WASTELAND FIREBIRD'S BIG LIST OF THE BEST THINGS ON ROUTE 66

A curious guide to Route 66 and the American Dream, updated 2026 Jun 18

This Book is available now! Click here to buy!

Wasteland Firebird's Big List of the Best Things On Route 66 is like no other Route 66 guide. This book doesn't set out to map the Route itself. This book is a carefully curated list of addresses, one address per page. Each page has a QR code that opens up Google Maps directions to that address. No app needed! Many pages contain reviews, memories of previous journeys, or musings about the American Dream. This book will tell you a story about Route 66, while you're out there writing your own.

Wasteland Firebird has traveled the Route five times, adding and subtracting items from this list along the way. None of the businesses in this book paid to appear in it. This book is solely a list of places that are beautiful, quirky, old, luxurious, or delicious. Every place in this book is worth at least a brief stop. Some of the entries are new discoveries that have never before been seen in connection with Route 66, such as "Room Attack" and "Toynbee Tiles."

The previous edition of this book served as the guide for The Great Route 66 Centennial Convergence, held in April 2026. So many people asked for the book that we quickly ran out of our free copies. As soon as the trip was complete, we released this new updated edition for sale.

YouTube · Reddit · Substack · PayPal · Patreon · TikTok · wastelandfirebird@gmail.com · Heads Will Rock: A chronicle of postapocalyptic mayhem · Wasteland Firebird's next USA tour dates · Wasteland Firebird's Big Map of the Best Things On Route 66



