Kansas to Texas3 states
State 3 of 8, driving west
Route 66 in Kansas: Galena, Riverton and Baxter Springs
Route 66 clips the southeast corner of Kansas for about 13 miles, the shortest state on the road. In that half hour of driving sit a mining town, a 1923 arch bridge, a 1925 grocery and a restored Phillips 66 station.
- Trips
- 5All cross state lines
- Stops
- 3On our trips
- Length
- 6 to 15 daysSmall groups
- Best months
- MayTrips run Apr to Nov
- From
- $2,290Per person
The Plains: Kansas, Oklahoma and Texas
What the road is like in Kansas
The 1926 highway planners needed to get from Joplin, Missouri, to Miami, Oklahoma, and the shortest line ran through the lead and zinc mining district in the corner of Kansas. So Route 66 has about 13 miles in the state, from the Missouri line east of Galena to the Oklahoma line south of Baxter Springs. It never got an interstate of its own here: I-44 skips Kansas entirely, which is one reason the three towns kept so much. The land is flat and green, with chat piles, the gray hills of mine waste, still visible around Galena.
Five of our trips cross Kansas, and we treat it as a proper stop rather than a gap between states. The Oklahoma and Texas trip starts in Tulsa and drives north on the first full day to begin at the Kansas line, so the group sees every mile of the corner before turning back southwest. The End to End journey and Main Street Museums spend a morning here, the classic convertible stops in Galena and Baxter Springs, and the motorcycle trip rides through with a coffee stop in Galena. Allow two to three hours for the whole state, with stops; it is short, but nobody hurries.
Route 66 tours through Kansas, 2026 and 2027
Per person sharing a double room. Trips that only cross part of Kansas are listed too.
Kansas to Texas3 states
Illinois to Oklahoma4 statesRoute 66 Museum Tour: Main Street Museums, Pontiac to Elk City
Next departureAvailable
From$3,190per person
Illinois to California8 statesRoute 66 Tour Chicago to Santa Monica: 15 Days End to End
Next departureGuaranteed
From$5,890per person
Illinois to California8 statesRoute 66 Convertible Tour: Chicago to LA in a Classic Car
Next departureAvailable
From$6,890per person
Illinois to California8 states
Your own private trip
Car club, family reunion or friends: any trip can run just for your group on your dates, from 6 travelers.
Deals and early booking
Save $150 per person on 2027 departures booked by January 31, 2027, plus last-minute prices on November and December 2026 dates.
Not sure which stretch?
Tell us how many days you have, the month and what you love: neon, diners, museums or open desert. A trip advisor in Tulsa suggests two or three trips.
3 stops
Route 66 stops in Kansas
Galena: A mining town and a tow truck
Galena boomed as a lead and zinc mining town after ore was found here in 1877, and Route 66 runs straight down its brick Main Street. On that street stands Cars on the Route, a restored Kan-O-Tex service station from the 1930s, with the rusty International Harvester boom truck that helped inspire Tow Mater in the 2006 Pixar film Cars. The people who run it sell drinks and snacks and are happy to talk about the road. The Galena Mining and Historical Museum, in the old Katy railroad depot, explains the mines and the chat piles still visible around town. Our trips enter Kansas here from Joplin and stop for about an hour: coffee, photos with the truck and a short walk along Main Street.
- Cars on the Route and the tow truck
- Galena Mining and Historical Museum
- Brick Main Street on the 1926 road
Best monthsApril to June, September to November
Trips that stop here
- Oklahoma and Texas Route 66 Tour: Tulsa to Amarillo6 days, from $2,290
- Route 66 Tour Chicago to Santa Monica: 15 Days End to End15 days, from $5,890
- Route 66 Convertible Tour: Chicago to LA in a Classic Car14 days, from $6,890
- Route 66 Harley-Davidson Tour: Chicago to Santa Monica14 days, from $7,450
- Route 66 Museum Tour: Main Street Museums, Pontiac to Elk City8 days, from $3,190
Riverton and the Rainbow Bridge: The last Marsh arch in Kansas
Of the three concrete Marsh arch bridges that carried Route 66 across southeast Kansas, only the Brush Creek Bridge near Riverton survives. Built in 1923, it is a single white arch about 130 feet long, and its curve gave it the local name Rainbow Bridge. A new bridge took the traffic in 1992, and the old one was saved after local people and the Kansas Historic Route 66 Association campaigned against its demolition. We park and walk across it. A short drive away, Nelson's Old Riverton Store has sold groceries since 1925 from a stone building with a pressed tin ceiling, and today makes deli sandwiches for the road. It is a good place for a picnic lunch on the Oklahoma and Texas trip.
- Walk across the 1923 Rainbow Bridge
- Nelson's Old Riverton Store, open since 1925
- Deli sandwiches for a roadside picnic
Best monthsApril to June, September to November
Trips that stop here
- Oklahoma and Texas Route 66 Tour: Tulsa to Amarillo6 days, from $2,290
- Route 66 Tour Chicago to Santa Monica: 15 Days End to End15 days, from $5,890
Baxter Springs: Phillips 66 station and Civil War history
Baxter Springs, the last Kansas town before Oklahoma, packs a lot into a few blocks. The Kansas Route 66 Visitor Center fills a restored 1930 Phillips 66 station built in a cottage style so it would sit well in a residential street, and the volunteers inside hand out maps of the whole corner. Down the road, the Baxter Springs Heritage Center covers the town's longer past, including the Civil War attack by Quantrill's raiders in October 1863. Lunch is often at Cafe on the Route, in a brick bank building that local legend says Jesse James robbed in 1876. From here Route 66 runs south into Oklahoma toward Quapaw and Commerce, and our road captain points out the state line marker.
