Route 66

[5thwheelfun]

When any of you have done Route 66, did you tow your camper or just drive your vehicle? If you towed was it easy traveling and seeing the sights of Rt. 66 and were campgrounds plentiful and easy to access along the way.

[hotpepperkid]

66 between Kingman and Oatman I would not take towing a camper. Although it has been recently repaved and I think they have striped it by now. I have driven it a bunch of time in my truck, it is slow and tedious. Some people seam to drive it like its a one way road as they tend to take the middle of the road

[tdsxt51]

Second Chance wrote:
We've just finished Route 66 from California to OKC (have to head for a wedding in East Tennessee now...). As stickdog mentioned, most of it is under I-40 or other highways now. Those parts that still exist are fine for the RV (except for an extremely old part through Oatman, AZ, over the mountains). Unfortunately, there's not much left except for a lot of kitsch and curio shops. We ate at several neat diners and got a lot of photos of old motel signs, etc. It's nothing like I remember from the late '50s and early '60s with my grandparents, though. As stickdog also mentioned, LOTS of motorcycles doing the Route. We encountered several large groups of Europeans and Scandinavians who had rented "the whole experience" complete with Harleys, support vehicles, mechanics and guides.

Rob

Yes, if you go through Oatman, you're going on the REAL old Route 66, and no, you can't take a camper/RV that way. The road going from Oatman to Kingman is way to narrow and steep.

[c_traveler2]

5thwheelfun wrote:
When any of you have done Route 66, did you tow your camper or just drive your vehicle? If you towed was it easy traveling and seeing the sights of Rt. 66 and were campgrounds plentiful and easy to access along the way.

This is the best website for route 66...
Historic Route 66

The section from Cool Spring, Arizona to Oatman, Az. is unsuitable for anything over 30 feet, just too windy and narrow.

[GraciesDaddy]

When you do go, be sure to stop off at Glenrio Texas/New Mexico... It was one of those funky one-town-in-two-states places that tried to have the best of both. There's plenty written about it online.

[mileshuff]

Just returned from Williams, AZ for the weekend.

66 thru Flagstaff isn't much these days. It's the main street thru town but remnants of yesteryear are few. Museum Club is fun old bar and grill that has existed since the Route 66 days mostly unchanged.

Williams is a ton of fun. The town still has it's 50's vibe complete with neon signs and several diners, steakhouses etc. Lots to do around the area such as Bearizona drive thru animal park.

66 from Ash Fork to Kingman is one of the longest remaining stretches left. Seligman is another fun town to stop at. Grand Canyon Caverns and nearby Keepers of the Wild animal sanctuary are worth stopping.

66 from Kingman thru Oatman has poorly maintained stretches and tight turns. I have not tried with an RV but is a fun trip in a car.

[mikim]

Just got back from doing the route from California to Oklahoma City, Ok. Plenty of RV parks along the way. We did take my wife's Tesla instead of the RV. Most of the towns are better with the tow car. Winslow, AZ and seeing the statute is best with a car.

The books are written from Chicago to LA. Traveling in reverse was difficult.

The books and maps I recommend.

TripAdvisor
Here IT IS Map series of Route 66, by Ghost Town Press
EZ66 Guide for Travelers
Also, www.azrt66.com

[PenMan]

I agree with NMDriver. There are some old Route 66 cafes and even a couple motels in Albuquerque but I would not try to pull my TT on the busiest street in Albuquerque. A large section of Central (Route 66) is torn up in a road project for the next several months as well.

[owenssailor]

We did he Oatman Kingsman stretch towing a 32 foot overall TT. It is tight but doable.

[NMDriver]

I suggest you drive I-40 and take the business route through all the towns west of Amarillo until you get to Albu. then stay on I-40 to Grants and start taking business routes again until you get to Ash Fork, AZ then take the old route to Kingman and get back onto I-40.

Cental Ave in Albu is the old route 66 but is not worth driving unless you like stop and go traffic and seeing the occasional prostitute and or drug dealer on the corners.

[jplante4]

There are a number of the old US route system roads still mostly intact; US20, US50, US6. They mostly go right through towns and have a lot of stoplights. I had the notion that I wanted to do the old northeast to Florida route - US301 and US19 - but the short sections I've done have convinced me that it would probably take a month or more. I don't know how my Grampa did this every year in his old Rambler. He was not the most patient man in the world.

[Second_Chance]

We've just finished Route 66 from California to OKC (have to head for a wedding in East Tennessee now...). As stickdog mentioned, most of it is under I-40 or other highways now. Those parts that still exist are fine for the RV (except for an extremely old part through Oatman, AZ, over the mountains). Unfortunately, there's not much left except for a lot of kitsch and curio shops. We ate at several neat diners and got a lot of photos of old motel signs, etc. It's nothing like I remember from the late '50s and early '60s with my grandparents, though. As stickdog also mentioned, LOTS of motorcycles doing the Route. We encountered several large groups of Europeans and Scandinavians who had rented "the whole experience" complete with Harleys, support vehicles, mechanics and guides.

Rob

[RoyB]

I have used it mostly in the AZ and NM states. We all want to have our picture taken standing beside one of the ROUTE 66 signs with the mtns in the back ground...

I got all of my RT66 fill just around the FLAGSTAFF AZ area...

RT66 follows I40 for the most part. you can't find many long stretches of just US ROUTE 66 any more...

Roy Ken

[stickdog]

Portions of Rt66 no longer exist there are several web pages with much info. I have traveled portions of it over the years and living alongside would often see motorcycles making the full journey from Chicago lake front to LA. Just google RT 66 road trip.