Rt 66 Oklahoma east to west

Watch out for and stop at POPS. Very neat soda shop.Every flavor you can think of.
We were at the end of Rt.66 this winter.Neat place to see too.Right on the Santa Monica pier.

Best guide I've found, and I've bought several, is "EZ66 Guide for Travelers" by Jerry McClanahan, published by the National Historic Route 66 Federation. It covers various vintages of Route 66 (routing changed over the 30+ years it was so designated) and helps you find historic relics long abandoned.

"Historic Route 66" markers through Oklahoma mostly put you on what is left of the last routing before US-66 was decommissioned. There is a lot of useful mileage of this vintage, as I-44 (routed onto the Will Rogers and Turner turnpikes) did not replace US-66, rather bypassed the old roads.

You might be tempted to get onto expressways to go through Tulsa or Oklahoma City (you will have to to get across the Arkansas River) but following the later routings through town can be worthwhile, although 66 did not go through OKC, it goes through Edmund, to the north. In Tulsa, the historical markers take you across 11th Street, where you will find Talley's Diner at 11th and Yale, a 50's style venue that was not really there in the 50's. However, I'm not sure where you would park a motorhome, it is hard enough finding parking for a minivan in that area, particularly when the classic car guys or bikers are gathering at Talleys.

I used to prefer the Metro Diner on 11th, but the University of Tulsa bought the property and tore it down to build dormitories. Presence of a growing university community makes this a high-rent district, and is also why parking is hard to find.

I used to have a favorite lunch stop in Stroud, but I think the property has been turned into an upscale bar, kind of like an unfranchised Hard Rock Cafe.

With a really good guide, stopping at all the attractions, seeking out the old bridges and byways, it could take you a week to get from Joplin to Oklahoma City, nominally 3 1/2 hours on the turnpikes. Turner Turnpike was built to cut the Tulsa-OKC travel time by half, and with the Will Rogers it pays for the whole state turnpike system, as all the other segments don't have the traffic to pay for upkeep.

The small, but highly recommended, Oklahoma Route 66 Museum is in Clinton, just off I-40 in western OK. It is relatively expensive, but well worth the cost, especially for anyone who can't remember American highways before Interstates completely changed our travel habits.

And there is a very nice city park campground in Sayre, OK, 40 miles west of Clinton. It is a CCC-built park with a swimming pool, golf course, and ball fields. It has 80 or so shaded, pull-through and back-in, electric-water campsites with a dump for about $10/night. It is our only recommended choice for a campground when we are traveling I-40 in western OK.

Have fun exploring!

Thanks. Looks like your info has helped. Just gotta pull off the main roads up to vinita to see the sights.

You can drive old 66 from Vinita through Tulsa, all the way to Edmond. I think it's pretty well marked. Going through Tulsa there are even a couple of variant routes with signage, because at one point (back in the '30s, I think?) the route was changed a bit.

Stop at Clanton's in Vinita for some authentic calf fries. ;) Detour a bit W of Foyil and view the 'world's largest totem'. Stop at the Davis Arms Museum in Claremore. See the Blue Whale just outside Catoosa.

Stop at Eisler Brothers store in Riverton, KS. They have a bunch of stuff on the mother road.

They make a good sandwich too.

Get yourself a good route 66 guide book. And google route 66 and do lots of reading.
Old route 66 is discontinuous. There are many places where it is under the interstates and simply no longer exists. There are many other places the original road does exist essentially parallel to the interstates. Careful planning should get you what you want.

Thanks. I didn't say okla in my orig post, but it appears it would be 40 hwy from Miami Oklahoma to okla city.

The only really good places I found with the infamous RT66 signs etc was in the Flagstaff AZ area... Alot of RT 66 shoots off of I40 along that path... California also has long sections of RT66 road way...

We all want to get our picture standing next the the RT66 sign with beautiful Arizona mountains in the back ground...

Mine are in a book somewhere and didn't make to this computer pictures folder...


Google Image

Driving from Chicago to the West Coast on RT66 is not going to happen haha... Only sections along the way will be identified as RT66... Basically RT66 got replaced by I44 out of Illinois and picking I40 in Oklahoma on West...


We better go see it before it completely goes away I reckon...

Roy Ken