- Kansas Route 66 Visitor Center
- Baxter Springs Heritage Center
- Lunch in the old bank building
Best monthsApril to June, September to November
Trips that stop here
- Oklahoma and Texas Route 66 Tour: Tulsa to Amarillo6 days, from $2,290
- Route 66 Tour Chicago to Santa Monica: 15 Days End to End15 days, from $5,890
- Route 66 Convertible Tour: Chicago to LA in a Classic Car14 days, from $6,890
- Route 66 Museum Tour: Main Street Museums, Pontiac to Elk City8 days, from $3,190
Coach, convertible or motorcycle
Ways to drive Route 66 in Kansas
By small coach on the Oklahoma and Texas trip
Our Oklahoma and Texas trip gives Kansas its own morning. After a night in Tulsa, the coach drives about 90 miles north, and Earl Whitfield starts the route at the Missouri line so you see all 13 miles in order: Galena, the Rainbow Bridge, a picnic from Nelson's store, Baxter Springs. Then the trip turns southwest down the Oklahoma road toward Miami and the long run to Amarillo.
On foot in three small towns
On the End to End journey and Main Street Museums, Kansas is a walking stop. Each town is small enough to cover on foot in 30 to 45 minutes, and each has a volunteer-run museum or visitor center where the people behind the counter grew up nearby. Darlene Moss or Ray Lindqvist leads the walks, and the coach meets the group at the far end of Main Street.
Behind the wheel or on a bike
The classic convertible group drives the corner itself, two guests to each 1960s car, with a mechanic following in the chase truck. Stops are Galena for photos with the tow truck and Baxter Springs for the Phillips 66 station. The motorcycle trip rides the same road on rented Harley-Davidson touring bikes, with a coffee stop in Galena before crossing into Oklahoma.
One price
What is included on our Kansas trips
In Kansas our prices cover the drive itself with the road captain and driver (or the convertible and chase truck, or the motorcycle and support van), parking, and the lunch or picnic named in each itinerary. Entry to the Galena museum and the Baxter Springs Heritage Center, where our trips visit them, is included; the visitor center is free.
Flights are optional: each trip page shows the add-on price for flying into the start and home from the end, from 10 US cities. Full list and payments.
Included on every Kansas trip
- Restored vintage motels and good 3 to 4 star hotels, double room with private bathroom
- Breakfast daily plus the lunches and dinners listed in the itinerary
- A road captain from the first day to the last, and local guides at museums and parks
- Small coach with a professional driver, or your classic convertible or motorcycle on themed trips
- Museum, park and attraction entries listed in the itinerary
- Airport pickup on day 1 and drop-off on the last day
Seasons
Best time to drive Route 66 in Kansas
Our Kansas days fall between April and early November. Spring is green and pleasant but can bring strong thunderstorms, and this corner of the plains sees tornado warnings in April and May; our road captains watch the forecast and change the order of stops if needed. June is warm and humid. September and October are the best months, mostly dry and in the 70s. The November departure of the Oklahoma and Texas trip can be cool and gray, with highs in the 50s, but the towns are quiet then.
Best monthsGood, some trips runNo trips
Practical
Route 66 in Kansas at a glance
Route 66 miles
About 13 miles, the shortest state on Route 66, from the Missouri line east of Galena through Riverton to the Oklahoma line south of Baxter Springs
Main towns on the road
Galena, Riverton, Baxter Springs
Airports
Joplin Regional (JLN), about 20 miles east in Missouri; Tulsa International (TUL), about 90 miles southwest
Time zone
Central Time, with daylight saving time from March to November
Road weather
Warm, humid summers, stormy springs with tornado risk in April and May, mild dry falls; winters are cold but short
What to eat
Deli sandwiches at Nelson's Old Riverton Store, lunch at Cafe on the Route in Baxter Springs, snacks at Cars on the Route in Galena
Best months for our trips
May, September and October; also April, June and early November on the Oklahoma and Texas trip
5 questions
Route 66 in Kansas: questions
Why does Route 66 have only 13 miles in Kansas?
The highway was laid out in 1926 to link existing roads between Joplin and Miami, Oklahoma, and the mining towns in the corner of Kansas sat on the most direct line. It was never longer. When I-44 came, it bypassed Kansas altogether, so the 13 miles were never replaced and much of the old road is still in use.
Is Kansas worth stopping for, or just driving through?
Worth stopping. It takes about half an hour to drive the corner without stops, but the three towns have a museum, a 1923 bridge, a 1925 store and a 1930 Phillips 66 station within a few miles. We spend two to three hours here on most trips, and longer on Main Street Museums.
Which of your trips include Kansas?
Five: the End to End journey, Route 66 in a Classic Convertible, Route 66 by Motorcycle, Oklahoma and the Texas Panhandle, and Main Street Museums. The Oklahoma and Texas trip goes out of its way to include it, driving north from Tulsa so the group sees the whole corner.
Can you drive over the Rainbow Bridge?
We walk across it, which is the best way to see the arch and the creek below. The bridge is about 130 feet long and the walk takes a few minutes. The modern bridge beside it carries the main traffic.
What about tornadoes in spring?
Southeast Kansas sees tornado warnings, mostly in April and May. They are rare at any one place, and they come with forecasts days ahead and warnings minutes ahead. Our road captains follow the National Weather Service, keep the coach near solid buildings when storms are likely, and will reorder or shorten a day if needed.
Next on the road
Keep driving from Kansas
Free advice, no obligation
Drive Kansas on the old road
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