2026 marks 100 years of Route 66. The Mother Road was commissioned on November 11, 1926, connecting Chicago to Santa Monica across 2,448 miles and 8 states. A century later, it remains the most iconic road trip in America — neon signs, giant roadside statues, meteor craters, swimming holes, and the Pacific Ocean waiting at the finish line. This is your state-by-state guide to driving Route 66 with kids during its centennial year.

Illinois: Chicago to Springfield

Begin at the corner of Jackson & Michigan in downtown Chicago — the official eastern terminus. Before you leave the city, let the skyline sink in for a moment: 2,448 miles of America starts here. Head south on US-66 through the suburbs. In Wilmington, stop for the Gemini Giant — a 28-foot fiberglass astronaut standing guard outside the Launching Pad Drive-In since 1965. Kids go completely silent when they first see it, then immediately want a photo underneath. Continue to Springfield, where Cozy Dog Drive-In claims to have invented the corn dog in 1946. It's worth the stop: the corn dogs are good, the Route 66 memorabilia covers every wall, and you're eating history.

Missouri: St. Louis to the Ozarks

St. Louis opens with the Gateway Arch — the tallest arch in the world at 630 feet. Take the tram ride to the top; the view of the Mississippi River curving away into the midwest is genuinely breathtaking. Kids who thought they understood how big America is will revise that estimate. Two miles from downtown, the Old Chain of Rocks Bridge is a mile-long pedestrian bridge over the Mississippi that was part of the original Route 66. Walk it; the midpoint bend is one of the more unusual engineering features on the whole corridor. Continue west into the Ozarks and stop at Meramec Caverns near Stanton — a five-story underground cave system that Jesse James supposedly used as a hideout. The guided tours are well-paced for kids and the formations are legitimately impressive.

Kansas & Oklahoma: Heartland of the Mother Road

Kansas is the shortest state on Route 66 — just 13 miles through Galena. But don't skip it. The town of Galena has a rusted tow truck on display that inspired Mater in Pixar's Cars. Oklahoma is Route 66's heartland, with more original mileage preserved than any other state. In Catoosa, the Blue Whale sits in a murky pond along Route 66 — an 80-foot concrete whale with a slide down its back, built in the 1970s as a personal roadside attraction and now one of the most-photographed stops on the corridor. Ed Galloway's Totem Pole Park in Foyil features a 90-foot concrete totem pole, the world's largest, covered in hand-carved reliefs. Near Arcadia, POPS 66 Soda Ranch has more than 700 varieties of soda under a 66-foot neon bottle that lights up at night. Kids pick their own. Budget 20 minutes and expect each child to drink three different things. The Arcadia Round Barn, just down the road, is an 1898 circular barn still standing in immaculate condition — one of those structures that makes you stop and wonder how they built it.

Texas: Panhandle and the Cadillacs

Texas starts in Shamrock, home of the U-Drop Inn Café — a 1936 art deco building shaped like a rocket ship that inspired the Ramone's House of Body Art in Cars. The building alone is worth the detour. Continue to Amarillo and Cadillac Ranch — ten vintage Cadillacs half-buried nose-first in a wheat field, spray-painted in layers of color going back decades. Bring your own spray paint (flat colors work best). Kids paint the cars, take photos, and leave with paint on their hands. It's one of those experiences that's impossible to explain and impossible to forget. Midpoint Café in Adrian marks the exact halfway point of Route 66 — 1,139 miles from Chicago, 1,139 miles to Santa Monica. The slices of pie are enormous.

New Mexico: Desert Color and Neon Nights

Entering New Mexico, Tucumcari has one of the best preserved stretches of original Route 66 neon — the Blue Swallow Motel sign has been glowing since 1939 and is a genuine landmark. Photograph it at dusk. Continue to Santa Rosa and stop at the Blue Hole — a circular natural pool fed by a 3,000-gallon-per-minute artesian spring that stays at 61°F year-round. It's bright blue, crystal clear, and surrounded by red sandstone. Kids will want to swim; adults will want to swim more. Albuquerque's Old Town makes a solid dinner stop for New Mexican food (red or green chile — say “Christmas” to get both). Finish the day in Gallup at the El Rancho Hotel, where Hollywood stars stayed during the golden age of Western filming. The lobby looks like 1940.

Arizona: Fossils, Craters, and Teepees

Arizona packs the most distinctive landscape of any state on the route. Start with Petrified Forest National Park near Holbrook — 225-million-year-old logs turned to crystal over geological time, scattered across the high desert in colors of red, purple, and gold. The junior ranger program is excellent. Then sleep in a teepee at Wigwam Village Motel #6 in Holbrook — concrete teepees that have been rented to road trippers since 1950. Kids who've been asking about this since Illinois will not be disappointed. In Winslow, Standin' on the Corner Park commemorates the Eagles lyric with a mural and statue; if your kids don't know the song, it's time they did. Meteor Crater near Winslow is a 50,000-year-old asteroid impact site — 3,900 feet wide, 560 feet deep. The scale is surreal. Stand at the rim and try to picture a piece of rock the size of a building arriving from space at 26,000 miles per hour. The museum is one of the best science exhibits on the entire route. In Seligman, Snow Cap Drive-In has been serving burgers and pranking customers since 1953 — the mustard squirts water, the napkin dispenser is fake, and the owner's family has been confusing tourists for 70 years. It's genuinely funny.

California: Mojave to the Pacific

California is the homestretch. Roy's Motel and Café in Amboy rises out of the Mojave Desert like a mirage — a 1940s gas station and motel sign against absolute desert emptiness. It's still operating. Stop for gas and a photo. Continue through San Bernardino, where the original Wigwam Village Motel #7 still stands. The final stretch into Santa Monica passes through Pasadena and down Sunset Boulevard to the ocean. The official western terminus is at the intersection of Lincoln and Olympic Boulevards, but most people drive to the Santa Monica Pier — the amusement rides, the Pacific Ocean views, and the satisfaction of 2,448 miles complete. Kids who earned a sticker in Chicago will earn their last one here.

Practical Tips for Route 66 with Kids

The Bottom Line

Route 66 turns 100 in 2026. A century of American road tripping — before GPS, before interstates, before the trip was just the space between where you left and where you're going. The Mother Road was built for exactly the opposite: the drive itself as the destination, one roadside wonder at a time. Do it this year, with your kids, on its centennial. They'll be talking about it when they're old enough to drive it themselves.

RoadLore covers all 30 Route 66 landmarks with GPS-triggered narration. Your kids collect stickers from Chicago to Santa Monica — and you get to enjoy the drive. Start your Route 66 trip at roadlore.polsia.app.