Route 66 turns 100 this year, and while it is an oldie, it is still a goodie. Every year, thousands of travelers trace all or part of the Mother Road’s path between Chicago and LA.

Oklahoma has more than 400 lane miles of Route 66, and about 50 are in Oklahoma City. That makes for a natural themed tour.

“Route 66 is always a draw, especially for group tours,” said Nathan Sims with Visit Oklahoma City. “It never goes out of style.”

Here are ideas for a Mother Road tour in the Oklahoma capital.

Capitol Kicks

Oklahoma’s Capitol is a handsome one, with a beautiful surprise inside. The seat of state government is also the state’s largest public art museum, and free guided tours are offered through an art collection displayed in the capitol’s corridors, rotundas and galleries.

Stop for dim sum nearby in the Asian District at the Grand House Asian Bistro. Beyond dim sum’s buns, ribs, dumplings and other small-bite savories and sweets, there’s a vast menu of Asian meals. Other dining options in the district, which was settled in the mid-1970s by Vietnamese refugees, range from full-service restaurants to family businesses like Golden Phoenix or Quoc Bao Bakery. At Super Cao Nguyen Market, the city’s first international grocery, travel the world through the market’s aisles.

Route 66 is known for kitschy architecture, and Oklahoma City has its share. In the Asian District, there’s the Milk Bottle Grocery, a teensy triangular building topped by a white milk bottle, long an unofficial “billboard” for the dairy industry. Equally eye-catching, the Gold Dome is a glittering geodesic dome built in 1958 to house a bank.

In the Adventure District, look for a kicky new piece of kitsch, created for the Route 66 Centennial. The 35-foot-tall red cowboy boot—the Kicks 66 sculpture—makes a fun, illuminated backdrop for a group photo. It is next to the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum, one of the state’s most popular attractions, which tells the story of Western life through art and collections tied to cowboys, rodeo and the landscapes of the American West. The museum’s Prosperity Junction lets folks wander streets of an authentic frontier town and imagine life in the Old West. For a look at Native American life, visit the First Americans Museum, which shares the history and stories of the 39 First American nations in Oklahoma and is home to Thirty-Nine, a restaurant specializing in Indigenous meals.

Route 66’s winding route also travels through the Britton and Western Avenue districts, known for boutique shops and photo worthy murals, and the 39th Street District, nicknamed Gayborhood, where LGBTQ+ owners welcome all to their shops and restaurants.

Along the way, veer off Route 66 for 40-minute water taxi rides on the Bricktown Canal or a visit to RIVERSPORT Adventures for Oklahoma River whitewater rafting trips on a course that will be used for Canoe Slalom during the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games. Just a couple more ways to get your kicks in Oklahoma City.

For more information:

Visit OKC

Angel Green

Director of Travel Trade

405-297-8912

contact@visitokc.com

visitokc.com