Best time to drive Route 66, month by month

Route 66 crosses three climates: Midwest humidity, wide-open Plains and high desert. The best months are the ones when all three behave at once.

The question I hear most often in the office is when to go. My short answer for the whole road is late April to early June, or September to mid October. Here is the longer one.

Route 66 in spring: April to early June

Illinois and Missouri turn green in late April, with highs in the 60s and 70s F and some rain. Oklahoma and Texas can have thunderstorms in May; they come and go fast, and our road captains watch the radar. The desert is at its best, warm by day and cool at night, with wildflowers after a wet winter. This is our busiest season.

Route 66 in summer: late June to August

Summer is good in the Midwest and on the high plateau around Flagstaff, Williams and Gallup, at 6,000 to 7,000 feet. It is hard in the Mojave, where afternoons pass 105 F, and on the Texas plains. We run Illinois and Missouri trips and the Chicago day trip in summer, but almost nothing in the desert.

The heat breaks, the light gets softer, the crowds at the Grand Canyon thin out and the cottonwoods along the rivers in New Mexico turn gold in October.

Route 66 in autumn: September to October

Many road captains' favorite time. The heat breaks, the light gets softer, the crowds at the Grand Canyon thin out and the cottonwoods along the rivers in New Mexico turn gold in October. Late October can bring the first cold snap on the plains.

Route 66 in winter: November to March

Winter on the eastern half of the road is gray and can be icy, and many small museums close or open only on weekends. The Southwest is different. New Mexico, Arizona and California are mild and quiet, so we run section trips there in November and March, and the Mojave trip into December and February. Snow can fall at Flagstaff and the Grand Canyon, which looks wonderful but closes roads now and then.

The best months for Route 66, in short

• March: Southwest only, quiet and mild.
• April and May: everywhere, our best months.
• June: good, getting hot in the desert by the end.
• July and August: Midwest and day tours only.
• September and October: everywhere, the other best window.
• November: Southwest and Oklahoma, plus the Tulsa day tour.
• December to February: Mojave, Grand Canyon add-on and Tulsa days.

If you have a fixed month, email us and we will tell you honestly which stretch is at its best then.

Photo: Neon Motel Road. All photo credits.