Any direction you travel America’s Mother Road, Oklahoma is at the heart of a great Route 66 road trip. It’s a place where you can meander down an old Main Street, pull over for a neon-sign photo op, grab a chicken-fried steak at a roadside diner, and discover some wonderfully quirky attractions along the way.
And I happen to think fall is one of the best times to experience Route 66 in Oklahoma. The summer crowds begin to thin, the temperatures cool down, and the trees start trading their summer greens for the warm shades of autumn.
My husband, Patrick, and I currently live in Austin, Texas, but we own an RV resort on Grand Lake o’ the Cherokees in the Ozark foothills of northeast Oklahoma. On our last trip north to visit the resort, we decided to make the drive part of the adventure and check out some of the new Route 66 landmarks celebrating the famous highway’s centennial.
What started as a drive to work turned into our own little Oklahoma Route 66 road trip.
Starting Our Oklahoma Route 66 Road Trip in Oklahoma City
We started in our hometown, and, as the song says, Oklahoma City did look mighty pretty—especially with its big new red boot outside the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum.
You really can’t miss it.
If you get a chance to visit, definitely stop for a photo with the boot, but don’t make it a quick photo-and-go stop. Plan some time for the museum, too. It’s a treasure trove of Western art, history and culture.
Patrick loves Westerns, so last Christmas I bought him tickets to The Cowboy: An Immersive Journey, now playing at the museum. It’s a 360-degree experience filled with the landscapes, stories, and all the cowboy spirit you’d expect from the American West.
And because no road trip is complete without bringing home something you probably didn’t need but absolutely had to have, the museum has a great gift shop, too.
Traveling Route 66 by RV? Twin Fountains RV Park is nearby and makes a convenient Oklahoma City stop.
Neon, Nostalgia and 700+ Sodas at Pops 66 in Arcadia
Maybe you can remember—or at least try to imagine—taking a road trip without GPS.
I think my kids would struggle to read a paper map, let alone fold one back up correctly, but I remember those days.
For decades, Route 66 was part of the Golden Age of neon. Those colorful flashing signs could be seen from miles away, beckoning GPS-deprived travelers driving along a dark highway in search of gasoline, a motel room or something hot to eat.
You can still experience some of that roadside magic today.
Northeast of Oklahoma City in Arcadia, one of the most recognizable modern Route 66 attractions in Oklahoma is Pops 66 Soda Ranch. You can stop for food, fuel and fizz—and, of course, get a picture with the giant 66-foot soda bottle out front.
Inside, you’ll find more than 700 soda selections to browse while you wait for a table at the diner. Go hungry. You can order roadside classics like chicken-fried steak and finish it all off with root beer bread pudding.
Only on Route 66.
“You Are Here”: A New Route 66 Landmark in Wellston
Continuing east on Route 66, our next stop was one of Oklahoma’s newest landmarks commemorating the Mother Road.
In Wellston, a 23-foot-tall push pin appropriately titled “You Are Here” marks the midpoint of Route 66’s journey across Oklahoma.
We visited during the day, but I’d love to go back and see it at night. The monument lights up to reveal stained-glass-style panels filled with iconic Oklahoma imagery.
It’s also an easy detour if you’re traveling between Oklahoma City and Tulsa on the Turner Turnpike, which runs alongside old Route 66 for much of the journey.
This is one of those quick Oklahoma Route 66 stops that doesn’t take much time but makes the drive a whole lot more interesting.
Lunch on Route 66 at The Rock Café in Stroud
If you can arrange your Route 66 adventure so that you arrive in Stroud hungry, do it.
We were fortunate enough to stop at our friend Dawn’s famous restaurant, The Rock Café, for lunch. It’s a long-standing, wonderfully eclectic little café with a great story, plenty of Route 66 character and—most importantly—incredible food.
I always get the bison burger.
It just feels very Oklahoma.
