It’s time for post seven in our photo essay series covering our Route 66 trip from California to Chicago, with Missouri being the seventh state on our adventure.
We followed as closely as we could the original route, and saw a lot along the way, from the high desert scenery of the west through to more rural scenery in the mid and eastern parts of the USA.
We’ve got some resources at the end to help you plan your own Route 66 road trip, but for now, lets focus on some of our favourite sights along Route 66 in Missouri.
No Route 66 adventure would be complete without a drive-in movie theatre. We passed a few of these on our adventures, and stopped at one in Oklahoma for a double-bill. Definitely a must if you’re driving the route!
We also loved all the murals along the Route. This was in the town of Amanda, where there were all sorts of murals depicting scenes from the past.
Boots Court in Carthage is a classic old Route 66 motel that has recently been lovingly restored to how it would have been during its heyday in 1949. We weren’t able to stay the night here, but we were given a full tour. If you get the chance, we highly recommend you stay over.
Bowling was (and still is!) a popular way to spend an evening on Route 66, so stopping at one of the many bowling alleys along the way is a great option. And this one has the name and everything!
I couldn’t do a Route 66 post without a photo of some diner food.
And the inside of a diner. Love these old style locations! This is in Carthage.
Like every state, not all the businesses in Missouri have survived the coming o the interstates and the decline in Route 66 traffic, with plenty of abandoned buildings and properties to photograph. Here, this motel seems to be not much more than a sign.
Route 66 is all about quirky road side attractions, like this giant statue of a hillbilly. This is originally from the Hillbilly store, found along the route from the 1950’s through to the 1980’s (thanks to Angela in the comments for this information!).
And this giant rocking chair!
One of Missouri’s most famous attractions are the Meramec Caverns, a huge cave complex near Stanton. The caverns were advertised all across middle America, primarily on barns, and they have now become a classic part of the Route 66 legend. A few still survive on the route, so keep an eye out.
And of course, once you’ve seen the barns, you’ll want to check out the caverns themselves!
Of course, no Route 66 photo essay would be complete without some motel signs.
We stayed in this one, so managed to get some photos of that Route 66 neon!
This vintage car is part of the Red Oak II ghost town. It’s not strictly a ghost town, rather, all the buildings have been brought here from around the country, to be restored and looked after. It’s a really cool place to visit, and we loved wandering around. The next two pictures are from Red Oak II.
The city of St Louis is particularly known for it’s Gateway Arch, signifying how this was the gateway to America’s West. The arch is 192 metres high, making it the world’s tallest arch, as well as the largest man-made monument in the western hemisphere.
Speaking of man made monuments, we also came across this scale replica of Stonehenge in the town of Rolla.
Every state on Route 66 seems to have a must-try food stuff. In Missouri, that’s frozen custard. Which of course we tried, and it was delicious.
There are also numerous dining options offering huge plates of great value food.
Finally, our photo essay of the highlights of Route 66 in Missouri concludes with this wonderful old gas station.
As you can see, Missouri has no shortage of photogenic locations along Route 66, and we loved driving through the state and exploring all of them. Hopefully, this series has inspired you to want to do your own Route 66 adventure – if so, read on for our:
Tips for Planning your own Route 66 Adventure
If you’re planning your own historic Route 66 adventure, we’ve got a bit of reading for you!
- First, be inspired by photos from all the states we visited, by checking our photos highlights from each Route 66 state: California, Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Missouri & Illinois
- Next, check out Jess’s comprehensive guide to planning a Route 66 trip
- Then, take a look out our incredibly detailed day by day Route 66 itinerary, which covers all the sights you want to see, route tips, lodging options and places to eat.
- If you’re new to driving in the US, check out my tips for driving in the US to get you started
- Not sure how much it’s all going to cost? We’ve got you covered with our guide to travel costs in the USA
- Finally, take a look at this book – the best way in our opinion to successfully navigate the entire length of Route 66 as faithfully as you can. We followed it the whole way, and even met the author, and couldn’t have done without it!
Enjoy your Route 66 trip, and let us know which has been your favourite state so far in the comments below!
Angela Kay says
6th April 2019 at 10:41 pm“”Route 66 is all about quirky road side attractions, like this giant statue of a pirate”.
That’s not a pirate it is the Hillbilly from the Hillbilly store on 66 in and around the 50 threw the 80s.
It was a child hood treet to go there n get a grab bag for .25/.50/1.$
I miss it!
Laurence Norah says
7th April 2019 at 11:14 amHey Angela – thanks for the information! I have updated the post with your correction 😀 Thanks for sharing your experience too!
Joseph E. Long says
25th March 2019 at 7:37 pmIn the summer of 1945 a couple of friends and I went on a trip from Kentucky to California. We hitchhiked and rode freight trains, worked along the way, horse farm in Missouri, wheat harvest in Kansas etc.. we probably traveled a lot of Route 66 before we ended up in Los Angeles. The pictures are a good reminder of what it looked like then. Route 66 was not famous then, just another road. Just before the Interstate hiways took over, old 66 was dangerous, too many cars on two lane roads.
Laurence Norah says
26th March 2019 at 1:54 pmHey Joseph – wow, what an experience that must have been. My dad actually did something similar, except he went to Australia, and did a lot of the physical type work you are describing – from rounding up sheep on horse back to stacking peanuts!
I can imagine it would have been very different back then to how it is now. Thanks so much for sharing your experience 😀