U.S. Bicycle Route 66 (USBR 66) is a United States Bicycle Route that follows the former

U.S. Route 66 U.S. Route 66 or U.S. Highway 66 (US 66 or Route 66) is one of the original highways in the United States Numbered Highway System. It was established on November 11, 1926, with road signs erected the following year. The high ...

(US 66) across the United States. The first section of the route, spanning between

Baxter Springs, Kansas Baxter Springs is a city in Cherokee County, Kansas, United States, and located along Spring River. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 3,888. History Indigenous settlement For thousands of years, indigenous peoples ...

, and

St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis ( , sometimes referred to as St. Louis City, Saint Louis or STL) is an Independent city (United States), independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It lies near the confluence of the Mississippi River, Mississippi and the Miss ...

, was designated as USBR 66 in 2018. A second section was designated in 2021 between

Santa Monica, California Santa Monica (; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Santa Mónica'') is a city in Los Angeles County, California, Los Angeles County, situated along Santa Monica Bay on California's South Coast (California), South Coast. Santa Monica's 2020 United Sta ...

, and the

Arizona Arizona is a U.S. state, state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States, sharing the Four Corners region of the western United States with Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah. It also borders Nevada to the nort ...

state line near

Needles, California Needles is a city in San Bernardino County, in the Mojave Desert region of Southern California. Situated on the western banks of the Colorado River, Needles is located near the California border with Arizona and Nevada. The city is accessible v ...

. The Oklahoma section was designated in 2022. The rest of the route remains proposed but not yet designated.

Route description

, - , CA , , , - , OK , , , - , KS , , , - , MO , , , - , Total , , USBR 66 runs along or parallel to former segments of US 66 for most of its route and also incorporates part of

Bicycle Route 66 Bicycle Route 66 is a bicycle touring route, developed and mapped by Adventure Cycling Association, that largely parallels the original U.S. Route 66, also known as the Mother Road, from Chicago, Illinois, to Santa Monica, California. Route A ...

, an

Adventure Cycling Route Network The Adventure Cycling Route Network, developed by Adventure Cycling Association since 1974, comprises over 52,000 miles of routes for bicycle touring in the U.S. and Canada and is the largest such network in North America. Overview The Adventure ...

corridor. At full length, the route is planned to run from

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

California

The route begins at the

Santa Monica Pier The Santa Monica Pier is a large pier at the foot of Colorado Avenue in Santa Monica, California, United States. It contains a small amusement park, concession stands, and areas for views and fishing. The pier is part of the greater Santa Monic ...

, the historic terminus of US 66. It travels through

and the

Inland Empire The Inland Empire (commonly abbreviated as the IE) is a metropolitan area and region inland of and adjacent to coastal Southern California, centering around the cities of San Bernardino and Riverside, and bordering Los Angeles County and Or ...

on local streets and part of the

Pacific Electric Trail The Pacific Electric Railway Company, nicknamed the Red Cars, was a privately owned Public transport, mass transit system in Southern California consisting of electrically powered streetcars, interurban cars, and buses and was the largest electr ...

before turning north to follow Interstate 215 and

Interstate 15 Interstate 15 (I-15) is a major Interstate Highway in the Western United States, running through Southern California and the Intermountain West. I-15 begins near the Mexican border in San Diego County and stretches north to Alberta, Ca ...

towards the

San Bernardino Mountains The San Bernardino Mountains are a high and rugged mountain range in Southern California in the United States. Situated north and northeast of San Bernardino and spanning two California counties, the range tops out at at San Gorgonio Mountain ...

. USBR 66 follows Interstate 15 through

Cajon Pass Cajon Pass (; Spanish: ''Puerto del Cajón'' or ''Paso del Cajón'') is a mountain pass between the San Bernardino Mountains to the east and the San Gabriel Mountains to the west in Southern California. Created by the movements of the San Andr ...

and into the high desert, turning east onto

Interstate 40 Interstate 40 (I-40) is a major east–west transcontinental Interstate Highway System, Interstate Highway in the Southeastern United States, southeastern and Southwestern United States, southwestern portions of the United States. At a leng ...

Barstow, California Barstow is a city in San Bernardino County, California, in the Mojave Desert of Southern California. Located in the Inland Empire region of California, the population was 25,415 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Barstow is an impor ...

. It then follows the National Trails Highway to the

state line southeast of Needles, where USBR 66 terminates.

Oklahoma

The western end of the route begins at the

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

state line at

Texola, Oklahoma Texola is a town in Beckham County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 43 at the time of the 2020 census, an increase over the 36 figure from the 2010 census. History The History of Texola dates back to the early 1900s. Before bei ...

. It generally follows the historic alignment of US 66 to

Oklahoma City Oklahoma City (), officially the City of Oklahoma City, and often shortened to OKC, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Oklahoma, most populous city of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The county seat ...

with a notable diversion west of the city. Between Oklahoma City and Kansas the route trends northeast through

Tulsa Tulsa ( ) is the second-most-populous city in the state of Oklahoma, after Oklahoma City, and the 48th-most-populous city in the United States. The population was 413,066 as of the 2020 census. It is the principal municipality of the Tul ...

. It continues northeast through the

Muscogee Nation The Muscogee Nation, or Muscogee (Creek) Nation, is a federally recognized Native American tribe based in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The nation descends from the historic Muscogee Confederacy, a large group of indigenous peoples of the South ...

and

Cherokee Nation The Cherokee Nation ( or ) is the largest of three list of federally recognized tribes, federally recognized tribes of Cherokees in the United States. It includes people descended from members of the Cherokee Nation (1794–1907), Old Cheroke ...

