Pontiac’s pride in its Mother Road heritage can be seen in its 23 colorful outdoor murals and its two museums dedicated to America’s love affair with the automobile. Related reading: 5 drives from Chicago every traveler will love Pontiac, Illinois As you head further southwest on what today is Highway 55, stop for photos at the perfectly preserved Ambler/Becker Texaco Station in Dwight, its gas pumps painted a shiny red. Those close to the museum and welcome center include several Wyndham properties, the Holiday Inn & Suites Joliet Southwest (generally 15,000 or 20,000 IHG Rewards Club points per night), and the TownePlace Suites Joliet South (Category 3, from 15,000 to 20,000 Marriott Bonvoy points per night). Restaurants still maintaining Route 66’s traditions of roadside hospitality include the Rich and Creamy ice cream stand, Joliet Kicks on Route 66 and Dell Rhea’s Chicken Basket in Hinsdale, which specializes in fried chicken, served under the slogan, “Get Your Chicks on Route 66.”īetween them, Chicago and Joliet have every brand of loyalty program hotel for every budget. A perfect jumping-off point for your trip is the Route 66 Welcome Center at the Joliet Area Historical Museum, with its excellent exhibit on the Muffler Men, huge fiberglass statues used to advertise car repair shops. The symbolic start of Route 66 is the Buckingham Fountain in Chicago’s Millennium Park, but it’s not really a road trip until you’re headed southwest out of the city. Here, from east to west, are some of the best places to celebrate the nostalgia of the Mother Road.įor more TPG news delivered each morning to your inbox, sign up for our daily newsletter.
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Over time, most of the route was replaced by interstates, particularly I-40, and finding the original road requires a series of zigzags and detours.įor that reason, most people choose just one section, leaving plenty of time for stops along the way, or base themselves out of one of the larger towns on the route and explore in either direction. Passing through eight states between Chicago and Los Angeles, Route 66 covers nearly 2,500 miles across a broad swath of the Midwest, Plains states, Southwest and West. And even though Route 66 no longer exists on America’s highway maps, a drive across the country on the stretches that remain is one of the great American road trips. They call it the Mother Road, a term coined by author John Steinbeck because it carried Dust Bowl refugees west across America. Editor’s note: This is a recurring post, regularly updated with new information and offers.