100 years after a stretch of filth, gravel, and wood planks first related the American heartland to the Pacific Coast, Route 66 is celebrating its a centesimal anniversary — and California’s portion of the Mom Highway, which winds by deserts, canyons, and concludes at an epic beachside finale, is on the middle of the nationwide dialog.
From San Bernardino County’s sun-scorched Mojave terrain all the best way to the salt air of the Santa Monica Pier, the Golden State’s 315-mile stretch is alive with new cultural installations, retro-inspired motels, a brand-new customer middle, and a calendar of centennial occasions working all through 2026.
“Route 66 is greater than a freeway — it’s a dwelling image of America’s pioneering spirit,” stated Caroline Beteta, President and CEO of Go to California and Chair of the Route 66 Centennial Fee. “From the bustling Chicago gateway to Santa Monica’s epic Pacific sunsets, this legendary street connects folks not simply throughout miles, however by generations of shared discovery. Intrepid vacationers ought to hit the street this 12 months to soak within the nostalgia, variety and open-hearted welcome that make Route 66 — and the American street journey — so unforgettable.”
When Route 66 first opened on November 11, 1926 — connecting eight states and stretching from Chicago to Santa Monica — solely a couple of third of its 2,400 miles have been paved. The remainder was filth, gravel, or wood planks.
John Steinbeck later immortalized it because the “Mom Highway” in The Grapes of Wrath, and Bobby Troup turned it into probably the most enduring street songs in American historical past. Formally decommissioned within the Nineteen Eighties, the route by no means really disappeared — and in 2026, it’s driving again into the highlight tougher than ever.
The place the California Journey Begins: San Bernardino and the Inland Empire
The California leg of Route 66 enters the state at Needles on the Arizona border and travels west by the Mojave earlier than reaching San Bernardino, the unofficial gateway to Southern California. Town wears its Route 66 heritage overtly.
The long-lasting Wigwam Motel — a row of concrete teepee-shaped rooms that grew to become one of many freeway’s most photographed landmarks — anchors the downtown stretch alongside surviving mid-century motels, diners, and repair stations. The Inland Empire 66ers baseball crew, named after the Mom Highway, is celebrating the Route 66 Centennial at each dwelling recreation at San Manuel Stadium all through the 2026 season, making it one of many extra distinctive methods to soak up the freeway’s spirit whereas within the area.
The Mojave Center: Amboy, Newberry Springs, and the Desert Stops No person Skips Anymore
Between San Bernardino and Los Angeles lies a few of California Route 66’s most cinematic and traditionally underappreciated terrain. The Mojave stretch — working by Needles, Ludlow, Newberry Springs, and Amboy — is having its most important tourism second in a long time.
Roy’s Motel & Café in Amboy hosted its first-ever centennial automobile present on March 7, 2026, that includes basic automobiles, stay music, a pin-up contest, out of doors motion pictures, and tenting below the Mojave sky.
Roy’s — a standout instance of midcentury Googie structure — is being expanded by 2026 with a newly restored motel and café. The location additionally contains a 14-foot mural honoring Albert Okura, the entrepreneur who purchased all the city of Amboy in 2005 and performed a pivotal function in revitalizing this stretch of the freeway
Close by, Newberry Springs is internet hosting its personal Route 66 Massive Birthday Bash on Could 2, 2026, with horseback rides, a beer backyard, stay music, and a automobile present — a group celebration that places this blink-and-miss-it Mojave group on the map for the primary time in years.
Via Pasadena: A Colorado Boulevard Double Centennial
As Route 66 descends from the Cajon Cross and threads by the San Gabriel Valley, it enters Pasadena alongside Colorado Boulevard — probably the most traditionally intact city stretches of the freeway within the nation. Colorado Boulevard itself turns 150 in 2026, making it a double centennial 12 months for the hall. A part of the celebration consists of Route 66 and Colorado Boulevard themes for the town’s annual chalk artwork competition, held at The Paseo open-air buying space, with dates anticipated in mid-June 2026.
The Route 66 centennial calendar lists additional Pasadena group occasions tied to the landmark 12 months, alongside a nationwide Route 66 Centennial Speaker Sequence working on the second Tuesday of each month — bringing collectively historians, advocates, and authors in a webinar format open to the general public.
The Closing Miles: Santa Monica Pier and the Finish of the Path
Route 66 doesn’t merely conclude — it arrives. The ultimate blocks of the Mom Highway carry vacationers down Colorado Avenue and straight onto Santa Monica Pier, the place the “Finish of the Path” signal marks the conclusion of one of many world’s most emotionally resonant drives.
On January 3, 2026, The Drive Dwelling VII: Route 66 — A Century of Journey launched from Santa Monica as a large caravan of classic automobiles tracing all the span of Route 66 to kick off the centennial 12 months, ending in Chicago on January 12 earlier than happening show on the Detroit Auto Present.
Later, in June 2026, the Principal Road of America Route 66 Centennial Caravan will depart from Santa Monica carrying one consultant from all 50 states and members of the worldwide group on a coast-to-coast journey again to Chicago — essentially the most important organized drive alongside the complete route because the freeway’s heyday. Santa Monica has additionally launched a Route 66 Centennial Music Contest with a $10,000 grand prize, inviting musicians worldwide so as to add a brand new chapter to the Mom Highway’s musical legacy.
Plan Your California Route 66 Journey: Key Dates and What to Know
Whereas Route 66 formally turns 100 on November 11, 2026, the nationwide festivities start on April 30, 2026 — 100 years after the street acquired its numerical designation — with opening ceremonies and group occasions launching concurrently alongside the route.
California’s peak celebration window runs from April by June, with occasions anchored in San Bernardino, Amboy, Newberry Springs, Pasadena, and Santa Monica.
Go to California’s official centennial information gives a complete, state-specific itinerary with confirmed and pending occasion dates, really useful stops, and EV-friendly routing choices for contemporary street trippers. For the complete nationwide occasion calendar throughout all eight states, the U.S. Route 66 Centennial Fee maintains a constantly up to date listing of licensed applications and group initiatives.
For vacationers who wish to expertise the California stretch with out committing to the complete 2,400-mile nationwide route, the state’s portion alone — from Needles to Santa Monica — presents ghost cities, Googie structure, desert sunsets, mountain passes, basic automobile exhibits, retro motor lodges, and probably the most satisfying arrivals in American street journey: cresting a ultimate hill with the Pacific Ocean filling the windshield. 100 years in, the Mom Highway nonetheless is aware of tips on how to make an entrance.
