Route 66 - any tips and recommendations?

[euro]

I've long been fascinated by the idea of driving parts (or all) of the mother road. Doesn't look like this has been discussed extensively on this forum. Any input as to what the highlights of such a trip are? Cant't misses, but also "avoid".
Typically, travel reports about Route 66 will talk about the stretch from Oklahoma to the West Coast - is there any value in seeing the part from Chicago to Oklahoma? I suspect that there is, but info is somewhat sparse.
I would likely fly to the starting point and do a point to point car renal, and then fly back home. I have no preference as far as going East to West or the other way around, but I'm looking to make the trip in May, so open to suggestion there too if it makes a difference (avoid snow, etc)
Any ideas and suggestions welcomed. I have about 2 weeks (give or take), and DW and I tend to travel fairly low key/low budget.

 

[Marita40]

I haven't done it so have no tips, but I know someone who used this book to great advantage:
https://www.amazon.com/Route-66-EZ6...coding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=8YMN1E92SADZQE4YN25C

 

[38Chevy454]

Get a book, that will be the biggest help. I think the reason most of the info is OK and west is due to that part still being more intact. A lot of it runs along I-40, through the towns along the route. Big portion being a main street through those towns. You can't drive Rt 66 continuous, I am sure you know that. Have fun, there are a lot of restored or rebuilt places thanks to the nostalgia and tourism.

 

[Sunset]

We drove a little part of it in the West, it was pretty scenic. We stopped for lunch which was a lot more fun than a McDonald's.

 

[Ronstar]

I've driven what's left of 66 from Chicago to Flagstaff several times, and the western portion of Arizona twice. Getting ready to do Winslow az to Santa Fe in a couple of weeks.

Start with some books and maps. I just bought "The EZ66 Guide for Travelers 4th Edition", "Here it is Route 66 Map Series", and each of the Rand McNally "Easy to Read" state maps along the route. Ordered from amazon.

The book gives turn by turn directions as well as attractions along the route. The "Here it is" series provides turn by turn directions on a state by state basis with one map per state. This series will be very handy on the road.

The TripAdvisor app also is good in that it shows attractions, hotels, etc along the route.

I prefer Route 66 through Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico and Arizona where most of the old sections are still in place. Route 66 through northern Illinois is mostly city streets through cities and towns along the I55 corridor. I haven't driven much of the 66 sections through Missouri, but it isn't as interesting as the western states from what I've read.

That said, given that you have 2 weeks, I would fly to Chicago, rent a car, and drive to LA, turn the car in and fly home.

You'll have to do a ton of research to line up the attractions that you want to see and the portions of Route 66 that you want to drive. Chicago and LA area traffic is somewhat hectic along what is now 66.

Don't try it in the winter. You could encounter snow and ice from Chicago to Texas and then again in Flagstaff..

Happy Planning and have a great trip!

 

[GravitySucks]

Stick to the tour guide maps. I got off 40 in eastern Arizona this January and saw an old 66 road sign. Took a bit under an hour to go the 12 miles to the next on ramp. Gave the shocks and springs a nice workout.

 

[Bamaman]

I have driven to the West Coast once, and that was enough for me. From the Mid South to the closest really interesting travel sight was about 850 miles. I don't care about cowboy or horse museums.

I also had no idea that going west, it is uphill from the start of New Mexico to Flagstaff, AZ

Flying sounds more attractive to the really beautiful places of the west where I'd be glad to rent a car.

 

[cooch96]

I lived within 1 mile of Route 66 for nearly a year when I was stationed at Fort Leonard Wood. Go ahead and skip Pulaski County, MO. Missouri has some very nice wineries along that road, or it did 10 years ago, but Pulaski County is a cultural void.

 

[audreyh1]

We've just visited the Albuquerque section a few times. Good eats!

 

[gcgang]

I hear you can get your kicks there.

https://youtu.be/vifUaZQL8pc

 

[erkevin]

Between Kingman, AZ and Seligman are the Grand Canyon Caverns. Designated a nuclear fallout shelter in the day (60's), it is a nice tour.

 

[euro]

Thanks for all the suggestions so far - I have ordered some of the suggested books. Exciting!

 

[garyweis]

Route 66

In the 70's I drove on 66 from Seligman AZ (Delgadillos Snowcap Driveinn) to Oatman AZ (many miners' donkey descendants roaming around, and also where Clark Gable and Carole Lombard honeymooned at the Oatman Hotel) and remembered it being a scenic although very remote drive.
So last year I went back and it has not changed after 40 years. Worth the drive if you are in that area. Seligman you will see many old cars that look abandoned from the 40s and 50s and its like you stepped back in time if you are there when there's few people around.
I recommend it.

 

[Car-Guy]

It's been 20+ years since I took the Route 66 drive. I drove it from Amarillo Texas to Kingman Arizona in my first Corvette but found many of the roads in pretty bad shape so I ended up just driving on some of the known better parts of it along the way. I had a new Route 66 guide book back then that "rated" the remaining original Route 66 road conditions along the way from good to bad. Also had good info about many of the attractions along the way. I think I still have the book "somewhere". As others suggested, I would get a current Route 66 travel guide, especially one that might give you some idea of what is still open and road conditions.

Also, lots of Route 66 info available on the web with some quick searches.

Very memorable trip. Have fun.

 

[eytonxav]

I drove a portion of it back in 1970, MO/OK/TX/NM/AZ, in a 68 Cadillac. Wish I had driven it in a Corvette and it would have been more memorable. Ran into a hail storm in NM and after a couple of minutes there was a foot of pea sized hail on the ground, but the steel in the cars back then was heavy duty, so no damage to the caddy.

 

[calmloki]

We did a little Globe/Payson/Prescott circuit 2 weeks ago (love the falling down old mining towns). The desert is; for the desert, absolutely lush. Haven't seen it this green and covered in flowers in the last 10 years we've been cruising the area. Garyweis mentions Oatman and it's donkeys. I like donkeys a lot and it's nice to have one stick its head in your car window, but for me the best part was the winding scenic road from Kingman to Oatman - fantastic. Off 66, but we took the road from Prescott to Skull Valley to Bagdad - again, the views of the verdant desert sans people were incredible. Motorcyclists - Kirkland to Bagdad? doesn't get better. Bagdad is a company mining town, the diner had the best tortilla soup I've ever had. We then jogged over to the non-town of Nothing, just so I could say that in my life I came to Nothing. Nothing is between Kingman and Congress Az., which is also fun to say as well as pretty true.