• About
  • Privacy Policy
  • Contact

Family Travels on a Budget

Travel with kids: theme park family deals, cruise ships for kids and best cruise lines for teens and other cool places to visit, including adult getaways

  • Home
  • Travel guides
  • Cruising
  • Destinations
    • USA
      • Alabama
      • Florida
      • Georgia
      • Illinois
      • Indiana
      • Louisiana
      • Maryland
      • New York
      • North Carolina
      • Ohio
      • Oklahoma
      • Oregon
      • Pennsylvania
      • South Carolina
      • Texas
      • Utah
      • Virginia
      • Washington, DC
    • World
      • Bahamas/Caribbean
      • Canada
      • China
      • France
      • Mexico
      • Spain
  • Interests
    • Adventure
    • Arts/Culture
    • Beaches
    • Fitness
    • Food
    • Girlfriend Getaways
    • History
    • Kid Fun
    • Romantic Escapes
    • Teens and Tweens
    • Theme Parks and Zoos
      • Disney
      • Universal Studios
      • Other Theme Parks
      • Zoos
  • Reviews
    • Hotels
    • Restaurants
    • Products
    • Tech
    • Books
  • Travel Tips
    • Air Travel
    • Budget
    • Packing
    • Planning
    • Roadtrips
  • At home
    • Recipes
    • Shopping
    • Staycations

Home » Destinations » Historic Route 66!

Historic Route 66!

September 9, 2015 by Karen Dawkins 22 Comments

As an Amazon affiliate, and affiliate with other businesses, I earn from qualifying purchases.

Pin
Share
Tweet

Illinois Route 66

Gas prices are the lowest they’ve been in 11 years — and that means the number of people taking road trips is on the rise. If you, like millions of Americans this past Labor Day weekend, are planning a road trip in the near future, why not make it historic — and travel Route 66?

Illinois’ Route 66

Route 66 Map

This past summer, I rode a section of Route 66 on the Great Illinois Road Trip with Ben. I was surprised to learn that many people don’t know this section of the route as well as the areas through Oklahoma, Texas and New Mexico, but this historic road does, in fact, start in Chicago. You might even want to spend a couple days in the Windy City before you head off on your trek!

It travels southwest through places like Bloomington and Springfield before crossing the Mississippi River into St. Louis. Illinoisans are proud of their road and have gone to great lengths to preserve it. Signage along the route designates it a scenic byway and preserves the quirky attractions and iconic sites that make the road so memorable.

Dining

Route 66 Cozy Dog

Restaurants, like the Cozy Dog in Springfield, preserve the fun of the golden era of road trips. The throwback diner serves the same “cozy dogs,” a world-famous corn dog, as when they first opened on June 16, 1946. The restaurant has a Happy Days feel, suitable for this roadway known for fast cars and casual dining. As to the cozy dogs, I understand why they haven’t changed the recipe. The sweet corn coating is a nice contrast to the salty dog. Perfect with mustard and a soda!

By the way, the Cozy Dog makes the top ten list of “must see” attractions along Route 66!

Museums

Museums along Illinois’ portion of Route 66 tell the story of Route 66 and preserve American history too. Stops to consider include:

  • Route 66 Hall of Fame & Museum in Pontiac
  • Cahokia Mounds State Historic Site in Colllinsville
  • Litchfield Museum & Route 66 Welcome Center in Litchfield
  • Berwyn Route 66 Museum in Berwyn
  • Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum in Springfield

Lincoln Presidential Museum Route 66

The Lincoln Presidential Library celebrates its 10th anniversary in 2015, on the 150th anniversary year of Lincoln’s death. The museum is thoughtfully designed to help visitors understand the real Abraham Lincoln, not just the hero we’ve built up in our minds. From left to right around a central rotunda, visitors step into the various times of Lincoln’s life starting with the childhood cabin in Kentucky. Guests are encouraged to consider how difficult it must have been to share such a small space with a family. The White House Years, depicted on the opposite side draw guests into the politics of the time. We were surprised to discover that Lincoln was very unpopular throughout his years in office. Personal tragedies weighed as heavily as the nation’s internal strife. I gained new respect for Lincoln, the man, from visiting here.

Festivals
Route 66 Mother Road Festival

Photo provided by Springfield Area CVB and used with permission.

Of course, a road worthy of a Disney feature film deserves festivals and celebrations in its honor. The Illinois State Fair in August, Berwyn Car Show in early September and International Route 66 Mother Road Festival in Springfield in late September draw people from around the country to celebrate this road, its history and its impact on the region.

This year’s International Route 66 Mother Road Festival runs from September 25-27. More than 1,100 cool, classic cars and close to 100,000 visitors will enjoy live music, free entertainment and food. Beyond the hot rods, this family friendly festival has bounce houses and activities for the kids. The festival is free and open to the public.

Route 66 is an iconic piece of Americana, celebrating the road trip! Why not take advantage of those low gas prices this year and enjoy it yourself?

Route 66 Kitsch

To learn more about Route 66 or plan your visit to the Springfield area, go to the Visit Springfield vacation planning site.

Pin
Share
Tweet

Join our mailing list to receive the latest news and updates from our team.

You have Successfully Subscribed!

