California knows how to throw a party, and in 2026, Route 66 gets the full throttle treatment.

“The Mother Road”—a nostalgic moniker describing this roadway—turns one-hundred. From polishing its chrome to firing up the neon, the Golden State is inviting travelers to cruise through a century of stories.

Expect a full-bodied celebration stretching from sun-scorched Needles, where rail-town resilience still clings to the Colorado River, to neon-soaked Amboy, a desert mirage made famous by mid-century motoring dreams.

Further west, parade-proud Pasadena rolls out its vintage boulevards, while Southern California charges its stations, fueling the final push of this geographic road-trip odyssey toward the Pacific.

From dusty desert depots to palm-lined city streets, the Mother Road spins with regalia, rumbling reminders and a century’s worth of stories ready to roll—again. Think classic car parades, museum pop-ups, guided walks, retro diners dusting off their best pie recipes, and desert towns glowing after dark.

It’s time to lean into the joy of the drive on California’s Route 66.

Barstow: Neon in the Nowhere

Barstow has always been a crossroads—railroad grit meets desert drama—and during the centennial, it leans proudly into its role as Route 66’s Mojave heart. The Route 66 Mother Road Museum revs up with special exhibits, historic vehicles, and stories of travelers who arrived sunburned, hopeful, and hungry.

Nearby, Calico Ghost Town adds boom-and-bust bravado, while original stretches of highway slice through open desert. Centennial weekends bring classic car gatherings, live music, and that unmistakable glow of restored neon reminding drivers why the road mattered, and still does.

San Bernardino: Fast Food, Faster Ideas

Route 66 didn’t just move people. It moved concepts. In San Bernardino, innovation takes center stage at the original McDonald’s site, now a museum that traces how two brothers changed road-trip eating forever. Centennial events here celebrate car culture, entrepreneurial daring, and the birthplace of fast food as we know it.

Just beyond town, Cajon Pass delivers the drama—steep grades, sweeping views, and a reminder that building Route 66 through the mountains was an engineering marvel.

Santa Monica: End of the Line, Start of the Dream

Every Route 66 tale ends with salt air and a sigh of satisfaction. In Santa Monica, the centennial crescendos at the iconic “End of the Trail” sign near the pier. Expect vintage car arrivals, exhibitions, and walking tours tracing Route 66’s many Los Angeles identities.

Here, the road meets the Pacific, proof that the journey was always the point—and the payoff is still spectacular.