How Long Does It Take To Drive Route 66 From Chicago To California?

Ever dreamed of hitting the open road and doing an all American road trip? How about a trip down historic Route 66?! Stretching 2448 miles across America, starting in Chicago, Illinois and finishing up in LA, California, taking in a total of 8 States. But how long does it take to drive Route 66 from Chicago to California?

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. I may make a small commission on purchases made after clicking the link. For more information check out my Privacy and Disclosure Policy.

This is my tried and tested 16 day Route 66 road trip Itinerary with side trips to the Grand Canyon and Las Vegas (so essentially stepping foot in 9 States!). I include:

• the daily miles covered
• travel time (with stops)
• must see roadside attractions
• where to stay
• and where to eat!

16 Day Route 66 Itinerary

Trip Notes

• 🕐Duration: 14-16 Days
• 🗺Distance: 2864 Miles
• 🚙Total drive time: 85 Hours
• 📅Month of travel: July/Aug
• 🍽Where to eat: Pops, Arcadia OK
• 🏨Where to stay: Wigwam Motel, Holbrook AZ
• 🎡Don’t miss: Cadillac Ranch, TX or Sitgreaves Pass/Oatman HWY, AZ

How Long Does It Take To Drive Route 66 from Chicago to California?

Answering the question ‘How long does it take to drive Route 66 from Chicago to California?’ is like saying how long is a piece of string. There are hundreds of places you could stop and visit along the Route. You could technically take a month just to drive to Illinois stretch.

If you are looking at just driving across the country from Chicago to LA, following the rough direction of Route 66, I-40 is the closest option and a straight through drive according to Google Maps is 30 hours.  

So if you just wanted to see the changing landscape then that’s just a day and a bit of driving!

However this would be doing Route 66 an injustice, you have to stick to the old route AS MUCH as possible. Our total drive time for our 16 day Route 66 road trip, including stops at roadside attractions along the way, restaurants etc was: 85 HOURS.

Cutting the Grand Canyon and Las Vegas off of that total, would only get rid of around 5 hours of driving, so we were still on the road for 80 Hours!

*The hourly total also doesn’t include the time we spent exploring on non driving days, such as while in Chicago, LA and the side trips.

I have split my Route 66 itinerary into the daily miles and driving time, so you can see how far we went each day. You could potentially easily drive Route 66 within 2 weeks (14 days) if you don’t spend the extra days doing the side trips.

Most of our accommodation was booked in advance, for us we liked to know that we had somewhere to sleep without having to worry about trying to find somewhere with vacancies. I think we would have been OK but if you want to stay at some of the more unique lodging options, it’s definitely advised to book those well in advance.

Time Zone Changes On Route 66

I recently saw someone ask exactly where on Route 66 that the time zone changes occur. The easiest guide is just to say it happens on the border as you cross from Texas into New Mexico (if you’re after a town to pinpoint, use Glenrio NM) and then again as you cross from Arizona into California (again use Needles CA as a location).

When travelling from East to West (Chicago TO LA), you’ll gain an extra hour at these time changes, yay more time to explore!  If travelling West to East then you’ll be losing an hour. Arizona DOESN’T observe Day Light Savings, so this is something to keep in mind.

Route 66 Itinerary

Day 1: Arrive in Chicago

🛏️Where we stayed: Comfort Suites O’Hare Airport

When it comes to Chicago, you’ve got a couple of options. We decided to stay near the airport in a hotel with free parking, right next to the I-90, making it easy to start the drive. We then travelled into the city for just one day of sight-seeing using the CTA train from the airport. I wrote a whole post on Chicago tips for Route 66 travellers!

Day 2: Chicago

Spend a day exploring the city where the route begins!

Highlights include:

• seeing the Route 66 BEGIN sign
• SkyDeck @ Willis Tower
• Millennium Park
• Navy Pier

We actually picked up our rental car on day 2 which saved us a day’s rental fee. We collected it from the O’Hare airport on our way back from our day in the city and then just drove it a little way down the road to our airport hotel.

Related reading: Where Does Route 66 Start And End? | A Guide To The Locations – USA

Day 3: Chicago, IL – St Louis, MO

🚙Distance/Drive Time: 328 miles (12 hours)

In all honestly, this day was tough going, for the first day on the road, it was definitely a long one! If we were to do it again, I would suggest stopping somewhere before St Louis. We got to the city so late we were only able to see the Gateway Arch from the outside and from further visits to St Louis, the City Museum is well worth a stop…if you have decent knees…

I’d have liked to have some time to explore Pontiac too.

