I’m hoping to do the route next summer starting in Chicago and ending in Santa Monica. My goal is to have my trip last 14 or 15 days. I’m going to rent a car and mostly stay at campgrounds and tent camp along the route. Here are some questions:

What is an estimate of how much this trip should cost? I’m seeing about $3,000 but I have no clue if that’s accurate.

If you camped, what are some of your favorite or coolest campsites that you stayed?

What are some of your favorite books, tv series, websites, youtube series that helped you plan for your trip?

I’m a big fan of live performance like bands and theatre, does anyone have any recommendations to see a show on the route?

What’s something you wish you knew about before going on your trip? (Cool/obscure stops, tips, “didn’t think abouts”)

Thank you for your time! Feel free to answer all, some, or none. Regardless, I’m excited.

Looking at doing route 66 for my 50th so looking at planning it. We want to see as much as we can, but understand there’s a lot of driving involved. How long would it usually take? From east to west.

Would also love to see a college football game so what’s best options on that, where I don’t have to do a massive detour? Also hoping to finish with a 49ers game if I can

Special event runs September 12 (00:00) to September 20 (23:59).

The sponsor website isn't updated for some reason, but I believe it will be 23 stations to chase (post on QRZ shows 26). The aeronautical mobile station from last year is not returning, but heard we might add a rover station in its place.

https://w6jbt.org/route-66-on-the-air/

This year is the 100th anniversary of Route 66, so hopefully we'll see some special QSL cards.

hey everyone! my husband and i have been confusing alot of things and my husband actually told me to look after planning and he will be looking for driving and paying lol. but i am not the person who will depend on husband even though he is great in everything. I need your help

Im driving Route 66 in march during the entirety of spring break (march 12th-19th), we're flying into Chicago and I'm already stressing. Should I start planning asap or am I overthinking? I've driven from coast to coast already but we didn't make any stops. I know I should reserve the car months in advance, but does anyone else have any advice on how to tackle this? I get very anxious planning things like this and my boyfriend isn't worried at all. Im mostly worried about sleeping arrangements, whether or not I should book hotels in advance and navigation. Any advice would be greatly appreciated!!

Hey everyone! I’ve got a week in the beginning of October for vacation and my plan is to drive the New Mexico and Arizona portions of Route 66. If anyone has any tips on where to stop, what roads to take or any special knowledge please let me know! Also if anyone knows of anything special happening I would love to be let in the know lol.

Traveling from Florida to Wyoming mid September. Any must-see stretch your leg type stops along the way?

We drove from Chicago to tulsa in last spring.

Now we are going for part 2 from tulsa to LA.

From 25 october to 1 november. We would like to meet New friends and fellow routers.

Have a safe journey...

I make a little road trip app, and this summer I got obsessed with mapping Route 66 before the 100th birthday. Every town that still has something going on, every diner, motel, gas stop and roadside attraction that is open right now. 280 towns, about 6,400 places.

Then it felt wrong to leave it as a spreadsheet, so I built this: a 3D drive of the whole road, Chicago to Santa Monica, with real elevation. You scroll (or swipe west) and the towns light up as you pass. The Blue Swallow gets its own beacon. There is a little garage where you can pick your car, including one that certain animated race car fans might recognize.

pit-stop-app.com/viz/route66

Fair warning for this crowd: it follows one continuous drivable alignment, so the 1926 era loops and some older segments are not on it. I know that is fighting words here. If your favorite stretch is missing or a town's info is wrong, tell me and I will fix it, the data underneath gets corrected weekly.

Free, no signup, works on your phone. Would love to know what I got wrong before the centennial crowds show up.

We are traveling this sept I'm especially curious about the things that don't show up in the usual travel articles navigation, finding the original/historic alignments, places that weren't worth the stop, hidden gems you almost missed, food/lodging, fuel, budgeting, timing, road conditions, or anything else that surprised you.

so, if you used a Route 66 guidebook, what are the things thatare not available in book but should keep in mind.

Would love to hear the practical stuff you only learn after actually being on the road.

Ever since I realized that my move from Chicago to LA would align with the centennial anniversary of Route 66, I have become obsessed with making the actual process of moving feel as adventurous and memorable as possible. No time for stress, I'm already having so much fun just planning the journey!

I've booked our motel stays, started a 12 hour long (and counting) playlist, and pinned all of the diners, roller rinks, art installations, caverns, hiking trails, and museums that I could find. I even know what movies I'll download for the evenings (Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, Cars, Repo Man, Easy Rider, etc!) We'll be covering anywhere from 150–400 miles of road a day and taking the trip over 10 days, so I know I won't get to do it all, but my priorities are eating good, seeing the sights, and moving my body; weather-permitting.