Naturally, I also picked up a cute Rock Café Route 66 T-shirt on this trip. If you’re collecting Route 66 souvenirs along the way, add this to your shopping list.
Exploring Route 66 in Tulsa
We bypassed Tulsa on this particular trip, but I would be remiss not to include it in an Oklahoma Route 66 road trip itinerary, especially if you’ve never been.
With 28 miles of Route 66 running through the city, Tulsa embraces its Mother Road history in a big way.
A great place to begin is Cyrus Avery Centennial Plaza, which honors Cyrus Avery, the Tulsan widely known as the “Father of Route 66.”
From there, give yourself some time to explore. Tulsa is one of those places where Route 66 isn’t simply a road you drive—it becomes part of the experience of the city itself.
Meeting the Blue Whale of Catoosa
Instead of heading into Tulsa on this trip, we made our next stop just outside the city to finally see the famous Blue Whale of Catoosa.
It did not disappoint.
There is something delightfully cheerful about seeing a giant grinning blue whale sitting in a pond in the middle of Oklahoma.
The story makes it even better. Hugh Davis originally built the whale in the 1970s as an anniversary gift for his wife, Zelta. Somehow that personal gesture became one of the most beloved and recognizable Route 66 roadside attractions in Oklahoma.
It’s quirky. It’s nostalgic. It makes absolutely perfect sense on Route 66.
And yes, you need the picture.
Take a Route 66 Side Trip to Grand Lake o’ the Cherokees
From Catoosa, we were only about an hour from our final destination, so this is where we headed toward Grand Lake o’ the Cherokees.
If you’re traveling Route 66 through northeast Oklahoma—especially by RV—I think Grand Lake is a side trip worth taking.
Our resort, The Regatta on Grand, is located in Grove, Oklahoma, just 10 miles off Route 66 and right on the shores of Grand Lake. After days spent exploring roadside attractions and logging miles on the Mother Road, it’s a pretty wonderful place to slow down for a night or two.
Grove has a charming Main Street of its own, while Grand Lake offers a completely different side of Oklahoma: rolling Ozark foothills, winding shoreline and beautiful water views.
If your Route 66 road trip brings you through northeast Oklahoma on September 12, 2026, you can also join us for Grand Lake Fest, a community celebration right here in Grove. And if you’re planning a later fall trip, consider timing your travels around our Regatta Rally, November 2–7. It’s a fun week for fellow RV travelers to gather at Grand Lake, enjoy planned activities and spend a little extra time exploring this corner of northeast Oklahoma.
For us, though, this was the end of our Route 66 adventure.
More Route 66 Stops in Northeast Oklahoma: Vinita and Miami
If you’re continuing east on Route 66 through Oklahoma, there are still a couple of stops I’d add to your itinerary.
In Vinita, stop for a meal at the historic Hi-Way Café, where the roadside-diner experience feels right at home on the Mother Road.
Then continue a little farther northeast to Miami, Oklahoma. Its historic Main Street is another wonderful place to experience the small-town character that makes driving Route 66 so much more memorable than simply getting from Point A to Point B.
Why Fall Is a Great Time for an Oklahoma Route 66 Road Trip
There’s something about Route 66 that makes you want to slow down.
Maybe that’s the whole point.
We’re so accustomed to plugging a destination into GPS and letting the fastest route dictate the journey that it feels almost rebellious to pull off the highway for a giant soda bottle, eat lunch in an old roadside café, buy the T-shirt, take a picture with a blue whale or follow an old stretch of pavement simply because you want to see where it goes.
And fall makes it even better.
Cooler Oklahoma temperatures, changing leaves and fewer summer travelers create the perfect excuse to take the long way. Whether you’re traveling Route 66 by car or RV, give yourself permission to wander a little.
Stop at the diner.
Take the silly picture.
Buy the souvenir.
And every once in a while, ignore the GPS.
After all, getting your kicks on Route 66 was never really about getting somewhere as quickly as possible.