Roadside attractions include:

• Gemini Giant – Wilmington IL
• 1932 Standard Station – Odell IL
• (Pontiac IL – We ended up skipping Pontiac but I wish we had stopped there!)
• The Bunyon Giant – Atlanta IL
• Chain of Rocks Bridge – IL
• Gateway Arch – St Louis, MO

Read more: Route 66 Chicago to St Louis – 9 Must See Stops in Illinois USA

🍔Where to eat: Cozy Dog Drive In, Springfield IL (Lunch – The home of the Corn Dog!)

🛏️Where we stayed: Hampton Inn St Louis – At The Arch

Day 4: St Louis, MO – Carthage, MO

🚙Distance/Drive Time: 291 miles (8hrs 30)

On day 4 we didn’t stop at too many places along the route. Our final destination for the day was Carthage, Missouri. We planned it so we would be able to watch a film that evening at the Route 66 Drive In. As Brits drive in theatres are a bit of a novelty!

Roadside attractions include:

• ‘Mural City’ – Cuba MO
• World’s Largest Rocking Chair – Fanning Outpost MO
• Devil’s Elbow MO
• Route 66 Drive In – Carthage, MO

🍔Where we ate: Country Cafe, St Robert MO (Lunch)

🛏️Where we stayed: Days Inn by Wyndham Carthage

Related Reading: Route 66 Attractions: 8 States, 8 Roadside Stops

Day 5: Carthage, MO – Clinton, OK

🚙Distance/Drive Time: 349 miles (11 hours)

This was another long drive day. We got to Cars on the Route quite early, then the Blue Whale was the only other attractions we had planned. Pops was our lunch spot, where we did end up having quite a big meal.

Roadside attractions include:

• Cars on the Route (formerly ‘4 Women on the Route) – Galena KS
• Blue Whale – Catoosa, OK

🍔Where we ate: Pops, Arcadia OK (Lunch – there are 400 different kinds of soda on offer and a giant 66ft tall soda bottle stands in the car park!)

🛏️Where we stayed: Super 8 by Wyndham Clinton

Day 6: Clinton, OK – Amarillo, TX

🚙Distance/Drive Time: 187 miles (7 hours)

For day 6, we started with a visit to the Route 66 Museum which was in Clinton, where we stopped for the night. The drive time was quite short, but we knew we wanted to see several things in Amarillo TX. Cadillac Ranch and the Big Texan Steak House were some of our Route 66 highlights.

Roadside attractions include:

• Route 66 Museum – Clinton OK
• Giant Route 66 sign at National Route 66 Museum – Elk City OK
• Tower Conoco – Shamrock TX
• 8 mile dirt option – McLean TX
• Cadillac Ranch – Amarillo TX

🍔Where we ate: Big Texan Steak House, Amarillo TX (Dinner – home of the 72oz steak challenge!)

🛏️Where we stayed: The Big Texan Motel

Day 7: Amarillo, TX – Albuquerque, NM

🚙Distance/Drive Time: 297 miles (6hrs 30)

Compared to the other days, this was one of our shortest. Again, there were a couple of things we wanted to see in Albuquerque.

Unfortunately it didn’t quite go to plan! A thunderstorm and sleet struck while we were at the top of the Sandia Peak Tramway. It closed the cable car and we couldn’t leave the stop station the whole time!

Roadside attractions include:

• Route 66 Midpoint – Adrian TX
• Route 66 Auto Museum – Santa Rosa NM
• Sandia Peak Tramway – Albuquerque, NM

🍔Where we ate: The Midpoint Cafe, Adrian TX (Breakfast – half way between Chicago and LA!)

🛏️Where we stayed: Sandia Peak Inn

Day 8: Albuquerque, NM – Holbrook, AZ

🚙Distance/Drive Time: 306 miles (10 hours)

Sky City is a unique attraction that was a slight detour from Route 66. The geography of the village is quite interesting. We wanted to stay in Holbrook for the night, as you can stay in a concrete wigwam!

Roadside attractions include:

• Sky City – Acoma NM
• Painted Desert & Petrified Forest National Park –  near Holbrook AZ

🍔Where we ate: Joe and Aggies Cafe, Holbrook AZ (Dinner)

🛏️Where we stayed: Wigwam Motel

Day 9: Holbrook, AZ – Grand Canyon, AZ

🚙Distance/Drive Time: 199 miles (7hrs 15)

Similar to Sky City, Meteor Crater is an interesting attraction that is a slight detour from the Route. As the name suggests, it’s a giant crater said to be made by a meteor that hit the earth 50,000 years ago! There’s also a museum about it too.

We didn’t skip any of Route 66 by going to the Grand Canyon. From Williams it’s around an hour to the Grand Canyon and after our stay, we rejoined the Route back at Williams.

