Route 66 turns 100 this year, and communities across California are marking the milestone with festivals, food and road trips throughout the spring and summer.<\/p>\n
For travelers looking to celebrate, the best way to experience the centennial is simple. Get in your car and hit the Mother Road.<\/p>\n
SoCal\u2019s Route 66 centennial party kicks off April 25 in Glendora with the Vibechella Music Festival, before rolling into Santa Monica on April 30 for the official Centennial Kick-Off at Mel\u2019s Drive-In and heading deep into the desert May 2 for the Big Birthday Bash in Newberry Springs packed with cars, music and wild Americana vibes. <\/p>\n
The petroleum company was named after a high-octane gasoline test drive on Route 66. Getty Images<\/p>\n
Long before it was paved, the path was surveyed in 1857 by Lt. Edward Beale. Getty Images<\/p>\n
In 1928, a 3,400-mile footrace from Los Angeles to New York City was held to promote the highway. Getty Images<\/p>\n
And the celebration doesn\u2019t stop there, on June 27, San Bernardino hosts \u201cThe Great Race,\u201d bringing a parade of vintage cars down the Mother Road for one of the most iconic stops of the entire 100th anniversary.<\/p>\n
For more visit the official Route 66 events page<\/a>. And if you want to strike out on your own, the road offers plenty of attractions to fill a week or just a quick weekend getaway. <\/p>\n The journey starts where the road ends \u2014 at the Santa Monica Pier, where Route 66 meets the Pacific Ocean, before heading east into a string of classic and sometimes delightfully weird stops that define the American road trip.<\/p>\n In Santa Monica, grab a \u201cGringo\u201d espresso at Dogtown Coffee, a surf and skate hangout that feels like Venice Beach energy bottled into a cafe.<\/p>\n In Hollywood, Blackwood Coffee Bar keeps things polished with artful drinks like its vanilla bean latte.<\/p>\n In Pasadena, Andy\u2019s Coffee Shop is a time capsule, serving hot coffee the same way it has for more than 80 years.<\/p>\n Before you even leave Los Angeles County, the route turns into a full food crawl. Grand Central Market in downtown LA delivers a \u2018choose your own adventure\u2019 lineup under a historic Beaux Arts ceiling.<\/p>\n Pink\u2019s Hot Dogs, open since 1939, still pulls crowds for chili dogs and Hollywood nostalgia.<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\tSign up for the California Morning Report newsletter\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tCalifornia’s top news, sports and entertainment delivered to your inbox every day.\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\tThanks for signing up!\n\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n Stretch your legs at Runyon Canyon Park, where locals hike for views of the Hollywood Sign and the illusion of working off last night\u2019s tacos.<\/p>\n Then comes the heart of the Route 66 checklist, the icons.<\/p>\n Top Route 66 Stops in California:<\/p>\n Tail o\u2019 the Pup in West Hollywood, the legendary hot dog stand shaped like a giant frankfurter and now a retro photo magnet.<\/p>\n The Donut Man in Glendora, a cult favorite known for massive jam stuffed donuts that travelers swear are worth the stop.<\/p>\n Magic Lamp Inn in Rancho Cucamonga, old school steakhouse energy with glowing neon roadside charm.<\/p>\n Wigwam Motel in San Bernardino, where you can sleep in a concrete teepee because yes, that still exists.<\/p>\n Elmer\u2019s Bottle Tree Ranch in Oro Grande, a surreal desert forest made of glass bottles and scrap metal art.<\/p>\n Roy\u2019s Motel and Cafe in Amboy, a neon soaked ghost town icon rising out of the Mojave like a mirage that refuses to die.<\/p>\n Bagdad Cafe in Newberry Springs, the cult film famous roadside stop that feels frozen in time.<\/p>\n EddieWorld in Yermo, part gas station, part neon mega stop, part desert fever dream.<\/p>\n Wagon Wheel Restaurant in Needles, a classic border town diner where California runs out of road.<\/p>\n Santa Monica Pier, where it all begins and ends depending on your direction and your stamina.<\/p>\n Eastbound, the highway leans harder into diner Americana and desert survival mode.<\/p>\n Rancho Cucamonga\u2019s Richie\u2019s Real American Diner serves big booths and a kids menu with a coloring contest.<\/p>\n Ontario\u2019s Vince\u2019s Spaghetti has been doing one thing since 1945, giant plates of pasta in booths worn down by decades of regulars.<\/p>\n Route 66 became a popular route because of the active promotion of the U.S 66 Highway Association. AP<\/p>\n The highway inspired the 1946 hit song \u201c(Get Your Kicks on) Route 66\u201d by Bobby Troup and a 1960s TV series. Getty Images<\/p>\n In 1999, President Bill Clinton signed a National Route 66 Preservation Bill. AP<\/p>\n The official western terminus where the \u201cEnd of the Trail\u201d sign stands. Santa Monica Travel & Tourism<\/p>\n For car lovers, Route 66 is basically a rolling museum.<\/p>\n The Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles shows off Hollywood famous cars and a Vault full of rare automotive history.<\/p>\n Pomona\u2019s Wally Parks NHRA Motorsports Museum celebrates drag racing history in a converted Art Deco expo hall.<\/p>\n In Cucamonga, a 1915 service station stands as a roadside relic packed with memorabilia.<\/p>\n Victorville\u2019s California Route 66 Museum and Barstow\u2019s Mother Road Museum turn the highway itself into an exhibit.<\/p>\n Barstow\u2019s Skyline Drive-In keeps the tradition alive under desert skies.<\/p>\n Beyond the checklist, the road gets surreal.<\/p>\n Elmer\u2019s Bottle Tree Ranch looks like desert art madness.<\/p>\n Roy\u2019s Motel glows neon against an empty highway.<\/p>\n Amboy Crater rises from lava fields like the planet briefly remembered it was volcanic.<\/p>\n The Mojave National Preserve stretches into silence with Joshua trees, sand dunes that sing and skies that feel endless.<\/p>\n Farther east, the road finishes its California run with the Bagdad Cafe, EddieWorld\u2019s neon overload and the Wagon Wheel Restaurant in Needles, where California quietly gives way to Arizona.<\/p>\n Often called the Mother Road, Route 66 carried Dust Bowl migrants west, powered wartime America and became the ultimate symbol of the American road trip.<\/p>\n John Steinbeck immortalized it in The Grapes of Wrath.<\/p>\n A century later, it still does the same thing it always has. It turns a drive into a story worth telling twice.<\/p>\n Download The California Post App, follow us on social, and subscribe to our newsletters <\/p>\n California Post News: Facebook<\/a>, Instagram<\/a>, TikTok<\/a>, X<\/a>, YouTube<\/a>, WhatsApp<\/a>, LinkedIn<\/a> \t\t\t\t\t\t
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