Chicago to LA · LA to Chicago

  1. Cloud Gate mirrored bean sculpture
  2. Chicago Athletic Association
  3. Art Institute of Chicago
  4. Steak 'n Egger
  5. Henry's Drive-In
  6. Cigars & Stripes BBQ Lounge
  7. Dell Rhea's Chicken Basket
  8. White Fence Farm Restaurant
  9. Old Joliet Prison
  10. Rialto Square Theatre
  11. Blues Brothers Copmobile
  12. Polk-A-Dot Drive In
  13. Shop on Route 66
  14. Gothic Church Dwight Townhall
  15. Dwight Coin Laundry
  16. Ambler's Texaco Gas Station
  17. Standard Oil Gas Station
  18. Old Log Cabin restaurant
  19. Route 66 Association of Illinois
  20. Pontiac Oakland Auto Museum
  21. Route 66 of Chenoa Roadside Attraction Tourist Info
  22. Lexington Route 66 Memory Lane
  23. Sprague's Super Service Station
  24. Carl's Ice Cream Factory
  25. Funks Grove Pure Maple Sirup Farm
  26. Arcadia America's Playable Arcade Museum
  27. Country-Aire Restaurant
  28. American Giants Museum
  29. Hot Dog Muffler Man
  30. Outkast Tattoo Studio
  31. Illinois State Fair Route 66 Experience
  32. Route 66 Hotel Conference Center
  33. Shea's Filling Station
  34. Pharmacy Gallery Art Space
  35. Springfield Southeast High School
  36. Mel-O-Cream Donuts
  37. Charlie Parker's Diner
  38. Lauterbach Muffler Man
  39. Pinky Elephant with Martini
  40. Route 66 Motorheads Bar and Grill
  41. Chatham Railroad Museum
  42. Illinois Brick Road
  43. Doc's Just Off 66
  44. Niehaus Cycle Sales
  45. Soulsby Service Station
  46. Pink Elephant Antique Mall
  47. Route 66 Creamery
  48. West End Service Station
  49. Old Chain of Rocks Bridge
  50. O'Brien Tire & Auto Care
  51. Mr. Twist Ice Cream
  52. It's Electric Neon Sign Park
  53. Crown Candy Kitchen
  54. Chili Mac's Diner
  55. Neon Museum of St Louis
  56. Ted Drewes Frozen Custard
  57. Route 66 State Park
  58. Red Cedar Inn Museum and Visitor Center
  59. Hoffman's Drive-In
  60. Gardenway Motel sign
  61. International Shoe Company Building
  62. Creative Chainsaw Carvings
  63. Meramec Caverns
  64. Shamrock Court Motel
  65. Missouri Hick Barbeque
  66. Wagon Wheel Motel
  67. Weir on 66 Rich's Famous Burgers
  68. Fanning Outpost Rocking Chair
  69. Devil's Elbow Bridge
  70. Uranus Fudge Factory
  71. Route 66 Neon Sign Park
  72. Old Stagecoach Stop
  73. Route 66 Gasconade Bridge
  74. Munger Moss Motel
  75. Smokin' Jones BBQ Wrink's Market
  76. Boswell Park Camp Joy
  77. Redmon's Candy Factory
  78. Little Clay House
  79. Andy's Frozen Custard
  80. Glenstone Court Motel
  81. Best Western Route 66 Rail Haven
  82. History Museum on the Square
  83. College Street Cafe
  84. Route 66 Car Museum
  85. Rockwood Motor Court
  86. Route 66 KOA Holiday
  87. Gary's Gay Parita Sinclair
  88. Campbell 66 Express
  89. Granny Shaffer's Restaurant
  90. Royale Cinema Lounge
  91. Wilder's Steakhouse
  92. Cars on the Route Kan-O-Tex Service Station
  93. Gearhead Curios
  94. Galena Mining & Historical Museum
  95. Old Riverton Store
  96. Baxter Springs Heritage Center & Museum
  97. Route 66 Visitors Center
  98. Dallas' Dairyette
  99. Waylan's Ku-Ku
  100. Coleman Theater
  101. Route 66 Sidewalk Hwy
  102. Crosstar Flag and Tag Museum
  103. Hi-Way Cafe Western Motel
  104. Pryor Creek Bridge
  105. Ed Galloway's Totem Pole Park
  106. JM Davis Arms Historical Museum
  107. Blue Whale of Catoosa
  108. Desert Hills Motel
  109. Tally's Good Food Cafe
  110. Coney I-Lander
  111. Campbell Hotel
  112. Buck Atom's Cosmic Curios on 66
  113. Buck's Vintage
  114. Meadow Gold Mack
  115. Cyrus Avery Centennial Plaza
  116. Route 66 Neon Sign Park
  117. Route 66 Historical Village
  118. Gasoline Alley Classics
  119. Heart of Route 66 Auto Museum
  120. Rock Creek Bridge
  121. J's Country Kitchen
  122. Bristow Train Depot Museum
  123. Route 66 Spirit of America Museum
  124. Skyliner Motel
  125. McJerry's Route 66 Gallery
  126. Westfall Phillips 66 Station
  127. Seaba Station Motorcycle Museum
  128. John's Place Museum
  129. Chicken Shack
  130. Arcadia Round Barn
  131. 1889 Territorial School
  132. Lake Overholser Bridge
  133. Yukon Mill Grain Co
