Route 66 Map: State by State, With Real Drive Times

One thing catches people out. If you ask Google Maps for Chicago to Santa Monica in one go, it doesn’t use Route 66 at all. Its fastest route heads west through Iowa, Nebraska, Colorado and Utah instead. To follow Route 66 you have to plan it in stages, as below.

These stages cover seven of the eight states. Google’s route skips the short Kansas stretch, so add Galena as a stop if you want all eight.

How we timed it

We checked each stage in the Google Maps app on an Android phone on the night of 7–8 November 2026 (US time). We started at the Route 66 “Begin” sign in Chicago, went via the Old Chain of Rocks Bridge in St. Louis and Cadillac Ranch near Amarillo, and finished at Santa Monica Pier.

The times are for empty night-time roads with no stops, so allow more in daytime traffic or roadworks. The route also crosses from Central to Mountain to Pacific time, so check your phone’s clock when you book a motel or a timed entry.

Why Google Maps skips Route 66

Route 66 is no longer one numbered highway. Much of it was replaced by interstates, and Google Maps simply finds the fastest way between the two points you give it. From the Route 66 sign in Chicago to Santa Monica Pier, that is:

• 1 day 6 hr, 2,033 miles, west through Iowa, Nebraska, Colorado and Utah, with $5.10 in tolls (the fastest).
• 1 day 9 hr, the southern route through Oklahoma, New Mexico and Arizona, close to the old Route 66, with $10.80 in tolls.

So the fastest answer isn’t the trip you came for. The Route 66 way is a few hours longer, and that’s the whole point.

How to make Google Maps follow Route 66

1. Plan it as legs, one per day or half-day. Google Maps allows up to nine stops in one route, including the destination, so the whole road won’t fit in one route. Our guide to adding multiple stops in Google Maps explains the limit.
2. Add old-road towns as stops. Google sticks to the interstate unless a stop pulls it off. If a stop sits on the old road, Google has to use it. You’ll see two examples below: Stroud in Oklahoma and Oatman in Arizona.
3. Read the route before you start. Look at the road names in the steps and the alternatives Google shows in grey. The slower grey line is often the old road.
4. Save the map offline. Parts of the desert West have no phone signal, so download offline maps for each day before you leave.

Route 66 towns in order, state by state

This is the order you meet the main Route 66 towns heading west. Add the ones you want as stops in Google Maps to keep it on the old road.

Illinois: Chicago to St. Louis

From the “Begin” sign on Adams Street at Michigan Avenue (Route 66’s historic starting point was nearby in Grant Park), Google took us down through Springfield to the Old Chain of Rocks Bridge: 4 hr 22 min, 295 miles. Its two alternatives were 4 hr 33 and 4 hr 46.

The Chain of Rocks Bridge is now for walkers and cyclists only, so park and walk out onto it. Drive across the Mississippi on a modern bridge instead.

Missouri and Kansas: St. Louis to Tulsa

6 hr 10 min, 409 miles, through Springfield, Missouri and Joplin, with $5.40 in Oklahoma tolls. Google’s fastest route goes straight from Joplin into Oklahoma on the interstate, so it misses Kansas completely. Route 66 crosses a short stretch of south-east Kansas through Galena, Riverton and Baxter Springs. Add Galena as a stop if you want all eight states.

Oklahoma: the turnpike or the old road

Between Tulsa and Oklahoma City, Google’s fastest route is the Turner Turnpike: 1 hr 41 min, 108 miles, $5.40 in tolls. The alternative it shows through Sapulpa and Stroud runs alongside the old Route 66. It takes 2 hr 9 min and costs about $0.66 in tolls. Add Stroud as a stop to get it.

From Oklahoma City to Cadillac Ranch outside Amarillo, Google gave 3 hr 58 min, 265 miles, with no tolls. To skip tolls across the whole trip, see our guide to avoiding tolls in Google Maps.

Texas and New Mexico: Amarillo to Albuquerque

4 hr 6 min, 278 miles, almost all of it on the interstate. Google also offered two slower routes, 4 hr 49 and 4 hr 52 min, that loop north through Santa Fe. That’s worth knowing: the earliest Route 66 in New Mexico went through Santa Fe too. If you have a spare half-day, the Santa Fe loop is the more interesting drive.

Arizona: Albuquerque to Kingman

Albuquerque to Flagstaff took 4 hr 48 min, 322 miles, through Gallup. On the way you pass Petrified Forest National Park, one of the national park sites the National Park Service lists as on or in view of Route 66. Flagstaff to Kingman was 2 hr 19 min, 147 miles.

The Oatman road: the one Google does use

West of Kingman, the old road climbs over the Black Mountains through the gold-mining town of Oatman. Ask Google Maps for Kingman to Oatman and it does use it: 50 min, 29 miles, on a narrow, winding mountain road.

But ask for Kingman to Santa Monica and Google stays on the interstate the whole way: 5 hr 19 min, 336 miles. Add Oatman as a stop to keep the old road. If you’re in a big RV or towing, the interstate is the better choice for this section.

How many days to drive Route 66

The stages above work as an 8-day trip, with between about 2 and 6 hours of driving a day. Most people take 2 to 3 weeks, because the reason to drive Route 66 is to stop: old diners, motels, museums and the more than 250 Route 66 places the National Park Service says are on the National Register of Historic Places.

2026 is Route 66’s centennial year, its 100th birthday, so expect more events and busier motels along the route this year. Book ahead in summer.

For the general method of building a long trip day by day, see our guide to planning a road trip with Google Maps.