Find the places. Choose the alignment. Check the road.
This interactive map marks the starting area and 18 suggested overnight towns, from west to east. Select a numbered marker to open its travelogue stage. Markers show approximate town centers, not hotel entrances.
Eastbound state sequence. This diagram shows order, not distance or a navigable road alignment.
Eastbound sequence: Santa Monica → Los Angeles area → Pasadena/San Bernardino corridor → Victorville → Barstow → Newberry Springs → Amboy, where access permits → Needles. Different historical alignments through the Los Angeles basin should be selected before driving; trying to improvise every junction in traffic is tiring. The 18-day travelogue divides California into two driving days, with Barstow as the first overnight and Needles as the second.
California visitor guide ↗Eastbound sequence: Needles/Topock → Oatman and Sitgreaves Pass if suitable → Kingman → Hackberry → Seligman → Williams → Flagstaff → Winslow → Holbrook → Petrified Forest area → New Mexico. Modern connectors are necessary in places. The slower Oatman road and the AZ-66 section northeast of Kingman are distinct parts of the experience, not one uniform driving road.
Arizona Route 66 guide ↗Direct eastbound sequence: Gallup → Grants → Albuquerque → Santa Rosa → Tucumcari. For the earlier Santa Fe alignment, add a separate loop and overnight rather than silently replacing the direct stage. In Albuquerque, Fourth Street and Central Avenue meet at a crossroads of different historical versions of the route.
New Mexico route and resources ↗Eastbound sequence: New Mexico border → Adrian → Vega → Amarillo → Groom/Conway area → McLean → Shamrock → Oklahoma. Historic frontage roads and town streets are interspersed with modern highway connections. Use a current alignment map rather than assuming every parallel service road connects through.
Texas Historical Commission Route 66 resources ↗Eastbound sequence: western border → Elk City/Clinton → Weatherford → Oklahoma City → Arcadia → Tulsa → Catoosa → northeastern Oklahoma → Kansas. Select small-road stretches with a current guide, particularly where an older narrow alignment survives beside later roads.
Oklahoma roadside landmarks ↗Eastbound sequence: Oklahoma border → Baxter Springs → Rainbow Bridge area → Riverton → Galena → Missouri. The official Kansas tourism guide describes roughly 13 miles of byway. Treat that as the designated route length rather than a total for all your visits, parking approaches and side trips.
Kansas official byway map and directions ↗Eastbound sequence: Joplin/Carthage → Springfield → Lebanon → Waynesville and optional older alignments → Rolla → Cuba → St. Louis. Use current local guidance for historic-road deviations, particularly around river crossings. The travelogue splits the state with Carthage, Lebanon and St. Louis overnights.
Chain of Rocks Park access and closures ↗Eastbound/northbound sequence: Mississippi crossing → Springfield → Bloomington-Normal → Pontiac → Wilmington → Joliet → Chicago. Older Illinois alignments differ, so select a consistent version using the byway guide. For a centennial finish, visit Navy Pier as well as the familiar historic downtown markers.
Illinois trip ideas ↗Route 66 changed during its lifetime. A road can be authentic to one period without matching another period’s map. Choose the version you want to explore, then check which sections are legally open today.
A pin identifies a place. It does not guarantee a driveway, parking area, opening time or permitted access. Follow the attraction’s current directions for the final approach.
Santa Monica Pier’s sign is symbolic; the old highway terminus is at Lincoln and Olympic. Chicago’s Navy Pier became a centennial starting point in 2026, while the downtown markers continue to tell the older story.