Driving Route 66 Through Illinois: Every Stop That Is Still Open

Route 66 in Illinois is 301 miles on the standard alignment, from the Begin sign on Adams Street in Chicago to the Old Chain of Rocks Bridge over the Mississippi, and it takes two days to drive properly. One long day gets you to Springfield with a few stops; the second day covers the quieter stretch south to the river. If you only have a day, drive Chicago to Pontiac and back and you will have seen the best of the roadside giants and restored gas stations.

This is the evergreen drive. For 2026 centennial events and festival weekends, see the Route 66 centennial guide.

How long the Illinois stretch takes

The 301-mile figure is the road as most people drive it. The Illinois Route 66 Scenic Byway's 2026 Centennial Guide describes more than 400 miles if you chase every historic alignment, since the road was rerouted several times between 1926 and the interstate era. Springfield sits about 195 road miles from the Loop and Litchfield about 240, so a Springfield overnight splits the trip almost evenly.

I-55 shadows the old road the whole way, which is a blessing and a trap: you can bail onto the interstate any time, and GPS apps will push you there at every interchange. Follow the brown Historic Route 66 signs instead and set waypoints to the stops below, not the far end.

Where the road starts, and the sign everyone photographs

The Begin Route 66 sign is on Adams Street just west of Michigan Avenue, facing westbound traffic, across from the Art Institute. The 1926 start was a block south on Jackson Boulevard; when Jackson went one-way eastbound in 1955, Adams became the westbound start, and an End Route 66 sign now stands a block south for the eastbound finish.

First food stop is Dell Rhea's Chicken Basket at 645 Joliet Rd. in Willowbrook, serving fried chicken on the same bypassed stretch of road since 1946; the Rhea family took over in 1963. It opens at 11 a.m. daily, and listings disagree on closing time, so call 630-325-0780. In Joliet, the Joliet Area Historical Museum at 204 N. Ottawa St. holds the Route 66 exhibits and is open daily 10 to 4 (verified October 2026 on jolietmuseum.org).

What changed at Wilmington, and what is still free in Pontiac

The Gemini Giant, the 28-to-30-foot fiberglass spaceman that stood outside the Launching Pad drive-in for almost 60 years, is no longer there. It sold at auction in March 2024 for $275,000 to the Joliet Area Historical Museum, which had it restored by the American Giants Museum crew from Atlanta and installed at South Island Park, 201 Bridge St. in Wilmington, on November 29, 2024, less than a mile west of the old spot, on loan to the city through 2045. A small visitor center called the Landing Pad opened beside it in May 2025. If your guidebook still says Launching Pad, it is out of date.

Dwight and Odell have the two best restored stations on the route, both free and both now village welcome centers: Ambler's Texaco in Dwight, run by local families from 1933 to 1999, and the 1932 Standard Oil station at 400 S. West St. in Odell. Neither keeps long hours; treat them as photo stops.

Pontiac is the stop to give an hour. The Route 66 Association of Illinois Hall of Fame and Museum at 110 W. Howard St. is free with donations welcome, and the town's tourism office counts 26 outdoor murals, most on Main Street and most visible from the car. The Pontiac-Oakland Automobile Museum shares the complex.

Local note: the Pontiac museum's posted hours vary by source (roughly 9 to 5 weekdays and 10 to 4 weekends in summer, shorter in winter). Call 815-844-4566 before planning lunch around it.

The middle: Funks Grove to Springfield

Funks Grove Pure Maple Sirup, at 5257 Old Route 66 in Shirley south of Bloomington, is a working sugar bush that sells its spring run from early March until it sells out, usually by late summer, and then closes. In October you will find it shut.

Atlanta has Tall Paul, a 19-foot muffler man holding a hot dog on Arch Street, and the American Giants Museum, which opened to the public in 2023 and cut its ribbon on May 26, 2024. Its in-season hours were Tuesday through Saturday 10 to 4 and Sunday 1 to 4; from November through February it is by appointment at 217-650-7117. The Mill on 66 in Lincoln, at 738 S. Washington St., is a former roadside restaurant reopened as a museum, open Tuesday through Saturday 1 to 4, free with a donation jar.

Springfield's required stop is Cozy Dog Drive In at 2935 S. Sixth St., where the Waldmire family claims the first hot dog on a stick; hours are 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Saturday, closed Sunday and on the big holiday weekends. The free Route 66 Experience inside Gate 2 of the Illinois State Fairgrounds, at Route 66 and Sangamon Avenue, is open year-round, roughly 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., and now includes a replica of the A. Lincoln Motel's neon sign. If you are overnighting, the Lincoln sites add a second day.

South of Springfield: what closed and what did not

Litchfield is the best small stop on the southern half. The Ariston Café at 413 Old Route 66 N. has served since 1924, the oldest continuously operating restaurant on the whole highway, and is closed Mondays (Tuesday to Thursday 11 to 8, later Friday and Saturday). The free, volunteer-run Litchfield Museum and Route 66 Welcome Center is open Monday through Saturday 10 to 4 and Sunday 1 to 4 from April through October, Tuesday through Saturday in winter. The Sky View Drive-In, open since 1950 and the last original Route 66 drive-in in Illinois, runs early April to mid-October.

Mount Olive's Soulsby Station, built in 1926, pumped gas until 1991 and is now a small museum. Staunton's Henry's Rabbit Ranch, the stop with the live rabbits, closed permanently in summer 2025 after owner Rich Henry died; the property was listed for sale, and only the exterior is viewable. Collinsville's World's Largest Catsup Bottle, a 170-foot water tower built in 1949 at 800 S. Morrison Ave., is two miles off the route and takes ten minutes. The Luna Café in Mitchell is a bar with restored neon, not a diner; do not count on a kitchen.

The finish is the Old Chain of Rocks Bridge, a mile-long span with a 30-degree bend in the middle that opened in 1929, carried Route 66 from 1936, and closed to cars in 1968, per the National Park Service. It is open to walkers and cyclists from 9 a.m. until 30 minutes after sunset, per Great Rivers Greenway, with a free lot on the Illinois side at the end of Chain of Rocks Road off IL 3; the Missouri lot was closed for construction at last check.

Before you go

• 301 miles, two days; overnight in Springfield.

• Gemini Giant is at South Island Park in Wilmington, not the Launching Pad, since November 2024.

• Henry's Rabbit Ranch closed in 2025; Funks Grove closes once the sirup sells out.

• Cozy Dog is closed Sundays; the Ariston is closed Mondays; the Sky View runs April to mid-October.

• Chain of Rocks Bridge opens at 9 a.m.; park on the Illinois side.

• Hours verified October 2026 against the venue and byway pages; small-town museums run on volunteers, so call before you plan around one.

Quick answers

How long is Route 66 in Illinois? 301 miles on the standard alignment from Chicago to the Mississippi; more than 400 if you drive every historic alignment. Two days is the realistic minimum with stops.

Where does Route 66 start in Chicago? At the Begin Route 66 sign on Adams Street just west of Michigan Avenue, across from the Art Institute. The original 1926 start was a block south on Jackson.

Is the Gemini Giant still on Route 66? Yes, but it moved. Since November 2024 it stands at South Island Park, 201 Bridge St. in Wilmington, less than a mile from its old spot at the Launching Pad.