Why Amarillo’s Route 66 Centennial Should Be Your Next Texas Road Trip
As a Houstonian, I admit with shame that I had written off the Texas Panhandle for most of my life. In my mind, it had always registered as endless plains. While the Texas leg of my recent road trip from Atlanta to New Mexico included Amarillo, we’d budgeted maybe two hours to grab dinner at The Big Texan Steak Ranch, snap a photo at Cadillac Ranch, and then get back on the highway. That pit stop turned into—wait for it—three days.
What caught me off guard was that Route 66 ran right through the city. Often described as the Mother Road, the highway stretches 2,448 miles from Chicago to Santa Monica, cutting through eight states and three time zones—and 178 of those miles run through the Texas Panhandle.
Even though the classic Nat King Cole song literally tells you to “get your kicks on Route 66,” while passing through St. Louis, Oklahoma City, and Amarillo, I had completely skipped this stretch in my head. Indeed, “you’ll see Amarillo” sits right on the Texas stretch that inspired Disney-Pixar’s Cars.
The city is a Western hub on America’s legendary motorway, with a character unlike anywhere else in Texas. “Our roots and Western soul make us stand apart,” says Hope Hoeffner, director of tourism marketing for Visit Amarillo. “Settling this land took grit and teamwork. Even as a midsize city, we have that feeling of Western hospitality.”
This year is also a monumental one for the Panhandle—Route 66’s centennial. A hundred years ago, on November 11, 1926, the U.S. government officially designated Route 66 as a federal highway—one of the original roads in the American highway system.
If you typically default to Austin, Galveston, or Big Bend for your Texas getaways, consider this your sign to try something different. The Texas Route 66 Festival kicks off the celebration in June, but the area features quirky history and surprising outdoor landscapes, making this sprawl of vintage Americana worth the trip year-round.
The Mother Road has been in Amarillo for a century, but there’s never been a better time to experience it.
What to expect at the Texas Route 66 Festival
The Texas Route 66 Festival runs from June 4–13 across Amarillo and through the nearby towns of Shamrock, Adrian, Vega, and Jericho, packed with exactly 66 events.
Catch the Coors Cowboy Ranch Rodeo, shift gears to the Lowrider Cruise or the Route 66 Grand Prix, or browse the lineup of restored vintage RVs. If you lean more bohemian, First Thursday on 6th turns the Amarillo Historic District into an open-air studio with gallery hopping and vintage shopping. There are also centennial-themed cocktails at restaurants around town, movies under the Texas sky at the Tascosa Drive-In, and speed dating, because apparently, love, too, has a route.
The celebration really revs up during the June 13 finale, when a convoy of classic Airstreams and vintage trailers rolls down the highway for the Tin Can Tourists Parade before parking in the one-mile Amarillo Route 66 Historic District for an open house. The streets will overflow with more than 100 vendors, pin-up pageants, car shows, and live bands in a massive centennial street party.
More must-see Amarillo landmarks and Route 66 icons
Even beyond the official festival, Amarillo keeps the centennial energy going. While you’re in town, leave room on your itinerary for these iconic roadside landmarks and local institutions.
Cadillac Ranch
Perhaps the city’s most recognizable icon, 10 vintage cars sit buried at the same angle as the Great Pyramid of Giza and are continuously spray-painted by visitors. It’s worth the colorful residue that inevitably ends up on your clothes—an unintended souvenir we didn’t complain about. “The paint is over a foot thick,” Hoeffner says. “That’s thousands of memories built up over time.” The landmark has inspired spin-offs such as Slug Bug Ranch, featuring five spray-paintable VW Beetles at The Big Texan, and “Cadellite” jewelry at Lile Art Gallery, where artist Bob “Croc” Lile turns fallen paint chips into wearable art.
The Big Texan Steak Ranch
Tackling the 72-ounce steak challenge is a rite of passage. The challenge began as a friendly bet: a cowboy ate a massive steak dinner, complete with a roll, salad, shrimp cocktail, and baked potato, and won a free meal. If you’d prefer to skip it, the prime rib or the chicken-fried steak is more than enough to satisfy a Texas-sized appetite. There’s even an on-site motel for the inevitable post-meal food coma.
