Caption: A photo of Buck Atom’s Cosmic Curios on 66 souvenir shop with neon signage and a space cowboy statue. (Local Guide Rhys Martin)
With its 2,448 miles (almost 4,000 kilometers) and spanning eight U.S. states, Route 66 is more than a highway. It’s a cultural symbol.
Exactly 96 years ago, the route’s history began, and since then, it has captivated travelers, inspired artists, and earned passionate devotees. One of them is Rhys Martin (@RhysM), a Local Guide from Tulsa, Oklahoma. Rhys fell in love with the historic road in 2014, and today he serves as the President of the Oklahoma Route 66 Association. His reviews and photos on Google Maps help raise awareness for the variety of experiences the highway offers: from big cities and rural communities to farmland, mountains, deserts, mom-and-pop motels, and kitschy roadside attractions.
Caption: A photo of Weber’s Superior Root Beer Drive-in signage that reads, ‘Tulsa’s oldest hamburger stand since 1933.’ (Local Guide Rhys Martin)
“Route 66 is about the journey, not the destination,” Rhys says. So we asked him to share his best tips to discover great spots along the way and enjoy a road trip down the route to the fullest:
Discover local businesses along the route: By searching for something like “U.S Route 66 Restaurants” on Google Maps you can virtually explore restaurants or other businesses across all eight states. This way, you can familiarize yourself with attractions, view how much certain restaurants cost, read reviews and even see popular menu items to help you choose places you want to visit.
Plan your road trip with Lists in Google Maps: Once you discover the places you’re interested in visiting, save them to a list that can serve as an itinerary so you can support local businesses — and help preserve history – along the route. You can even share your list with others, or make them collaborative so you can plan together!
A picture is worth a thousand words: Photographing the details of a place — like the decades-old neon signage or the original menus hanging behind the counter — and sharing them through reviews on Google Maps helps capture the essence of an establishment and helps others discover places they want to visit.
Feeling inspired to hit the road? Check out Rhys’s list of must-see places along Route 66, and see today’s video Doodle to learn more about the route’s history.
Local Guides, have you traveled along Route 66? Tell us about it in the comments!
Que gran post @TiffanyBnyc , me gusto mucho leerlo y me transporto automáticamente a un cantante argentino Pappo que versiono la tradicional canción Ruta 66
saludos Farid, desde la Tierra del Fuego Argentina
What a nice story Route 66 is really an icon of the US and many people around the world are familiar with it by novels, movies, photos and other artworks. You’re right @TiffanyBnyc Route 66 is a culture.
So Beautifully on the Canvas of Oil Painting, the story of reality from the love of the mind can be presented in such a beautiful way that it can be expressed through video! I wouldn’t understand if I didn’t watch the video on YouTube. The content really deserves respect.
Congratulations on the recognition @Rhysfunk and I love the photos. There’s a lot of history of Route 66, a great highway to Get Your Kicks on and I’ve traveled many times along it, mainly at the Los Angeles area.
A great and historic post thanks for sharing it with us. I like that saying “it’s not all about the destination it’s the journey or road if you like” very often we lose the fun and enjoyment on the road by rushing or getting too anxious to reach the destination. It’s nice to enjoy the journey and take note of the different fun on the journey. I like the post.
@user_not_found congratulations on this milestone of achievement as a local guide this will help lots of people in the years to come in their decisions.
Wow! 96 years!!! What a history. Route 66 also Know as the Main Street of America is a very popular interstate highway and I have seen it being featured in several movies like Wild Hogs & Little Miss Sunshine. I hope to take a ride on this highway before it turns 100!
@TiffanyBnyc thank you for this helpful history and thanks to @Rhysfunk for guiding users with useful information on Google Maps.
Some really helpful tips by @user_not_found that have definitely helped me on my short road trips. Route 66 is one of those routes I’d eventually love to go through and I really loved the Google doodle, learned a lot!
Thank you very much for sharing. To travel Route 66 is in fact a dream since I’m a child. It would be fantastic to do this in reallity, as life time is running. I would hope, that it gives me the possibility to understand the country USA better, as I only have visited towns there up to now.
It is a very good post @TiffanyBnyc .Nat King Cole and many others say and sing the same :“Take your kicks on Route 66”.It is important,nearly one century old.I also have my clock at home.
**Ruta 66 felicidades!!! por esta gran celebración es toda una fiesta por su historia de magníficos pueblos comida su gente es indispensable ver cómo no pasa el tiempo esto es de resaltar siguen cuidando casa uno de sus estados para mantenerlos pausados enigmáticos y que decir que es donde más películas se an filmado en sus 8 estados tiene todo montañas es increíble sus fotografías pasajes desierto rios lagos cuánta historia junta por tantos años !!! @GoogleMaaps@TiffanyBnyc **
Viajando con Ane I did the complete route in 2017. It was wonderful since we started preparing the trip. It was like being inside a movie. I recommend doing this wonderful trip. the road, the volunteers who follow the roadside, to show us their stories. I hope to be able to do this trail for its 100th inauguration. Thank you @TiffanyBnyc
mucho leerlo y me transporto automáticamente a un cantante argentino 
Argentina
Route 66 is really an icon of the US and many people around the world are familiar with it by novels, movies, photos and other artworks. You’re right 
ideas
