Road trip during the Route 66 in California.
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The Mother Road is back in the spotlight this year as the country marks America 250 and celebrates Route 66’s 100th anniversary. The roughly 2,400-mile route from Chicago to Santa Monica remains the ultimate American road trip, but in 2026, does it still have to be gasoline-powered?
As rising fuel prices push more drivers toward fuel-efficient options, from hybrids to full EVs, planning a road trip along Route 66 raises a question: Can travelers drive the Mother Road only on battery power without charging dictating the itinerary? If yes, where should they stop in each state?
American Independence 250 Years Route Map Illustration
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Climate Central’s latest analysis found that the roughly 2,400-mile route from California to Illinois has DC fast chargers every 17 miles on average, with the longest gap at 137 miles in Arizona.
Since Ashfork, Arizona recently got a new fast charger, the longest stretch is now down to 110 miles, confirmed by Mike May, member of the Las Vegas Tesla Owners Group and founder of Electric Route 66, in an email interview.
Charging an EV
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Drivers should still plan around it in Arizona, but it is no longer an intimidating distance for many newer EVs. The Tesla Model Y, the country’s best-selling EV by sales volume, has an estimated range of up to 321 miles, nearly three times the longest fast-charging gap on Route 66.
When a full battery can cover long distances, range anxiety starts to feel like a thing of the past. Route 66 is a road of freedom, family vacations, diners, motels and small-town stops. As it turns 100, could people find that same spirit with an electric car?
Illinois is where Route 66 begins, with roughly 300 miles running from Chicago to the Missouri border, linking smaller towns such as Berwyn, Wilmington, Pontiac, Bloomington, Atlanta, Lincoln, Springfield and Collinsville.
Route 66 mural on wall in Pontiac, Illinois.
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Pontiac could be an ideal small-town stop with its compact downtown, Route 66 murals and several museums, including the Route 66 Association of Illinois Hall of Fame and Museum and the Pontiac-Oakland Automobile Museum.
Other Illinois stops offer the kind of oversized Americana that made Route 66 famous: the Gemini Giant in Wilmington, the Paul Bunyan hot dog statue in Atlanta, the world’s largest covered wagon in Lincoln and the world’s largest catsup bottle in Collinsville.
The largest earthen mound in North America, aerial view of Monk's Mound at Cahokia.
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Drivers can also add a stretch of restored brick road in Auburn or Cahokia Mounds, a UNESCO World Heritage Site near Collinsville, before crossing into Missouri.
As of June 4, 2026, Illinois has 1,770 public electric charging stations and 5,738 charging ports, including 2,655 fast chargers, according to the Department of Energy's Alternative Fuels Data Center.
Route 66 in Missouri is 317 miles long, linking St. Louis, Pacific, Sullivan, Cuba, Rolla, St. Robert, Waynesville, Lebanon, Marshfield, Springfield, Carthage and Joplin.
Springfield is the third most populous city in the U.S.
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For history fans, Springfield is a must-stop, since the highway was named Route 66 there 100 years ago. It is home to the History Museum on the Square, the Route 66 Car Museum and the historic Gillioz Theatre.
Stop by St. Robert after sunset to visit the Route 66 Neon Park, an open-air display of restored vintage neon signs from Missouri’s Route 66, set inside George M. Reed Roadside Park.
Neon signs are displayed at George M. Reed Roadside Park also known as Neon Park in Saint Robert, Missouri.
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Travelers who want a personal connection to the Mother Road can also take part in the "Get Your Brick on Route 66" sponsorship program at St. Robert’s Route 66 Neon Park. Anyone can add an engraved brick to the park while helping fund the park's upkeep and restoration.
As of June 4, 2026, Missouri has 1,335 public electric charging stations and 3,326 charging ports, including 858 fast chargers.
Kansas has the shortest Route 66 stretch of any state, running just over 13 miles through the southeastern corner.
This little gas station turned shop and deli is about all that exists of Route 66 in Kansas.
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Traveling east to west, road trippers arrive first in Galena, home to a restored Kan-O-Tex service station with a rusty tow truck that inspired Tow Mater in Pixar’s Cars.
From there, the road passes through Riverton before reaching Baxter Springs, home to Kansas’ official Route 66 Visitors Center. The nearby Rainbow Bridge, built in 1923, is one of the state's best photo stops and a reminder of the narrower, slower road Route 66 once was.
Oklahoma gives Route 66 a long drivable state stretch, with more than 400 miles crossing the state from Quapaw in the northeast to Texola near the Texas border.
The Blue Whale of Catoosa, Oklahoma, dates to the 1970s and served as a public swimming park until 1988.
Los Angeles Times via Getty Images
Catoosa features one of Oklahoma’s most recognizable roadside attractions, the Blue Whale of Catoosa, but Arcadia could be a short, quirky stop offering a little history and a bit of kitsch to pause. The town is home to a restored 1898 Round Barn and POPS, a modern roadside diner marked by a giant soda bottle and shelves lined with hundreds of soda varieties.
Beyond small-town Oklahoma, Tulsa may be the state’s strongest Route 66 stop because it leans so fully into the road's legacy.
Vintage car during Tulsa’s Route 66 Capital Cruise parade that set the GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS™
Visit Tulsa
The city champions the Mother Road through dedicated Route 66 districts, vintage neon, classic car culture, roadside attractions, the Meadow Gold District, the Tulsa Market District and Mother Road Market.
To celebrate Route 66’s 100th anniversary, Tulsa organized a record-setting event. This year’s Route 66 Capital Cruise set a Guinness World Record for the largest parade of classic cars, with 3,596 vehicles and drivers from 42 states, Canada and France.
