Route 66's 2026 centennial is a good reason to plan a trip around its historic places. It is not a reason to follow every old alignment in a large RV. US Highway 66 was decommissioned as a federal highway in 1985, so what survives is a patchwork of state, county and city roads across eight states: Illinois, Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona and California. More than 250 buildings, bridges and road alignments along the route are listed on the National Register of Historic Places, and the National Park Service's Route 66 travel itinerary highlights over 100 of them. Use it to choose the places you want to see, then work out separately how to reach each one in your rig.

The Real Strategy: Interstate for Miles, Route 66 for Character

The approach that holds up in practice: use the interstates that now parallel most of the old alignment (I-55, I-44, I-40, I-15, I-10) to cover the long, unremarkable stretches, and drop down onto original Route 66 for the segments that are wide, well-maintained and worth the detour; a rebuilt small-town main street, a preserved stretch of two-lane through open desert, a classic neon sign district. Treat the tightest historic downtowns as park-and-play stops: leave the RV at a campground on the edge of town and explore the walkable core in a tow vehicle, dinghy car or on foot. Pick segments for the experience you want, not for the satisfaction of keeping the RV on every historic mile.

Check Historic Segments Before Committing the RV

There is no single agency behind Historic Route 66. The same signage covers city streets, county roads and state highways, which means the restrictions on one segment tell you nothing about the next. For each detour, get the current restrictions from the road authority that owns that piece of road, look at the turning space at both ends and know where you rejoin a through route. Where a clearance or length limit is unclear, take the alternative and visit the attraction on foot or in a smaller vehicle.

Old Chain of Rocks Bridge

The Old Chain of Rocks Bridge carries a walking and cycling trail across the Mississippi rather than motor traffic, so plan it as a stop, not a crossing. On the Missouri side, Great Rivers Greenway lists Chain of Rocks Park and the bridge as open daily from 7 a.m. to 30 minutes after sunset unless otherwise posted.

The Illinois approach is the part to watch. Great Rivers Greenway's current alert states that the Chain of Rocks canal bridge in Illinois is closed for construction with no detour provided, June 22 through early October 2026, leaving the old bridge reachable from the Missouri side only. Read that alert again close to your travel dates, and confirm where you can park the vehicle you are actually bringing.

Narrow Grades and Tight Downtowns

Treat a narrow grade or a downtown approach as its own route-planning job rather than a detail to resolve on arrival. Get the road authority's guidance for your exact height, length and combined length, because a road described as scenic is being described for cars. Where you cannot confirm that a segment has room for the rig and a place to turn around, drive the alternative.

The Last Mile to an Attraction

For a museum, downtown district or endpoint photo stop, find the actual parking entrance before you arrive. Ask the operator or the city about oversized-vehicle rules and whether the lot can take a trailer without unhitching. A standard car map will route you under a low underpass or into a lot with no exit wide enough for the combination.

Choosing Where to Stay

Build overnight stops around the parts of the corridor you actually want to explore. For each campground, get the site length, the approach roads, the hookup type, the arrival window and the cancellation terms from the operator directly. Directory listings and old reviews are good for finding candidates and poor for confirming that a specific site is open or long enough.

Keep the overnight drive separate from the sightseeing day. Where a historic district's RV parking is uncertain, pick a campground you can explore from in a smaller vehicle. Line up a backup campground or a place to wait if you arrive late, and get explicit permission for any overnight stop that is not a campground.

Plan Around the Centennial Calendar

Route 66 was established in 1926, which makes 2026 its centennial. The National Park Service runs a Route 66 centennial program with its own event listings, and individual towns and organizations run their own celebrations. Once an event is on your list, get the date from that event's organizer, then book campground space and check for temporary street closures in that town.

Keep the itinerary loose enough to skip a congested town-center detour without losing the night's reservation. Event dates move, so match a date to its town, state, organizer and year before building a driving day around it.

Best Time to Go

Spring and fall are the comfortable windows. For the Mojave Desert that the California stretch crosses, the National Park Service reports that summer temperatures above 100 degrees Fahrenheit are typical and that the weather is generally most comfortable in spring and fall. At the other end of the range, the high country around Flagstaff gets heavy snow in winter and early spring, and snow reaches the higher-elevation sections of New Mexico and Arizona. Check the forecast and the campground operating dates for each region, and keep enough slack in the schedule to sit out a day of heat, wind or winter weather.

Building the Route

A practical way to plan: break the drive into interstate legs, then flag Route 66 "detour windows" at the historic segments you have confirmed are wide and well documented; sections of Illinois' original two-lane alignment, a desert segment the road authority confirms is open and suitable or a well-preserved main street where parking is confirmed to handle your rig. Alignment status, detours and construction change year to year, so check current road-condition reports and RV-specific routing tools against your own dates before committing to a segment. If you are not certain of your rig's height, length and combined length, settle those numbers first; the RV sizing guide covers the figures every clearance and site-length question comes back to.

Whatever segments make the final route, review the RV and chassis service schedules for the distance you expect to cover. A pre-trip inspection at your local Jayco dealer, covering tires, brakes and towing setup, is worth the hour before you put a few thousand miles on the odometer. Find your local dealer to get road-ready before you go.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I drive the entire original Route 66 in an RV? No. Route 66 has not been a single continuous federal highway since 1985, and some surviving pieces are closed to motor vehicles altogether; the Old Chain of Rocks Bridge outside St. Louis is now a walking and cycling crossing. Pick segments using current road-authority information and use suitable through routes between them.

Is Route 66 busier than usual in 2026? Centennial events draw crowds to particular towns on particular dates rather than to the whole corridor at once. Check the organizer, the town's parking notices and campground availability for the dates you plan to be there.

What should I check before committing the RV to a historic segment? Posted height and length limits, the grade, the turning space at both ends and the final approach to wherever you intend to park. A segment that is comfortable in a car can be unsuitable for a long combination, and the rules change from one road authority to the next.

When's the best time of year to drive it? Spring or fall. Summer in the desert sections runs above 100 degrees Fahrenheit and winter brings snow to the high country in New Mexico and Arizona, so both ends of the year cost you either comfort or access. Check the forecast and each region's campground operating dates before each travel day.