Route 66, live on your dashEvery town ahead — iPhone & CarPlay
$1.99On November 11, 1926, a committee in Springfield, Missouri signed off on a numbered highway running from Chicago to Los Angeles. On November 11, 2026, that road turns one hundred.
Route 66 was pulled from the official highway system in 1985, but the road never actually left. Most of it is still out there under different names, two lanes wide, running through the middle of the towns the interstate bypassed. We mapped the whole continuous drivable route for the centennial: 2,199 miles, 8 states, 280 towns and stops, with every place to eat, sleep, fuel up and pull over cataloged at each one.
The classic 1926 routing measured about 2,448 miles. Our 2026 drivable mapping runs 2,199, starting at The Loop in Chicago and ending at the Santa Monica Pier. Everything between is on the state guides below.
We built a 3D flyover of the entire road for the centennial: real elevation, every town glowing by how much is still alive there, the icons lighting up as you pass. Take the drive →
| State | Miles | Stops | Don't miss |
|---|---|---|---|
| Illinois | 280 | 52 | The Loop, the Gemini Giant in Wilmington, Pontiac's murals |
| Missouri | 318 | 50 | Meramec Caverns, Ted Drewes territory in St. Louis, Devils Elbow |
| Kansas | 8 | 3 | All 8 miles of it. Galena and Baxter Springs, blink and you miss a state |
| Oklahoma | 376 | 57 | The Blue Whale of Catoosa, Pops 66 and the Arcadia Round Barn, more 66 than any other state |
| Texas | 156 | 12 | The U-Drop Inn in Shamrock, Cadillac Ranch outside Amarillo |
| New Mexico | 375 | 39 | The Blue Swallow Motel in Tucumcari, Albuquerque's Central Avenue neon |
| Arizona | 377 | 31 | Seligman's Snow Cap, the Wigwam Motel in Holbrook, Meteor Crater, standing on the corner in Winslow |
| California | 309 | 36 | The Bagdad Cafe, Barstow's motel row, the pier at the end |
Each state guide lists every town in order with what's actually there right now: restaurants, gas, motels and attractions with distances, pulled from the same live database that powers the Pit Stop app and refreshed continuously.
The road that survives is not a museum. Our database counts 2,424 places to eat and 1,285 places to sleep along the route today, and the icons are still open for business: Delgadillo's Snow Cap has been serving burgers in Seligman since 1953, the Blue Swallow in Tucumcari still rents rooms by the neon, and the U-Drop Inn's tower still stands over Shamrock the way it has since 1936.
One thing our data shows clearly: the old road still belongs to the independents. On the interstates, chains run more than half the lodging. On the two-lane routes, the independents hold the majority. We measured it across six highways in The Old Road Still Belongs to the Independents.
November 11, 2026. The highway was established on November 11, 1926. Events run all year across the eight states, with the biggest concentration around the anniversary itself.
Yes. It is no longer a signed US highway, but most of the road survives as state routes, historic byways and frontage roads. Our mapped route is continuous and drivable end to end.
Two weeks is comfortable. Eight to ten days is doable. The towns are the point, so budget extra for Oklahoma (most miles) and Arizona (most surviving icons).
East to west. Chicago to Santa Monica is the direction the road was built to carry people, the sun sets in front of you, and the ocean is the finish line.