  134. Jobe's Country Boy Drive-In
  135. Indian Trading Post
  136. Bridgeport Bridge
  137. Hinton Junctions Courts and Cafe
  138. Lucille's Historic Highway Gas Station
  139. Major Tom Astronaut
  140. Cotton Boll Motel sign
  141. United Supermarkets
  142. National Route 66 & Transportation Museum
  143. Sandhill Curiosity Shop
  144. U-Drop Inn Cafe
  145. Restored 1929 Route 66 Gas Station
  146. Red River Steakhouse
  147. Alanreed
  148. Leaning Tower of Texas
  149. Big Texan Steak Ranch
  150. Texas Route 66 Visitor Center
  151. Elmo's Drive Inn
  152. Lile Art Gallery
  153. GoldenLight Cafe & Cantina
  154. Texas Ivy Antiques
  155. Handle Bar and Grill
  156. 2nd Amendment Cowboy Muffler Man
  157. Milburn-Price Culture Museum
  158. Mama Jo's Pies
  159. Dream Maker Station
  160. Glenrio TX Ghost Town
  161. Russell's Travel Center
  162. World's Largest Flip Flop
  163. Del's Restaurant
  164. Roadrunner Lodge Motel
  165. Blue Swallow Motel
  166. Tucumcari Historical Museum
  167. Blake's Lotaburger
  168. Richardson Store
  169. Cuervo Ghost Town
  170. Old Rio Pecos Ranch Truck Terminal
  171. Sun & Sand Restaurant
  172. Bowlin's Flying C Ranch
  173. Clines Corners Travel Center
  174. Sal & Inez's Service Station
  175. Country Friends Antiques
  176. Loma Verde Motel sign
  177. Western View Steak Diner & House
  178. Route 66 Visitor Center
  179. Budville Trading Post
  180. Villa de Cubero Trading Post
  181. Ruins of Whiting Brothers Gas Station
  182. New Mexico Mining Museum
  183. Old Bluewater Motel
  184. Bowlin's Bluewater Outpost
  185. Indian Village Gift Shop
  186. Fort Wingate Army Depot
  187. Earl's Family Restaurant
  188. Blue Spruce Lodge
  189. Historic El Rancho Hotel
  190. John's Used Cars
  191. Yellowhorse Trading Post
  192. Fort Courage
  193. Dotch Windsor's Painted Desert Trading Post
  194. Petrified Forest National Park
  195. Stewart's Petrified Wood Shop
  196. El Rancho Restaurant & Motel
  197. Geronimo Trading Post
  198. Here It Is Jack Rabbit Trading Post
  199. Falcon Restaurant & Lounge
  200. Earl's Route 66 Motor Court
  201. La Posada Hotel
  202. Route 66 Delta Motel
  203. Meteor City Trading Post
  204. Meteor Crater
  205. Two Guns
  206. Twin Arrows Trading Post Ruins
  207. Walnut Canyon Bridge
  208. Americana Motor Hotel
  209. Route 66 Dog Haus
  210. Flagstaff Visitor Center
  211. Weatherford Hotel
  212. J Lawrence Walkup Skydome
  213. Old Route 66 Parks Store
  214. Bearizona Wildlife Park
  215. Pete's Route 66 Gas Station Museum
  216. Historic Grand Canyon Hotel
  217. Williams Visitor Center
  218. Cruiser's Route 66 Cafe
  219. Arizona 9 Motor Hotel
  220. Ash Fork Route 66 Museum
  221. Aztec Motel & Creative Space
  222. Delgadillo's Snow Cap
  223. Delgadillo's Gift Shop
  224. Westside Lilo's Cafe
  225. Hackberry General Store
  226. Kingman Railroad Museum
  227. Mr. D'z Route 66 Diner
  228. Cool Springs Station
  229. Oatman
  230. Claypool & Co building
  231. Wagon Wheel Restaurant
  232. Rio Del Sol Inn
  233. Goffs Schoolhouse
  234. Guardian Lion East
  235. Road Runner's Retreat
  236. Guardian Lion West
  237. Former Whiting Brothers Gas Station
  238. Whiting Brothers Service and Tony's Spaghetti building
  239. Sand-swallowed abandoned homes
  240. Daggett Historical Museum
  241. Penny's Diner
  242. Peggy Sue's 50's Diner
  243. Liberty Sculpture Park
  244. Thrift & More
  245. Original Del Taco Location
  246. Calico Ghost Town
  247. Skyline Drive-In Theater
  248. Barstow Train McDonald's
  249. Mojave River Valley Museum
  250. Route 66 Motel
  251. Elmer's Bottle Tree Ranch
  252. Emma Jean's Holland Burger Cafe
  253. California Route 66 Museum
  254. Santa Fe Trading Company
  255. First Original McDonald's Museum
  256. Cucamonga Service Station
  257. Magic Lamp Inn Restaurant
  258. Fair Oaks Pharmacy & Soda Fountain
  259. La Fuente Restaurant
  260. Million Dollar Theater
  261. Grand Central Market
  262. Clifton's building
  263. United Theater on Broadway
  264. Petersen Automotive Museum
  265. Edelweiss Chocolates
  266. Santa Monica Pier