If you’ve been driving the 2,448 miles from Chicago west to Santa Monica on the best long road trip in America, Route 66 in California will seem like the home stretch.
Along the way you’ve been greeted with a smorgasbord of experiences, architecture, scenery, towns, cultures, cuisines, and attractions from the weird to the wonderful. You’ve followed in the tire tracks of all who have come before you since Route 66 opened in 1926, including families, salesmen, drifters, dreamers and, more recently, international tourists from around the world. You’ve driven long stretches of the empty road, especially in Oklahoma and Arizona, the perfect incubator for thoughts and daydreams.
But here’s the thing. You don’t have to do it all in one fell swoop (the entire route, passing through eight states and three time zones, takes a minimum of two weeks, though three weeks would be better). It took me 15 years and five trips to drive it all, including several stretches more than once.
But here’s the other thing. As soon as I finally finished, I was hit by an almost maniacal urge to jump in the car and do it all again, this time in one fell swoop. The pull of Route 66 is that strong, at least for me.
Primer on Route 66 in California
Route 66 in California offers 315 miles of adventure, taking you through the Mojave Desert and memorable small towns with classic motels, one-of-a-kind diners, kitschy roadside attractions, faded neon signs, and abandoned buildings before descending into the sprawl of greater Los Angeles.
The best part of Route 66 in California is from Needles on the Arizona border west to Barstow, totaling more than 144 miles on the National Scenic Byway (also called the National Trails Highway). I also like the Mother Road’s continuation from Barstow to Victorville.
However, I must add that my driving companion and I got lost in the Golden State more than anywhere else on Route 66 (including Texas, where our GPS once guided us over a cattle guard onto a ranch). Even California’s “2025 Official Vacation Map” failed to show the iconic road, a failure we can only hope will be remedied in time for Route 66’s centennial in 2026. Trying to follow Route 66 from San Bernardino to Santa Monica took the better part of a morning.
For special events celebrating the 100-year birthday of Route 66 throughout 2026, visit the website of the Route 66 Centennial.
Part of the problem is that Route 66 was never static. It was always changing, eliminating sharp turns and bypassing towns that grew too large and congested. Every new alignment brought convulsions to towns and businesses suddenly cut off from motorists but offered new opportunities to those along the updated route.
The other problem is that Route 66 essentially died, killed by faster four-lane interstates that skirted small towns entirely, gobbled up parts of the old historic route, and brought disaster to the families that had provided gas, meals, rooms, and amusement. In California, these interstates are I-40 and I-15, but sometimes you have no other choice but to travel them. In 1985, Route 66 was officially decommissioned and the last Route 66 highway signs were taken down.
But interest never died, and in 1990 California designated its section the “State Historic Highway Route 66.” The Route’s historic signs were resurrected, but they were almost immediately stolen.
I have no idea whether that’s true today, but I do know that part of the problem following Route 66 through the Mojave Desert is that there are more than 100 timber trestle bridges built across desert washes and berms to divert water, most of them dating from the early 1900s. Sometimes those bridges get washed out and roads are closed. Repair is expensive.
It’s an adventure, to be sure, but isn’t that what you signed up for? My advice: fill up on gas in Arizona before hitting the Mojave Desert.
For information on Route 66 through the seven other states, see my blogs on Illinois; Missouri, Kansas, and Oklahoma; Texas and New Mexico; and Arizona.
Route 66 through the Mojave Desert to Victorville
After joyriding Route 66 in Arizona and getting a glimpse of the graceful Old Trails Bridge over the Colorado River, we crossed into California–and promptly got lost. We eventually found I-40, went through an inspection point to protect California’s agriculture (our two apples were deemed ok), and then picked up Route 66 enroute to Needles.
Needles, with a population of almost 5,000, has the distinction of being the hottest city in the country, edging out even Phoenix. Make a quick stop to see some of its murals and fortify yourself for the ride ahead at Wagon Wheel Restaurant. If you wish, you can cool off with a dip in the Colorado River.
We headed out of Needles on Route 66, but, unfortunately, we couldn’t follow it all the way to Amboy because the road closed in 2017 due to a washout (repairs to replace 69 timber bridges are underway, with an expected completion in 2027). Instead, we took I-40 west to Kelbaker Road and headed south.
Amboy was founded in 1858 as a mining camp and later served Route 66 travelers braving the Mojave Desert. It’s now a ghost town, population 0, one of the many casualties of I-40. The town’s church, post office, and school are shuttered, houses vacant.
But Amboy remains a popular stop for mostly international travelers who have come a long way and spent a log of money to experience Americana. Rising from the desert is a neon sign for Roy’s, a former motel with a string of long-vacant cabins and a ‘60s lobby gussied up like a museum. Its mid-century design is called Modern Googie, inspired by the space age. The former café has original gas pumps dispensing expensive fuel and souvenirs.
Although Amboy has served as a film location, it’s probably not as famous as the Bagdad Café farther down the road, where the movie “Bagdad Café” was filmed in 1988. At least, it’s famous to international travelers, many of whom choose to travel the historic road on motorcycle.
“France is our number one customer,” says Mark Bradley, who says he’s been working here “on and off” for the past 20 years. “Japan and Brazil are number two. We don’t get many Americans.”
The café’s offerings are minimal, though the various paper currencies, soccer banners and other memorabilia left by travelers are worth a gander. I asked whether the continuous showing of the “Bagdad Café” on the café’s TV got on their nerves, but Bradley said they were “already crazy.” Just another quirky roadside attraction on the Mother Road.
