Cross the USA on the legendary Route 66 from Chicago to Los Angeles and experience the real America. “The mother of the country roads” …
Estimated course of the tour:
TAG 1: CHICAGO
Overnight: Chicago
Flight with a well-known airline from Frankfurt am Main or Hamburg (optional) to Chicago (connecting connections possible). Meeting point in the terminal with your trained road captain, who will accompany you throughout the tour.
TAG 2: CHICAGO
Overnight: Chicago
Today is at leisure. The historic metropolis on the shore of Lake Michigan has many surprises in store. There are many ways to discover Chicago, but the best place to start is at the top. The 360 Chicago or the Willis Tower offer a great panoramic view of the entire city. There are many options back on earth: by double-decker, by trolley, by boat, there is something for everyone. In the evening, a joint dinner is planned.
TAG 3: SPRINGFIELD
Day’s stage: 325 km – overnight stay Springfield
After our luggage is loaded into the support vehicle, there is a transfer to pick up the bikes. On our first stretch we cross the farmland typical of the Midwest on historic Route 66. We’ll make stops at the Dixie Truck Stop and Bloomington, home of Historic Route 66 Memory Lane.
The attractions on today’s route are numerous…Our destination is Springfield. The city maintains numerous attractions associated with the 16th President of the United States, Abraham Lincoln. There we make a detour to Hall’s Harley Davidson.
TAG 4: ST. LOUIS
Day’s stage: 180 km – overnight stay in St. Louis
Today we continue on Route 66 with many sights. We look at the statue “The Lady of the Highway” and stop at the Ariston Cafe in Litchfield. In any case, we make a detour to the “Chain of Rocks Bridge”, which crosses the Mississippi. The special feature of the structure is the bend of 20 degrees that the bridge has in the middle of the river. Cosmopolitan, adventurous and exciting – St. Louis impresses with these characteristics.
The world-famous symbol of St. Louis is the Gateway Arch, from which you can get a good overview. Take one of the two train rides upstairs and you’ll have a fantastic view of the city and the Mississippi River from the 16 windows. A steamer trip on the Mississippi completes the day (optionally bookable).
TAG 5: SPRINGFIELD
Day’s stage: 360 km – overnight stay Springfield
Continue west through Rolla. This small town is located at the foot of the Ozarks, a highland region. We come through other smaller towns and drive directly to the Fantastic Caverns, an interesting stalactite cave that can be viewed by jeep train. Springfield in Missouri is also called “The Queen City of the Ozarks”. We make a detour to Denney`s Harley shop.
TAG 6: OKLAHOMA CITY
Day’s stage: 497 km – Overnight stay in Oklahoma City
Today we drive through some smaller towns on our direct route to Oklahoma City, the capital of the state of Oklahoma. It’s the mix of Native Americans, ranchers, rich oil barons and up-and-coming yuppies that characterizes this city. We will visit the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum.
Visitors will discover more than 20,000 exhibits that deal with the history and culture of the American West. The museum also includes a replica of a historic western town. The Myriad Botanical Garden is considered one of the most beautiful places in Oklahoma. The main pride of the garden is the Orangery “the Crystal Bridge”. Those who wish can visit Harley Oklahoma City.
TAG 7: YELLOW
Day’s stage: 420 km – overnight stay in Amarillo
It goes through Clinton, the hub of Route 66. In Texola we drive across the border to Texas. Due to its location near the 100th longitude and a total of 8 remeasurements of this line as the border between Oklahoma and Texas, the place belonged at times to Texas and at times to Oklahoma again. Today most of the houses are abandoned and Texola is almost a ghost town.
A highlight today is the U-Drop Inn, an old gas station with a cafe in the oil town of Shamrock and the Devil’s Rope Museum. We look at the 58 meter high freestanding cross in Groom. Our destination, Amarillo, is a great way to get a taste of Texas. From canyons to vintage Cadillacs, giant steaks to grand landscapes, this city is a Wild West fan’s dream. In Amarillo is Tripp’s Harley Davidson.
Tag 8: SANTA FE
Day’s stage: 450 km – overnight stay in Santa Fe
Our first stop this morning is the most photographed attraction on a Route 66 road trip – Cadillac Ranch. Cadillac Ranch is not a ranch but a public art installation about three miles west of Amarillo, Texas. Ten Cadillacs, half of which are sunk into the ground, await you here.
Now it goes past many cattle farms. We cross the New Mexico border en route to Santa Fe. Santa Fe is at an altitude of around 2000 m. With around 200 galleries, it is one of the most important places in the American art scene. We’re headed for Santa Fe Harley-Davidson.
Tag 9: SANTA FE
Daily stage: approx. 250 km – overnight stay in Santa Fe
This day is at leisure. We offer a tour to Albuquerque (largest city in New Mexico) or to the Indian village of Taos, the oldest continuously inhabited settlement in the USA. The village of Taos Pueblo is now a tourist attraction. The inhabitants live almost exclusively from tourism and in small parts also from agriculture. UNESCO declared the village of Taos Pueblo a World Heritage Site in 1992. It is located in the Rio Grande river valley.
