Route 66 - Eastern Missouri Road Trip

88.3 miles: 3 hours, 5 minutes

“The Mother Road” wraps up its trek across the breadth of The Show Me State as it heads toward the Illinois border. There are several Route 66 icons in and around St. Louis, including Ted Drewes, a frozen custard stand that's been in business since 1929. A concrete (think extra thick milkshake) at Ted's is a St. Louis summertime tradition.

Courtesy of Missouri Botanical Garden

St. Clair, MO to St. Louis, MO

61.5 miles: 1 hours, 53 minutes

After leaving St. Clair, you won't spend much time on I-44 before reaching the outer St. Louis suburbs. En route on old Route 66 is the site of Times Beach, founded in the 1920s as a Meramec River resort. A toxic waste contamination in the early 1980s rendered the town uninhabitable; the pollution was cleaned up and today the area is Route 66 State Park.

Recommended Stops

Missouri Botanical Garden

4344 Shaw Blvd. St. Louis, MO 63110-2226

Forest Park

5595 Grand Dr. St. Louis, MO 63110

Saint Louis Art Museum

One Fine Arts Dr. St. Louis, MO 63110-1380

Getty Images/Jeremy Woodhouse

St. Louis, MO to Edwardsville, IL

26.8 miles: 1 hours, 11 minutes

Following old Route 66 through St. Louis can be maddening, since several streets have a “66” connection. Historic Chain of Rocks Bridge—now a mile-long hiking and biking trail just south of I-270—was the former Mississippi River crossing point. Don’t leave St. Louis without visiting The Arch, symbolic “gateway to the West.”

Recommended Stops

City Museum

750 N. 16th St. St. Louis, MO 63103

The Gateway Arch

Memorial Dr. & Market St. St. Louis, MO 63102

Horseshoe St. Louis

999 N. 2nd St. St. Louis, MO 63102