Route 66 runs straight through Barstow on Main Street, where you’ll see several motels and lots of murals and liquor stores. Barstow’s most impressive building is another Harvey House, which used to serve meals to hungry train passengers but is now an office building and home to the Route 66 Mother Road Museum, one of many museums dedicated to the iconic road.
On your way to Oro Grande, you’ll pass lots of solar fields and irrigated fields, signs that you’re on your way out of the Mojave Desert. One of the best stops here is Elmer’s Bottle Ranch, the whimsical creation of Elmer Long. Although it isn’t old (Elmer began erecting his bottle trees on two acres of land in 2000), it’s in the spirit of Route 66, an offbeat glass fantasyland that seems almost spiritual.
Although Elmer died in 2019, his family is keeping it going, so be sure to support the project by contributing to the donation barrel on the property. And stay awhile. I find the place somehow very soothing.
After all the tiny towns in the Mojave Desert, Victorville with a population of more than 137,000 will seem like the big city. As such, you might find it a good place to bed down for the night before tackling Los Angeles and its suburbs, with the New Corral Motel among the best option if you’re sticking to vintage motels. (On our travels on Route 66, my travel companion and I avoided chain hotels and restaurants and stayed only in historic hotels and vintage motels.)
Surprise, surprise, Victorville, too, has a Route 66 museum, the three-room California Route 66 Museum in a former café. The number of Route 66 museums can be overwhelming; my favorites are those in Clinton OK and Pontiac IL.
Otherwise, the best stop in Victorville is Emma Jean’s Holland Burger, open since 1947. This is the real deal, a throwback diner that serves big portions and camaraderie. Everything is homemade, from the salsa and ranch dressing to the biscuits and gravy, soups, cobbler, and Wednesday meatloaf special.
Owned by the same family since 1979 and now with a third-generation member working here, it’s a town staple. Though it’s open only for breakfast and lunch, it offers a list of domestic beers for those who come in after their night shifts working at warehouses, cement plants, and power plants. But it also draws in travelers due to its reputation and location on Route 66.
“I’ve traveled the world and haven’t left this building,” says owner Shawna Gentry. “People come from all over the world, from Australia, Lithuania, Brazil, Poland. If you had told me 30 years ago people would come visit me I’d say you were crazy.”
If you didn’t spend the night in Victorville, maybe it’s because you’re saving up for the wigwam.
Route 66 from San Bernadino to Santa Monica Pier
San Bernadino, west of Los Angeles, is home to the Wigwam Motel, one of only three surviving locations of the motel chain built during the 1930s and 1940s (there’s another one on Route 66, in Holbrook AZ). Nineteen teepees, forming a half-circle encampment around well-maintained grounds, palm trees and a swimming pool, are roomier than you might expect. This was our most memorable stay on Route 66 through California.
San Bernadino is also home to the McDonald’s Museum, site of the original 1948 fast-food chain, but we skipped that for what we knew would be a long haul through the string of communities leading to Santa Monica. Because it’s up to the various communities whether or how they provide signage for Route 66, some are better marked than others.
Unsurprisingly, there’s not a lot left of Route 66 in this sprawling megalopolis, but we did see business chains, mom and pop businesses for tire companies, auto dealerships and liquor stores, as well as lots of motels with names like Dragon Motel, Sand and Sage Motel, Redwing Motel, and Sunset Motel, but I can’t vouch for any of them.
But you’ll know you’re on Route 66 when you pull up to the brightly painted Cucamonga Service Station, though you won’t be getting gas. Built in 1915, it served motorists on Route 66 clear until 1972. Volunteers both restored it and now give their time to educate younger folk about what service stations did before the age of self-pumps at noncommittal convenience stores.
Inside you can see old bookkeeping logs listing people who bought gas on credit and examples of freebies passed out to loyal customers, from flower seeds to ashtrays. A gift shop sells memorabilia, with proceeds going toward the next project: rebuilding the garage out back to expand the museum’s story telling.
After Rancho Cucamonga we continued on Foothill Boulevard, Huntington Drive and Colorado Boulevard and drove through a slew of communities, including Pasadena, Highland Park, Chinatown, downtown Los Angeles, Hollywood, and Beverly Hills before reaching Santa Monica. We didn’t stop nearly as much as we could have on Route 66 in California, so let these photos serve only as a teaser.
Among the highlights was the Fair Oaks Pharmacy and Soda Fountain in South Pasadena. In operation in some form since 1915, it’s reminiscent of the days when pharmacists sold phosphate sodas, ice cream, and lunch fare in addition to dispensing prescriptions.
In addition to the soda fountain offering phosphates, sarsaparilla, floats, and ice cream, it has a gift shop selling novelties you might not have thought about since childhood, including Gumby, tin toys, and candy like and Slo Poke. And there’s still a pharmacy here, in the back.
The 22-foot Chicken Boy peers from a roof on North Figueroa Street in Highland Park. He was manufactured by the International Fiberglass Company in Venice CA, who created the Muffler Men used for advertisements and still seen along Route 66.
The original Route 66 did not continue to the Pacific Ocean, but rather ended ignobly in downtown Los Angeles, at 7th and Broadway in the Historic Broadway Theater District.
But even before the demise of Route 66 in 1985, travelers commemorated the end of their journey at Santa Monica Pier, a much more fitting finale.
In 2009, an “End of the Trail” sign was erected on Santa Monica Pier and quickly became a required photo op for those wishing to commemorate their journey, no matter how they arrived.
For information on driving Route 66 through the seven other states, see my blogs on Illinois; Missouri, Kansas, and Oklahoma,;Texas and New Mexico; and Arizona.
