Lorecast
The Route 66 shield painted on the old road near Amboy, California

ROUTE 66 · CHICAGO TO SANTA MONICA

Route 66, town by town

Route 66 turns 100 on November 11, 2026. Here are its towns, the stops worth making and the stories behind them, from Chicago to Santa Monica.

  • 22 towns with stories
  • 123 stories to hear
  • Free in the app through 2027

The road, briefly

U.S. Route 66 was established on November 11, 1926, as one of the original highways in the U.S. Numbered Highway System. It ran 2,448 miles from Chicago through Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico and Arizona to Santa Monica, California. By 1938 it was the first U.S. highway to be fully paved.

In the 1930s it carried Dust Bowl migrants west, and in The Grapes of Wrath John Steinbeck called it the Mother Road. Interstates replaced it, and it was removed from the U.S. Highway System in 1985. Many stretches survive as Historic Route 66, a National Scenic Byway, and more than four-fifths of the old road can still be driven, though it is not always well marked.

Sources: Wikipedia — U.S. Route 66; Wikivoyage — Route 66

LISTEN FIRST

How the trip begins

ON THE ROAD · TOLD BY MILES · 52 SEC

So, you're on Route 66

So, you're on Route 66. The Mother Road. John Steinbeck gave it that name in 'The Grapes of Wrath'—the road that carried Dust Bowl families west, looking for a new start. But it's older than that. It was born in 1926, one of the original numbered highways, and it ran from Chicago all the way to Santa Monica—2,448 miles of asphalt and hope. Along the way, it became the Main Street of America, lined with neon signs, motor courts, and drive-ins. Then the interstates came, and by 1985, Route 66 was officially gone. But here's the thing: most of it is still here, waiting. Over four-fifths of the old road is still drivable, if you know where to look. We're going to find it. So settle in. Let's roll.

Sources

Plan the trip

Route 66 state by state

Kansas has its own short stretch of Route 66 between Missouri and Oklahoma. It is covered on the Missouri page for now.

Every town in this guide

  1. 1Chicago
  2. 2Joliet
  3. 3Springfield
  4. 4St. Louis
  5. 5Springfield
  6. 6Joplin
  7. 7Tulsa
  8. 8Stroud
  9. 9Oklahoma City
  10. 10Elk City
  11. 11Amarillo
  12. 12Tucumcari
  13. 13Santa Rosa
  14. 14Albuquerque
  15. 15Gallup
  16. 16Holbrook
  17. 17Flagstaff
  18. 18Williams
  19. 19Kingman
  20. 20Needles
  21. 21San Bernardino
  22. 22Santa Monica
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The route the Lorecast app follows, Chicago to Santa Monica. Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors.

HEAR IT ON THE ROAD

Let the road tell its stories while you drive.

Lorecast plays short stories about the places around you, hands-free. Download Route 66 before you leave and it works offline. Route 66 is free through December 31, 2027.

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How these stories are made

Lorecast stories are written with AI using only the sources listed under each story, and they are narrated with synthetic voices. An automatic check traces every name and date back to those sources, and legends are told as legends. Every story on this page was also checked against its sources before we published it here. If you spot a mistake, write to hello@lorecast.net.

All sources and licences

Story and page texts are original writing based on the facts in these sources. Wikipedia and Wikivoyage text is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; Wikidata under CC0; National Register of Historic Places records are public domain. Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL. Distances are along the route as Lorecast maps it and differ slightly from other guides.

Photo credits

Updated 10 October 2026.