What is Route 66?

ROUTE 66 has become an icon in American popular culture as a road symbolic of adventure and freedom. 

Here is what we know about the 2,000 mile-long legendary route.

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What is Route 66? 

Also known as US Route 66 or US Highway 66, it was one of America’s the first national highways for motor vehicles and has since become a cultural icon.

US novelist John Steinbeck named the road in his Pulitzer Prize-winning 1939 novel The Grapes of Wrath, about Dust Bowl migrants of the 1930s who fled drought and poverty in Oklahoma, Texas, and neighbouring states looking for work. 

Steinbeck devoted a chapter to “Route 66”, which he dubbed “the mother road,” and the nickname stuck.

Why is Route 66 so famous? 

Route 66 is one of the United States’ oldest and most famous highways.

It transports visitors to a bygone era of drive-ins and neon signs.

During the 20th century it featured as a symbol of freedom.

Singer Bobby Troup penned his immortal ode to America’s favourite highway, Route 66, while counter-cultural author Jack Kerouac wrote about it in On The Road. 

Where does Route 66 start and finish? 

The highway also called the Main Street of America begins from downtown Chicago, Illinois. 

It crosses eight states: Illinois, Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, and California.

The numerical designation of “US Route 66” was assigned on April 30, 1926. 

The route comes to an end at the Santa Monica pier in California.

Originally it terminated at 7th and Broadway in downtown Los Angeles, well away from the ocean. 

But, after the Route gained its status as a tourist attraction, the Route 66 Association decided to mount the “End of the Trail” sign at Santa Monica Pier.

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How long does it take to drive route 66?

Online advice recommends that driving Route 66 will take around two or three weeks, depending on frequency and length of stops.

Although, those driving the route without stopping could complete it in around eight days.

The roads are largely well maintained, according to guides, but the time it takes will depend on the time of year and weather conditions.