Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Why Go?
Speed west through eerie ghost towns beside railroad tracks in the Mojave Desert, starting
from hot, hot Needles on the Arizona border. Stop into the Route 66 and train museum in
the whistle-stop railway town of Barstow. Atop Cajoin Pass, order an ostrich burger and a
date shake at the Summit Inn, then sleep inside a faux wigwam outside San Bernardino be-
fore getting your final kicks in Pasadena and LA, ending with waving palm trees and a car-
nival pier in Santa Monica.
When to Go
Springtime in the desert brings wildflower blooms and milder temperatures before the
scorching heat of summer hits. Route 66 from Los Angeles to San Bernardino or even
Victorville can be driven year round.
The Route
You need to be an amateur sleuth to follow Route 66 these days. Historical realignments of
the highway, dead ends and stretches paved over by the interstate are all par for the course.
Getting lost every now and then is inevitable, but you can get turn-by-turn driving direc-
tions from the website
www.historic66.com
. Be prepared for rough, rutted driving condi-
tions in the desert - take it easy on that gas pedal.
Best Detour
From nearby the desert pit stop of Amboy, it's about a 40-mile drive northeast to Kelso in
the heart of the vast Mojave National Preserve (
Click here
)
, strewn with volcanic cinder
cones, Joshua trees, sand dunes and hiking trails.
Time & Mileage
Two to three days, 320 miles