Indian reservations. The northeastern end is at the

Kansas Kansas ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the west. Kansas is named a ...

border near

Miami, Oklahoma Miami ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Ottawa County, Oklahoma, United States, founded in 1891. Lead and zinc mining were established by 1918, causing the area's economy to boom. This area was part of Indian Territory. Miami is the capit ...

and

Kansas

The route begins at the

Oklahoma Oklahoma ( ; Choctaw language, Choctaw: , ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Texas to the south and west, Kansas to the north, Missouri to the northea ...

state line south along US 69 Alternate south of

Baxter Springs Baxter Springs is a city in Cherokee County, Kansas, United States, and located along Spring River. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 3,888. History Indigenous settlement For thousands of years, indigenous peoples h ...

. It proceeds north along US 69 Alternate through downtown Baxter Springs before diverting to Willow Avenue to follow the old alignment of US 66. It turns east onto K-66 at Riverton and crosses the Spring River. In

Galena Galena, also called lead glance, is the natural mineral form of lead(II) sulfide (PbS). It is the most important ore of lead and an important source of silver. Galena is one of the most abundant and widely distributed sulfide minerals. It crysta ...

, USBR 66 leaves K-66 and continues northeasterly on Front Street into Missouri.

Missouri

USBR 66 follows Highway 66 to

Joplin, Missouri Joplin is a city in Jasper County, Missouri, Jasper and Newton County, Missouri, Newton counties in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of Missouri. The bulk of the city is in Jasper County, while the southern portion is in Newton County. J ...

. It terminates at the

Chain of Rocks Bridge The old Chain of Rocks Bridge spans the Mississippi River on the north edge of St. Louis, Missouri, United States. The eastern end of the bridge is on Chouteau Island (part of Madison, Illinois), while the western end is on the Missouri shorel ...

, a pedestrian and bicycle bridge that crosses the

Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the main stem, primary river of the largest drainage basin in the United States. It is the second-longest river in the United States, behind only the Missouri River, Missouri. From its traditional source of Lake Ita ...

into

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

and carried automobiles as part of US 66.

History

US 66 was created in 1926 as part of the

U.S. Highway System The United States Numbered Highway System (often called U.S. Routes or U.S. Highways) is an integrated network of roads and highways numbered within a nationwide grid in the contiguous United States. As the designation and numbering of these h ...

and came to be known as the "Mother Road", appearing in various pieces of popular media. It was replaced by segments of the

Interstate Highway System The Dwight D. Eisenhower National System of Interstate and Defense Highways, commonly known as the Interstate Highway System, or the Eisenhower Interstate System, is a network of controlled-access highways that forms part of the National Hi ...

and decommissioned in 1985. Since then, the highway has been a popular tourist route and used by cities along its route for promotional campaigns. The US 66 corridor had long been popular with long-distance cyclists, including tourists from outside the United States. State and local governments along the route had developed preserved sections of the old highway, along with nearby roads, into multi-use bicycle, pedestrian, and

equestrian The word equestrian is a reference to equestrianism, or horseback riding, derived from Latin ' and ', "horse". Horseback riding (or riding in British English) Examples of this are: *Equestrian sports *Equestrian order, one of the upper classes in ...

paths and trails, but the corridor lacked a national designation. Beginning in 2003, the

American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials The American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) is a standards setting body which publishes specifications, test protocols, and guidelines that are used in highway A highway is any public or private road ...

(AASHTO) along with the

Adventure Cycling Association Adventure Cycling Association is a nonprofit member organization focused on travel by bicycle (bicycle touring). Headquartered in Missoula, Montana, Adventure Cycling develops cycling routes, publishes maps, provides guided trips, and advocates ...

developed a U.S. Bicycle Route network plan that was later approved by the former in 2008. The initial plan outlined a general corridor for U.S. Bicycle Route 66 between Los Angeles and Chicago. Earlier versions of the plan had omitted USBR 66, instead splitting it between other routes, or had an extended version that terminated in

Wisconsin Wisconsin ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest of the United States. It borders Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michig ...

. Cycling advocates and local tourism boards began campaigning for the official designation of USBR 66 in 2013, focusing first on Kansas and Oklahoma. The Adventure Cycling Association later published a bicycle route for the entire US 66 corridor in 2015 and began promoting a U.S. Bicycle Route designation for the corridor. In early 2018, the

Missouri Department of Transportation The Missouri Department of Transportation (MoDOT, ) is a state government organization in charge of maintaining public roadways of the U.S. state of Missouri under the guidance of the Missouri Highways and Transportation Commission (MHTC). MoDOT ...

and Missouri Federation Bike and Pedestrian Association began petitioning local governments and businesses for their support of the USBR 66 application. Officials in Kansas also submitted their own application. The designation was approved by AASHTO on May 22, 2018. The Kansas and Missouri sections of USBR 66 was dedicated by transportation officials from both states on June 17, 2018, at Schifferdecker Park in

, and was commemorated with a six-day bicycle tour of the route. The California section was approved by AASHTO in 2021. The Oklahoma section was announced by Adventure Cycling Association on June 28, 2022.

References

External links

{{authority control 66 Bike paths in California Bike paths in Kansas Bike paths in Missouri U.S. Route 66