As of June 4, 2026, there are 395 public electric charging stations and 1,668 charging ports in Oklahoma, including 1,020 fast chargers.
Texas’ roughly 180-mile stretch runs across the Panhandle, through wide-open plains, small towns and roadside landmarks that make the Texas section quite concentrated.
Cadillac Ranch art installation in Amarillo, TX.
Los Angeles Times via Getty Images
Road trippers should stop at Amarillo’s Historic Route 66 District and at nearby Cadillac Ranch, one of the Mother Road's most recognizable public art installations. Here, travelers can spray-paint the half-buried Cadillacs to leave their mark.
South of Amarillo lies Palo Duro Canyon State Park, often referred to as the “Grand Canyon of Texas.” Visitors can hike canyon trails, look for the Lighthouse Rock formation or stay overnight.
Palo Duro Canyon State Park in Texas
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As of June 4, 2026, Texas has 3,745 public electric charging station locations and 12,288 charging ports, including 4,981 fast chargers.
New Mexico has one of the longest Route 66 stretches, at about 535 miles, lined with mesas, Southwestern railroad towns, tribal communities, neon signs and old motor courts.
The Blue Hole in Santa Rosa, New Mexico along the historic Route 66.
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In Santa Rosa, travelers can visit the Route 66 Museum for vintage cars and neon, then cool off at the Blue Hole, a natural swimming hole.
For more outdoor fun, road trippers should add Grants to their itinerary. It sits near El Malpais National Conservation Area, which protects volcanic landscapes, lava flows, sandstone bluffs and wilderness around the Zuni-Bandera volcanic field.
Night in downtown Gallup, New Mexico on Route 66.
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Near the Arizona border, Gallup is a gateway to Indigenous arts in the Southwest, with artisan work and scenic adventures. For Route 66 travelers, Gallup has a different tone from the diner-and-neon nostalgia found elsewhere. Here, they can experience the intersection of trading-post history and Indigenous culture.
As of June 4, 2026, New Mexico has 469 public electric charging station locations and 1,197 charging ports, including 581 fast chargers.
Arizona has the longest remaining unbroken stretch of the Mother Road, running 158 miles through desert highways, vintage trading posts and railroad towns.
The first stop could be Holbrook, a small gateway town to Petrified Forest National Park and the Painted Desert.
The Painted Desert from the Grand Canyon National Park into the Petrified Forest National Park. A part of this region is within the Navajo Nation.
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Farther west, while charging in Flagstaff, travelers can explore its historic center lined with restaurants, breweries and shops. The city was named the world’s first International Dark Sky City in 2001 and is home to Lowell Observatory, where Pluto was discovered in 1930.
Williams is especially practical for EV road-trippers, with approximately 20 charging stations in town. Travelers can charge near the Grand Canyon Railway depot, then leave the car behind and ride the daily train to and from the South Rim of the Grand Canyon.
Grand Canyon Railway engine sitting on the tracks in Williams, Arizona.
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Kingman could be an ideal last stop before crossing the border to California. The city has a drive-through Route 66 shield for photos and the Route 66 Electric Vehicle Museum, displaying vintage EVs.
As of June 4, 2026, Arizona has 1,479 public electric charging station locations and 4,642 charging ports, including 1,432 fast chargers.
California gives Route 66 its final 351-mile stretch to the ocean, from Needles all the way to Santa Monica.
Visit California maps out a complete EV-friendly itinerary with 10 stops, typically over two to three days.
Mojave National Preserve adds a scenic desert stop between Needles and Barstow, with Joshua trees, volcanic cinder cones and short hikes such as the half-mile Hole-in-the-Wall Nature Trail.
Amboy Crater, California
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Farther west, Amboy Crater adds another desert-landscape stop, with a volcanic cone and lava field just off Route 66.
Travelers can also detour to Calico Ghost Town, a former silver-mining town near Barstow, to experience the Old West before continuing toward the final leg of the Mother Road.
The Wigwam Motel in San Bernardino is a retro landmark on historic Route 66, featuring cozy teepee-shaped rooms for a unique travel experience.
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Before reaching Los Angeles, road trippers shouldn’t pass San Bernardino County without a stop. Victorville drivers can pair the California Route 66 Museum, home of vintage vehicles and Mother Road memorabilia, with Emma Jean’s Holland Burger Café, a 1947 diner, for an old-school roadside feel.
Route 66 reaches the Pacific Ocean at the Santa Monica Pier. After hundreds of miles of desert towns, vintage motels, neon signs and roadside oddities, the pier gives EV drivers the classic end-of-the-road photo, with ample charging options.
Santa Monica is the unofficial endpoint of Route 66.
Los Angeles Times via Getty Images
As of June 4, 2026, California has 19,425 public electric charging station locations and 64,842 charging ports, including 17,926 fast chargers.
Mike May, member of the Las Vegas Tesla Owners Group and founder of Electric Route 66 recommends PlugShare. “It is the most complete site that shows all EV charging networks in one place. It’s easy to discern between fast chargers and slower Level 2 chargers, since the fast are orange and the slower are green.”
“Regular navigation apps, and those integrated in EVs, will generally use interstate driving routes, but since Route 66 is near the interstate in most cases, the chargers that service Route 66 are basically the same as those that service interstate travelers,” adds May.
If you are planning an EV road trip, apps such as EVGo, ChargePoint, Volta, Electrify America, and Chargehub could also be invaluable resources.
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