Route 66 Highlights

The Route 66 — the "Mother Road," the "Main Street of America" — is more than just a road: it is a myth. Established in 1926 as one of the first continuous east-west connections, it stretched 3,940 km from Chicago to Santa Monica and became a symbol of freedom, adventure, and the American dream. Officially replaced by interstate highways and "decommissioned" in 1985, Route 66 lives on today as a nostalgic pilgrimage route — with decaying motels, neon signs, quirky roadside attractions, and an atmosphere straight out of a Springsteen song.

The Best Stops in the Southwest

• Seligman, Arizona — The "birthplace of the historic Route 66." This is where the movement to preserve the road began. Angel Delgadillo's Barbershop is now a museum and souvenir shop. The whole town is a nostalgic open-air museum with vintage cars, neon signs, and the Snow Cap Drive-In (since 1953), where mustard squirts from a hole in the lid — intentionally.
• Hackberry General Store — An iconic vintage store on Route 66, packed with memorabilia, old gas pumps, and Coca-Cola signs. The perfect photo stop.
• Oatman, Arizona — A former gold mining town where wild burros roam the streets (descendants of the miners' donkeys). Daily at 1:30 PM, there's a "Wild West shootout" on the main street. Kitschy but entertaining.
• Cadillac Ranch (Amarillo, Texas) — Ten Cadillacs buried nose-down and covered in graffiti. The most famous roadside attraction on Route 66. Bring spray paint — painting is expressly allowed and encouraged!
• Wigwam Motel (Holbrook, Arizona) — Stay in one of the 15 concrete teepees of this 1950s motel (from $80). Original condition, with vintage furniture and neon sign.
• Petrified Forest National Park — Right on Route 66. Petrified logs from the Triassic period (225 million years old) lie like colorful gemstones in the desert. The Painted Desert at the north end of the park displays rock layers in all the colors of the rainbow.

Planning a Route 66 Tour

A complete Route 66 drive from Chicago to LA takes at least 2 weeks. For those who only want to drive the Southwest section (Albuquerque–LA): 3–4 days. The road is not continuously preserved — you constantly switch between historic Route 66 and modern interstate. A GPS with Route 66 navigation or the EZ66 Guide (a detailed route book) is indispensable. And remember: gas stations can be 100 km apart — fill up when you can, not when you must.