Vintage Auto & RV Museums
At Bill’s Backyard Classics, Bill Pratt shares his personal collection of more than 100 restored vintage cars. During the festival, keep an eye out for the Yellow Rose, a canary-colored 1957 Cadillac Coupe de Ville; the official festival car appears in the June 6 parade, trailed by a convoy of other vintage autos from the collection. Nearby, the Jack Sisemore RV Museum houses the oldest Airstream in existence and the Flxible Clipper bus from the Robin Williams film RV.
The Barfield Hotel
Located downtown, this hotel hides the Paramount Recreation Club, a Prohibition-era speakeasy that can be found by following a series of revolver symbols on the floor. It was built in 1926 by Melissa Dora Oliver-Eakle, a prohibitionist who, ironically, ran a speakeasy and helped sustain local businesses during the Great Depression. “She went by MD Oliver-Eakle because the businesses wouldn’t have taken money from a woman,” Hoeffner says. “She sent men to do her bidding so people wouldn’t know who she was.” To celebrate the centennial anniversary, the hotel is offering a Mother Road package, which includes a Route 66 keepsake and guest perks such as a $66 food-and-beverage credit and valet parking.
The Natatorium
For another piece of 1920s history, head to “The Nat.” It opened in 1922 as a grand indoor swimming pool before transforming into a dance hall that hosted acts such as Buddy Holly and Little Richard. Today, the historic building operates as a massive antiques mall—an excellent spot for vintage souvenir hunting.
Palo Duro Canyon State Park
Twenty minutes from Amarillo lies the second-largest canyon in the United States. Navigating its 30,000 acres of red rock and trails, I kept expecting a “Welcome to Arizona” sign. Having spent my life assuming this corner of Texas was sparse and flat, I genuinely wondered how we stumbled upon it. But there it was: another Amarillo surprise.
How to plan your Amarillo Route 66 trip
From Houston, Amarillo is around a nine-hour drive (I-45 North to Dallas and then US-287 northwest), so queue up some George Strait, even if you’d rather not drive all night to be in “Amarillo by Morning.”
If a full day in the car isn’t feasible, United and Southwest fly to Rick Husband Amarillo International Airport (AMA). United offers direct flights; Southwest requires a transfer at Dallas Love Field (DAL).
The Route 66 centennial won’t come around again in our lifetimes, so this year, swap your usual Texas getaway for authentic Western culture and vintage Americana.
The Texas Route 66 Road Trip Beyond Amarillo
The 178 miles of Route 66 through the Texas Panhandle are lined with small towns, many of which inspired specific locations in Disney-Pixar’s Cars—making the drive a Radiator Springs treasure hunt.
Vega (36 miles west of Amarillo)
Dot’s Mini Museum inspired Lizzie’s Curio Shop in Cars. Photograph the restored 1920s Magnolia Gas Station, and visit the Milburn Price Culture Museum, where you can walk through a wind turbine blade.
Adrian (40 miles west of Amarillo)
With a population of fewer than 200, this small town is home to Midpoint Cafe, the exact geographic midpoint of Route 66’s 2,448-mile journey. The cafe and its longtime owner, Fran Houser, inspired Flo’s V8 Cafe and the character Flo in Cars.
McLean (71 miles east of Amarillo)
The Devil’s Rope Museum celebrates barbed wire’s role in transforming the West and making cattle ranching possible on open plains.
Jericho (85 miles east of Amarillo)
A true ghost town with abandoned buildings, Jericho is a pitstop during the Texas Route 66 Festival, when it hosts a 5K and 10K runs through the town. It’s a prime place for stories from yesteryear, with spooky guided tours.
Shamrock (108 miles east of Amarillo)
Stop by the U Drop Inn to see how its Art Deco design inspired Ramone’s Body Shop in Cars. The former gas station now houses a Tesla charging station—handy if your road trip runs on electrons rather than gasoline. Before you leave, visit the Blarney Stone in the town center to see an authentic piece of Ireland. The town is named Shamrock, after all.
