Over time, most of the route was replaced by interstates, particularly I-40, and finding the original road requires a series of zigzags and detours.įor that reason, most people choose just one section, leaving plenty of time for stops along the way, or base themselves out of one of the larger towns on the route and explore in either direction. Passing through eight states between Chicago and Los Angeles, Route 66 covers nearly 2,500 miles across a broad swath of the Midwest, Plains states, Southwest and West. Even though Route 66 no longer exists on America's highway maps, a drive across the country on the stretches that remain is one of the great American road trips.
They call it the Mother Road, a term coined by author John Steinbeck because it carried Dust Bowl refugees west across America.