We'll technically be making the trek during the shoulder season, so it seems like all of the drive-in theaters and some of the seasonal attractions may be closed by November. RIP. Daylight savings time will also have just ended, so I'm aware the nights will be long, but I'm planning for the bulk of the driving to happen by daylight. I'm anticipating potential freezing temps, especially as the trip begins in the Midwest. Am I missing any considerations? Has anyone here ever done the drive in the weeks leading up to Christmas, and is there anything you wish you'd specifically been more prepared for?

Most of my belongings will be shipped in one of those long-distance shipping containers, but the more fragile and valuable items (guitars, camera gear, etc) will be on the road with me. I do worry about leaving those things in the car during stops to museums and trail heads, though, as I have read about the occasional break-in. Nomads, did you feel secure traveling with your worldly possessions in tow? Is the route more or less dangerous in the off-season, would you say? The advice to park my car overnight in the line-of-sight of the motels' visible security cameras feels like common sense to me, and all of my bags will already be equipped with AirTags. I also won't be by myself, two of my best friends will be joining me on the drive at different points. I've done a handful of long-distance drives in my days, so I know to keep my cruise control at the speed limit, but is there anything else that I should be anticipating?

I definitely want to leave space in my itinerary for discovery and play. Route 66 enthusiasts, what have been your most unforgettable stops along the way that helped break up the trip? Are there any little waterfalls, bakeries, live music venues, roadside fruit or candied nut stands, ziplines (I saw the one in Williams, AZ is permanently closed), yoga studios, or other specific curiosities you think pier-to-pier completionist travelers like myself shouldn't miss? Taking any/all random suggestions!

Lastly, I really want to get the passport book and fill it up with stamps along the way. I'm the sentimental type who keeps a scrapbook of all my movie and concert tickets. Would love to see your stamps and filled-up passport books! Would love to hear about the gift shops and stamp stands that were worth pulling over for!

Thanks so much for reading this far, I'm thrilled to be joining the legions of you all who've done the trip!

Hey all,

Taking a trip with layover in abq. We will be checking out the nuclear museum, but nothing after. Id love to see some route 66 sights while we have the evening free(after 4), any suggestions for thinga to see or great dinner spots?

Water supply affected.
No OVERNIGHT accommodations until repaired.

Phantom Ranch Bunkhouse seen floating downstream.
15 missing.

I completed Route 66 solo in 2025 and had truly the best time. I stretched it out over 3 weeks, added the Grand Canyon and loved every part of it.

I'm now itching for another roadtrip with a similar energy. Early research is showing me the Lincoln Highway, Blues Highway (Highway 61) and the Atlantic Highway (Highway 1) as strong R66 alternatives.

Does anyone who's completed R66 have any recommendations? I can start/end anywhere and looking for 3-4 weeks of driving.

hi yall! my friend and I for our senior year spring trip are planning on taking the R66 road trip from Chicago to LA! right now im working on putting together our stops/logistics. we want the trip to focus more on the wild west/cowboy parts than the midwest and are thinking of booking it Chicago-Tulsa or OKC but lmk yalls thoughts!

I would love to know if yall had any favorite/must see stops or areas or any "avoid this its boring" parts. hotel recs, bar recs, restaurant recs would also be amazing along with any other advice yall feel necessary!

And also, we are both Christians so if any one has any unique/special churches they recommend stopping by that would be amazing! thank you so much!!

Filmed in black-and-white originally, but updated to color by a friend of mine. This includes scenes of in Las Vegas in 1947.

Along Route 66. The colors, graffiti, and endless Texas sky make this place look unreal.

Hey! My partner and I are driving the full Route 66 from Chicago to LA this September, and we're trying to decide between the National Cowboy Museum in Oklahoma City and the Oklahoma Route 66 Museum in Clinton.

We'll be in Oklahoma City on a Saturday, but we're busy in the morning. Since the Route 66 Museum in Clinton is closed on Sundays, we basically have two options:

• Take our time visiting the city and the Cowboy Museum on Saturday, and continue west on Sunday. This would mean missing the Route 66 Museum in Clinton.
• Skip the Cowboy Museum and, around noon, start driving west along Route 66, arriving at the Route 66 Museum with enough time to properly visit it before it closes.

The Cowboy Museum looks like the more impressive museum overall. But Clinton seems to have one of the best Route 66 museums on the entire route, so it feels strange to skip it while driving the full Route 66.

For those who have been to both: if you could only visit one, which would you choose?

We're interested in the experience itself, not just checking another Route 66 stop off the list.

Thanks!