Route 66 turns 100 years old in 2026 and there’s no better place to celebrate than Missouri. Running from the outskirts of St Louis to the Kansas state line just west of Joplin, this section of the Mother Road offers old school diners, magical 50s-style motels, quirky roadside attractions and breathtaking stretches of wide, open road.
Click through the gallery to discover how to get your kicks on Route 66 in the “Show Me” state…
Nothing says American road trip like a flickering neon sign, and right from the very early days, the Missouri stretch of Route 66 was festooned with them. Here, you’ll find some of the finest examples from the era, including the signs for Crestwood Bowl in St Louis and the Munger Moss Motel near Lebanon.
You’ll find one of the best collections of signs from the Mother Road in the recently opened Route 66 Neon Park in St Robert (pictured). Here, vintage signs from St Louis to Carthage have been rescued and restored, bathing the early evening in nostalgic, fluorescent hues.
Route 66 may start in Chicago and end In Los Angeles, but its iconic name came from Springfield in southwestern Missouri. Local businessmen felt that the proposed name for the new transcontinental highway, “Route 62”, sounded second rate, and in April 1926, they fired off a telegram to federal officials in Washington DC suggesting the catchier “Route 66” instead.
The incredible story is retold in Springfield’s award-winning History Museum on the Square, along with other amazing tales and artefacts from the Mother Road.
When you think of Route 66, a certain type of car comes to mind. Something from the 50s, the size of a whale, with rounded sensuous lines. And convertible, of course.
You’ll find many fine examples of these motoring classics at the excellent National Museum of Transportation in St. Louis. But to actually breathe in that heady mix of leather, fumes and Brylcreem, drop by the Route 66 Museum in Lebanon-Laclede County Library when it holds one of its regular classic car meets (pictured).
Bottomless cups of filter coffee and chicken-fried steak, smothered in gravy, fuelled many a drive along the Mother Road. And it’s a tradition that continues today in old-school diners along the Missouri-stretch of Route 66.
Spencer’s Grill in Kirkwood may have once served hashbrowns to the current pope. College Street Café in Springfield (pictured) prides itself on its always fresh, hand pattied burgers, while Iggy’s Diner in Carthage is a cathedral in chrome, radiating 50s vibes and famous for its homestyle cinnamon swirl bread French toast.
Brightly coloured murals are a staple along Route 66, capturing the stories and the characters that populate the equally colourful history of the Mother Road. The Missouri stretch is no exception with particularly fine examples in Pacific, along Main Street in Waynesville and on the side of the trading store beside the Giant Rocking Chair in Fanning.
Joplin, however, has taken murals to a whole new level. The city now hosts an annual World Street Painting Festival where artists from all over the world create magical three-dimensional Route 66-themed artworks that quite literally leap into life.
Roadside attractions have long been synonymous with Route 66 and the Missouri stretch has more than its fair share. The stunning Meramec Caverns near Stanton, for example, are regarded as one of the classic Route 66 attractions.
Uranus near St Robert (pictured) may only date back to 2015, but it has quickly become a Mother Road classic too. It lures in passing motorists with the promise of rides, museums, souvenirs and fudge, all served with a healthy dose of schoolboy humour.
Mom and pop motels were the accommodation of choice along Route 66 – simple, affordable roadside accommodation that was as unique and quirky as the people who ran them. Thankfully some have been saved and restored, offering a unique place to stay along the Missouri section of the Mother Road.
You can still stay in the Wagon Wheel Motel in Cuba, for example. And the Route 66 Rail Haven Motel in Springfield. The top choice is Boots Court in Carthage (pictured), where the rooms remain unchanged since Clark Gable, Gene Autry and Mickey Mantle dropped by.
Feisty, entrepreneurial and, quite often eccentric, the owners of numerous small businesses that serviced Route 66 were both the lifeblood of the great road and the source of its character. That is still true today, particularly at Gary’s Gay Parita, a lovingly restored Sinclair station at Ash Grove.
Gary Turner rebuilt the station in 2004, welcoming visitors from all over the world, feeding them and watering them and regaling them with tales from the Mother Road. It’s a mission that has been taken on by his daughter, Barbara (pictured), since his passing.
There is certainly no shortage of museums celebrating Route 66 in Missouri, each one rammed with memorabilia and fascinating stories of the great road’s impact on their part of the State.
The exhibition at the History Museum on the Square (pictured) is perhaps the most impressive, using state-of-the-art technology and dazzling displays to tell Springfield’s pivotal role in the development of the route. But the altogether quirky displays at the Lebanon-Laclede County Library in Lebanon and the Route 66 State Park in Eureka are worth checking out too.
The story of Route 66 is one of booms and busts. For every town that benefited from the upgrading and rerouting of the Mother Road, another fell into destitution and despair.
The Missouri stretch of Route 66 is home to some of the most evocative of these ghost towns. The small settlement of Spencer, (pictured), sits just 25 miles (40km) west of Springfield, but was abandoned after it was bypassed in 1961. Its buildings are being slowly restored, with it boasting one of the only original untouched sections of Route 66 on its front door.
Today multilane interstates have replaced much of Route 66. What was once the ‘Main Street of America’ is now back road, albeit through some of the most beautiful parts of the country.
In Missouri, the most stunning section is the one from Devils Elbow (pictured) to Gascozark in Pulaski County. This 33-mile (53km) stretch of the original Route 66 takes you through the heart of the Ozarks, a land of mighty rivers and verdant forest. And Hooker Cut, a two-lane section chiselled through a 91-foot (28m) ridge and once the deepest road cut in America.
Nothing says 1950s America more than an old-fashioned Drive-In theatre. And one of the best-preserved drive-ins from that period sits right beside Route 66 just outside Carthage. Indeed, it is so iconic that it got a nod in the epilogue of Pixar's 2006 film, Cars.
The aptly named 66 Drive-In Theatre is Art Deco in style and opened on 22 September 1949. It fell upon hard times in 1985 but was restored and reopened in 1998 and still plays a double bill every Friday, Saturday and Sunday evening.
Route 66 is already celebrated each year with festivals right across Missouri. But with the Mother Road celebrating its 100th birthday in 2026 the festivities are set to go right off the scale, starting with a spectacular kick off for America's Route 66 Centennial Celebration in Springfield on 30 April 2026.
The annual Route 66 Summerfest in Rolla will host its first ever Summerfest BBQ on the weekend 4-6 June. Kirkwood’s Route 66 Cars and Guitars Festival does what it says on the tin around the same time. And in August the Birthplace of Route 66 Festival back in Springfield will take things to a whole new level.
Start your journey at St. Louis Lambert International Airport, just over 15 miles (24km) from the Old Chain of Rocks Bridge (pictured), where Route 66 first crosses into Missouri. It's served by flights from Europe and major centres across the USA, with British Airways offering direct flights from London from 19 April 2026.
Ahead of the centenary next year, USA specialist Purely America has launched a new seven-night ‘Heart of Route 66’ self-drive itinerary from St Louis to Kansas City, taking in all the highlights of Missouri’s 280-plus mile (450km) stretch of the Mother Road.
Peter Moore visited Route 66 in Missouri in June 2025 as a guest of Visit Missouri.