GeorgeA vanished Franklin County settlement that had its own post office from 1894 to 1905.
AveryThe site of a short-lived 1850s Crawford County town, with its old cemetery near Onondaga Cave.
Onondaga Cave State ParkA cave-tour state park on the Meramec River with camping, swimming, fishing and hiking trails.
VilanderA vanished creekside town named after a postmaster's husband, off the beaten path near Bourbon.
Blue Springs Creek Conservation AreaSpring-fed trout water, forest and grassland on 859 acres where Blue Springs Creek meets the Meramec.
Maj. Gen. William S. Harney Summer HomeAn 1856 sandstone house in Sullivan that became an Army general's summer retreat, now a house museum.

Retro roadside (1)

Wagon Wheel Motel, Café and Station in Cuba, MO

Wagon Wheel Motel, Café and Station

Cuba, Missouri · on Route 66

A Tudor Revival Route 66 motel in Cuba that has rented rooms without a break since 1938.

Retro roadsidePhoto credit

Nature & parks (4)

Meramec Caverns in Sullivan, MO

Meramec Caverns

Sullivan, Missouri · 1.9 mi from Route 66

Missouri's most-visited cave, a 4.6-mile system advertised by dozens of billboards along I-44.

Nature & parksPhoto credit

Meramec State Park in Sullivan, MO

Meramec State Park

Sullivan, Missouri · 2.9 mi from Route 66

A big state park on the Meramec River with more than 40 caves, forests and rocky glades.

Nature & parksPhoto credit

Blue Springs Creek Conservation Area

Bourbon, Missouri · 4.0 mi from Route 66

Spring-fed trout water, forest and grassland on 859 acres where Blue Springs Creek meets the Meramec.

Onondaga Cave State Park in Leasburg, MO

Onondaga Cave State Park

Leasburg, Missouri · 5.6 mi from Route 66

A cave-tour state park on the Meramec River with camping, swimming, fishing and hiking trails.

Nature & parksPhoto credit

Ghost towns (4)

George

George, Missouri · 6.9 mi from Route 66

A vanished Franklin County settlement that had its own post office from 1894 to 1905.

Pea Ridge

Pea Ridge, Missouri · 8.8 mi from Route 66

A vanished Washington County town named for a ridge said to grow nothing but peas.

Vilander

Vilander, Missouri · 6.8 mi from Route 66

A vanished creekside town named after a postmaster's husband, off the beaten path near Bourbon.

Avery

Avery, Missouri · 4.8 mi from Route 66

The site of a short-lived 1850s Crawford County town, with its old cemetery near Onondaga Cave.

Historic buildings (9)

Panhorst Feed Store in St. Clair, MO

Panhorst Feed Store

St. Clair, Missouri · 0.2 mi from Route 66

A small 1917 false-front feed store in St. Clair, a plain survivor of small-town Missouri trade.

Historic buildingPhoto credit

Maj. Gen. William S. Harney Summer Home in Sullivan, MO

Maj. Gen. William S. Harney Summer Home

Sullivan, Missouri · 0.6 mi from Route 66

An 1856 sandstone house in Sullivan that became an Army general's summer retreat, now a house museum.

Historic buildingPhoto credit

George B. Hamilton House in Cuba, MO

George B. Hamilton House

Cuba, Missouri · on Route 66

An 1890s Queen Anne house in Cuba trimmed with fishscale shingles and fancy spindlework.

Historic buildingPhoto credit

Cuba City Jail, Missouri

Cuba City Jail

Cuba, Missouri · 0.1 mi from Route 66

A tiny 1908 concrete jail in Cuba, with its guard room stove and hanging iron bunks, now a museum.

Historic buildingPhoto credit

John Manson Munro House in Cuba, MO

John Manson Munro House

Cuba, Missouri · on Route 66

A red brick Queen Anne house from about 1888, with bays and a wraparound porch, in Route 66 Cuba.

Historic buildingPhoto credit

Cuba Lodge No. 312 A.F. and A.M., Missouri

Cuba Lodge No. 312 A.F. and A.M.

Cuba, Missouri · 0.1 mi from Route 66

A 1940 Masonic lodge in Cuba built of rough-cut native sandstone, with a gabled front porch.

Historic buildingPhoto credit

Uptown Cuba Historic District, Missouri

Uptown Cuba Historic District

Cuba, Missouri · 0.1 mi from Route 66

Cuba's old downtown: 19 historic buildings, from an 1880s store to a 1930s city hall and fire station.

Historic buildingPhoto credit

Cuba High School Annex, Missouri

Cuba High School Annex

Cuba, Missouri · 0.1 mi from Route 66

A 1934 stone school building in Cuba, laid in a giraffe pattern, now a county history museum.

Historic buildingPhoto credit

Hotel Cuba, Missouri

Hotel Cuba

Cuba, Missouri · 0.2 mi from Route 66

A modest red brick hotel from 1915 in Cuba, with a porch stretching across its whole front.

Historic buildingPhoto credit

Next towns on Route 66

Route 66 in Cuba: questions

Did Route 66 go through Cuba?: Yes. Route 66 runs right through Cuba; the Wagon Wheel Motel and the Uptown Cuba Historic District both sit about a tenth of a mile from the old road.
What is there to see on Route 66 in Cuba?: We list 18 stops in and around Cuba, mostly historic buildings, ghost towns and parks and nature areas. The ones our trip planner rates highest are Wagon Wheel Motel, Café and Station, Meramec Caverns and Meramec State Park. Every stop is on the map above with a photo where one exists, and the distance from the old road.
How far is Cuba from the next towns on Route 66?: Cuba sits at about mile 409 of Route 66, counting from Chicago. The next town east with its own guide is St. Louis, MO, about 82 miles back. Heading west, Rolla, MO is about 46 miles on. Distances are measured along the road and rounded.
Is Cuba a good place to stay overnight on Route 66?: It works for a night. Our trip planner ends a day in Cuba when the day's miles fit, and otherwise prefers a bigger overnight town nearby.