TAG 10: GALLUP
Daily stage: 350 km – overnight stay in Gallup
Our first destination today is the small town of Madrid in New Mexico. It gained notoriety from the 2007 film Born to be Wild, part of which takes place there. We ride the scenic Turquoise Trail. If we’re lucky, we’ll see a bison on the side of the road.
We make a small stop at Harley Thunderbird in Albuquerque. We drive over the Rio Grande, which rises in the Rocky Mountains. Our destination today is Gallup. In the heyday of the American West, numerous films were made in the surrounding region, including those starring John Wayne, Spencer Tracy, Gregory Peck and many others.
TAG 11: WILLIAMS
Day’s stage: 362 km – overnight stay in Williams
We drive on Route 66 through several small towns until we reach the Petrified Forest National Park. Petrified Forest National Park is a United States national park in northeastern Arizona. The park is part of the southern Colorado plateau and the Painted Desert, a desert at around 1800 m above sea level. We make a detour to the Painted Dessert Inn, one of the most beautiful adobe buildings in Arizona.
We come through Holbrock. One of the most famous sights of the town is the Wigwam Motel on the historic Route 66. The detached bungalows are designed like Indian tipis. However, the buildings are made of concrete. We make another stop at Jack Rabbit’s Trading Post. We continue through Winslow. This place is best known for the Barringer crater, the first impact crater of a meteorite that was definitely recognized as such. There is a visitor center with a museum – among other things, an original space capsule from the 1960s is on display. We look at the Meteor Crater National Monument.
Another destination is the Walnut Canyon National Monument. The Canyon is home to a unique collection of rock dwellings carved into the slope. It goes through Flagstaff, the gateway to the Grand Canyon. We continue on Route 66 and stop in Bellemont / Arizona at the Harley dealer. There we can fry our own hamburgers. Bellemont is the highest settlement (7132 feet) on Route 66 and was formerly a well-known water stop for local springs. Shortly thereafter we reach our destination – Williams. Williams is a western town with a special flair.
TAG 12: WILLIAMS
Day’s stage: 194 km – overnight stay in Williams
Today is a day trip to the Grand Canyon. The Grand Canyon is one of the great natural wonders of the world and is visited by around 5 million people every year.
Today we have enough time to enjoy the Grand Canyon and if you want, you can take a helicopter flight there (optionally bookable).
TAG 13: LAUGHLIN
Daily stage: 300 km – overnight stay in Laughlin
This day consists again of many highlights. Our destinations are: Angel Delgadillo’s Route 66 Gift Shop in Seligman: The old barber (born 1927) is now regarded as the guardian angel or father of Route 66 because he gained worldwide fame as one of the initiators and co-founders of the Route 66 Association. Most of the time you can meet him in the shop….
Hackberry’s General Store, probably the most worth seeing Route 66 Museum in Arizona.
We drive one of the most beautiful parts of the Mother Road over the winding Sitgreaves Pass to Kingman. There we make a stop at the Mother-Road Harley dealership.
Another destination today will be the former gold mining town of Oatman in the Black Mountains of Arizona. It is on Route 66. Wild donkeys “Burros” roam freely in the city. They descend from pack donkeys that were once released by their owners after they were no longer needed.
Our overnight stay is in Laughlin. Laughlin is actually just a cluster of casino hotels right on the Colorado River. For us it is a stopover. Laughlin is generally always hotter than LV. Every year on the third weekend in April, the largest Harley convention in the western United States takes place there. Laughlin is also probably the only place where you can take a water taxi from casino to casino on the Colorado. With the many pensioners and wheelchair users with oxygen tents who gamble their money here, that’s probably appropriate. For little money you should not miss the trip with the water taxi.
TAG 14: BARSTOW
Day’s stage: 320 km – overnight stay in Barstow
In the morning we first go through the Mojave Desert before we reach the small desert town of Amboy. There we stop at Roy’s Cafe with its large advertising sign, which has become a landmark for Route 66. Amboy forms the backdrop in numerous commercials. In the next town, Baghdad, is the legendary Baghdad Cafe.
We make a detour to Calico Ghost Town. Calico was founded in 1881 due to the silver deposits in the surrounding mountains, and had a population of several thousand at its peak. However, the silver mining heyday did not last long and by the early 1900’s Calico had become a ghost town. Today the entire site has been converted into a ‘historic park’. For $8 admission you can stroll through the Wild West as you might imagine it from the movies. Our destination today is Barstow, California. The place is shaped by the railway.
TAG 15: LOS ANGELES
Daily stage: 300 km – overnight stay in Los Angeles
On the way to LA we drive the Angel’s Crest Highway through the mountains. The track has curves, curves, curves and winds through the mountains. We stop at the biker hangout Newcombs Ranch – good food and great service. We drive the Topanga Canyon, a great experience! Route 66 ends in Santa Monica. We make a detour to the pier and Harley dealership before heading to Los Angeles to drop off our bikes. A private city tour by minibus can be booked in the evening as an option.
TAG 16: LOS ANGELES
Overnight Los Angeles
Today is at leisure. Los Angeles is one of the most mysterious and fascinating places on earth. Here you actually meet movie stars on the street.
DAY 17: RETURN
A shuttle takes us to the airport and it’s time to say goodbye. (transfer connection possible)
DAY 18: ARRIVAL AT FRANKFURT AIRPORT