Filed Under: Destinations, Illinois, Roadtrips, USA

Please keep in touch. Our FACEBOOK community is active, and a great place to ask questions. On TWITTER, I share great content from destinations around the world. Follow our adventures on INSTAGRAM — we love to answer questions during trips. And, we’re on PINTEREST saving all sorts of great content from around the web.

Comments

  1. Erika says

    September 10, 2015 at 5:35 pm

    Oh I was so happy not to be driving for the holiday weekend. I do love road trips though, when the roads are not so crowded.

    Reply
    • Karen Dawkins says

      September 12, 2015 at 8:20 pm

      Erika, we didn’t drive over the holiday either! Here in NC, the locals all head to the mountains or the beach for one last summer weekend getaway — and the roads are nuts.

      Reply
  2. Uplifting Families says

    September 10, 2015 at 2:56 pm

    I have heard of people traveling the entire distance of route 66. I personally have been down it.

    Reply
    • Karen Dawkins says

      September 10, 2015 at 3:56 pm

      Do you have a favorite spot?

      Reply
  3. Brittany C. @ BSC Media, LLC says

    September 10, 2015 at 10:20 am

    I’ve never been here but would love to go! Sounds like a memorable trip!

    Reply
    • Karen Dawkins says

      September 10, 2015 at 3:56 pm

      It was. The Illinois section is really fun. I need to hit the southwestern portion — I’ve heard it’s even quirkier.

      Reply
  4. Bismah says

    September 10, 2015 at 7:28 am

    Looks like a fun place to visit! My eldest boy would be happy with going just to see the cars. Wonderful photos. Thank you for sharing!

    Reply
    • Karen Dawkins says

      September 10, 2015 at 3:57 pm

      The cars were amazing!

      Reply
  5. Elizabeth O. says

    September 10, 2015 at 3:03 am

    The food looks awesome. I love going to places that have so much history.

    Reply
    • Karen Dawkins says

      September 12, 2015 at 8:19 pm

      Illinois is steeped in more history than I realized. Certainly, there’s more to the state than corn and Chicago!

      Reply
  6. Liz Mays says

    September 9, 2015 at 9:38 pm

    Wow I didn’t realize there was so much to see and do! I’d love to pull into one of the classic diners.

    Reply
    • Karen Dawkins says

      September 12, 2015 at 8:19 pm

      We love to eat at the local places. Most of the time, the diners and holes in the wall seem to have the best food. The Cozy Dog wasn’t a gourmet meal, but as corn dogs go, it was really tasty! Sometimes tasty is perfect!

      Reply
  7. Jennifer Clay says

    September 9, 2015 at 3:11 pm

    I have always wanted to travel down Route 66! It looks like there are a lot of fun pit stops you can make! Maybe one day I will be able to check this off my to do list!

    Reply
    • Karen Dawkins says

      September 12, 2015 at 8:18 pm

      Pick the section closest to you and enjoy. Our little trip down the Illinois section certainly made my son and me want to explore more.

      Reply
  8. Elizabeth Towns says

    September 9, 2015 at 2:28 pm

    I love just this kind of travel with my children – across our great country and with some historical aspect! Now I want to eat at this fun diner and have a cozy dog! These are the kind of memories that leave an indelible mark on our lives.

    Reply
    • Karen Dawkins says

      September 12, 2015 at 8:17 pm

      Cozy Diner is a must… though they say you can eat their corn dogs at most state fairs across the country. They’re pretty famous that way. 🙂

      Reply
  9. Adriana Martin says

    September 9, 2015 at 11:57 am

    Traveling and discovering new adventures is the best, thanks for sharing your experience with us =)

    Reply
    • Karen Dawkins says

      September 12, 2015 at 8:16 pm

      Thanks for reading about it. 🙂

      Reply
  10. Robin Rue (@massholemommy) says

    September 9, 2015 at 11:43 am

    I have always wanted to drive down route 66 because it’s VERY haunted. Did you see any ghosts?

    Reply
    • Karen Dawkins says

      September 9, 2015 at 11:49 am

      I didn’t see any ghosts. I did see lots of cool cars!

      Reply
    • Route 66 guide says

      September 11, 2015 at 4:38 am

      There are many ghost towns along Route 66! 😉

      Reply
      • Karen Dawkins says

        September 13, 2015 at 2:38 pm

        Which are your favorite ghost towns?

        Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Meet Karen Dawkins

An avid traveler, I enjoy discovering new places: history, culture, and adventure. I love it all! Well, not bugs. I don’t like bugs very much, so I probably won’t visit a bug museum.

Read More

  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter

Subscribe

Subscribe To Our Newsletter

Subscribe To Our Newsletter

Join our mailing list to receive the latest news and updates from our team.

You have Successfully Subscribed!

**This site may contain affiliate links and sponsored posts for which I earn a small commission to help cover the costs of running a blog.**

We participate in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.

Copyright © 2023 · News Pro Theme Theme URI: http://my.studiopress.com/themes/news/ Description: A mobile responsive and HTML5 theme built for the Genesis Framework. Author: StudioPress Author URI: http://www.studiopress.com/ Version: 3.0.2 Tags: black, red, white, one-column, two-columns, three-columns, responsive-layout, custom-menu, full-width-template, sticky-post, theme-options, threaded-comments, translation-ready, premise-landing-page Template: genesis Template Version: 2.0.1 License: GPL-2.0+ License URI: http://www.opensource.org/licenses/gpl-license.php on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in