Roadside attractions include:

• Jack Rabbit Trading Post – Joseph City AZ
• Meteor Crater – Meteor City AZ

🍔Where we ate: Joe and Aggies Cafe, Holbrook AZ (Breakfast)

🛏️Where we stayed: Yavapai Lodge

Day 10: Grand Canyon

Highlights include:

• Bright Angel Trail Head
• Yavapai Point

Day 11: Grand Canyon, AZ – Las Vegas, NV

🚙Distance/Drive Time: 292 miles (7hrs 50)

Again, another detour from Route 66, but like the Gran Canyon, it is a popular ‘add on’. For attractions along Route 66, Seligman is well worth a stop. It plays a big part in the regeneration of the Route as a tourist attraction/historic road trip.

Roadside attractions include:

• Seligman AZ
• Hackberry General Stores – Hackberry AZ (featured image)
• STRAT Tower – Las Vegas NV
• Fremont Street Experience – Las Vegas NV

🍔Where we ate: Harley Davidson Cafe, Las Vegas NV (Dinner – they have the largest USA flag made out of chainlink!)

🛏️Where we stayed: The STRAT Hotel, Casino and Sky Pod

Again, as mentioned above, from the Grand Canyon we joined Route 66 back at Williams and from Kingman we followed the I-93 to and from Las Vegas. Make sure if you detour you go BACK to Kingman, don’t take the I-95 to the other side of Needles!!

This way we didn’t miss ANY of the Route.

Day 12: Las Vegas

Highlights include: Hotel hopping!

• Gondola Ride at the Venetian
• Rollercoaster at New York New York
• The Fountains of Bellagio.

If you don’t like gambling, here are some ideas for you! Are You Brave Enough For These Top Las Vegas Thrill Rides?!

Day 13: Las Vegas, NV – Barstow, CA

🚙Distance/Drive Time: 338 miles (9hrs 15)

In some areas there are a couple of options for which stretch of Route 66 you want to take. The alignment changed over the years and you can choose to drive the ‘old’ or ‘new’ route.

For actual driving, the Sitgreaves Pass along the Oatman Highway in Arizona was my favourite stretch of road on Route 66. It’s a really fun twisting road that leads of Oatman with wild Burros.

It was a long drive day but it was very much about the journey rather than roadside attractions.

Roadside attractions include:

• ‘Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas’ sign – Las Vegas NV
• Oatman Highway AZ
• Burros (Donkeys) in Oatman AZ

🛏️Where we stayed: Route 66 Motel

Day 14: Barstow, CA – Los Angeles, CA

🚙Distance/Drive Time: 166 miles (6 hours)

Day 14 was the shortest drive time, but then it wasn’t like we could go any further as we ‘ran out of road’! Los Angeles is the end of the route and there is obviously a lot to do there.

Highlights include:

• Bottle Tree Ranch – Helendale CA
• Route 66 End sign – Los Angeles CA

🍔Where to eat: Bubba Gumps Shrimp Restaurant, Los Angeles CA

🛏️Where to stay: Gateway Hotel Santa Monica

Day 15: Los Angeles

Highlights include:

• Hiking to the Hollywood Sign
• Grauman’s Chinese Theatre
• Pacific Park on Santa Monica Pier

Day 16: Depart!

Because of the side trips to the Grand Canyon and Las Vegas, the entire road trip was a total of 2864 miles! If these 2 stops were cut out, as said, the route could easily be driven in 2 weeks if you’re willing to compromise on certain attractions!

Final Words

Some people say that you shouldn’t rush the route and if you don’t have the time to do the whole route at a leisurely pace, then you should cut it up into chunks. Part of the fun though is completing the WHOLE route in one go! It’d be like running a marathon and giving up half way and doing the 2nd half at another time!  

I wouldn’t change our trip for anything. If you have any questions or want to share your favourite parts of the route, feel free to leave a message in the comments!

Route 66 TRIP PLANNING TOOLS

✈️Search for flights with Google Flights

🏨Find hotels and accommodation on booking.com or hotels.com

🚗Look for car rental with RentalCars.com

🎒Pack these essentials: USB Car Charger Cigarette Lighter Socket and TSA Combination Padlocks

📚Read this: Route 66: EZ66 GUIDE For Travelers is a ridiculously helpful guide book that gives turn by turn directions, must see attractions and information about the history of the route.  You can read my full review of the guide book HERE.

Find all my Route 66 posts here.

Have you taken this classic US road trip? How long did it take you to drive Route 66?

Inspired by this Route 66 itinerary? Pin it for later!

Last Updated on April 12, 2024