USA Motorcycle Trip – Route 66 through America

After arriving at O'Hare International Airport in Chicago, you will make your way to your hotel independently. The team will welcome you at the hotel and inform you about the upcoming motorcycle tour. Chicago is the largest and most exciting of the Great Lake Cities. Chicago's skyline competes with other cities - a range of highly rated museums, restaurants, and cafés, and countless bars and nightclubs that pay homage to the city's strong jazz and blues background. This evening, we will enjoy a grand welcome dinner, meet our fellow riders, experience a wonderful night in the Windy City, and prepare for our dream motorcycle trip on Route 66 the next morning.

This morning we will pick up our motorcycles and embark on the ultimate motorcycle journey through Illinois. The legendary Route 66 begins at our headquarters in Illinois and leads to the Pacific coast in California. From Chicago, we will head south along the 'Pontiac Trail' (that is the original name for that section of the highway), passing through Joliet, seeing the 'Launching Pad Giant', stopping at the wonderful RT 66 Museum in Pontiac, and generally getting a feel for the rubber on the mother road. The first day on the legendary Route 66 ends in Springfield.

An exciting day full of motorcycle adventures awaits us as we ride toward St. Louis. During our ride, mostly on the two-lane section of the mother road, we will pass cornfields and small towns that represent the heartland of America. After crossing the 'Chain of Rocks Bridge', the original bridge where Route 66 crosses the Mississippi River, we will arrive in St. Louis. In St. Louis, the most prominent structure in the USA, the 'Gateway Arch', the symbolic gateway to the West, will catch our attention. The gleaming stainless steel building on the banks of the Mississippi greets travelers from east to west and is an architectural marvel. We will enjoy the short ride to the 'Gateway to the West' and spend the rest of the day in this wonderful city, on the banks of the mighty Mississippi River. The city is home to great live music and barbecue ribs.

Try to get up early to catch a good view of the St. Louis Arch and the Mississippi in the early morning. We will quickly leave St. Louis in the mirror as we settle into our saddles and enjoy the rolling hills of Missouri, which make this area so beautiful and fun to ride. We will stop to see the famous, largest rocking chair in the world in Fanning. Through the scenic beauty of the Midwest, we will wind our way down the windy roads of 'Devil's Elbow!'. We will stop to meet Gary at 'Gay Parita's'. He himself is a Route 66 icon. Tonight we will spend in Joplin, a city that was hit by a massive tornado in 2011. We will spend time with the locals in the small downtown and hear breathtaking stories.

Today is all about riding! From Joplin, we head west over gentle hill and horse ranch landscapes in Oklahoma, passing through the towns of Miami, Claremore, and Catoosa, where the legendary blue whale lives, and stopping for lunch at a diner in Tulsa. We will also pass through lands of several Native American tribes. In the 1830s, all these lands were deemed useless by the government and labeled Indian territory - a practical dumping ground for the tribes that prevented white settlement in the southern states. The Choctaw, Chickasaw, Seminole, Creek, and Cherokee are some of these tribes that make up this large number of Native Americans. Further west, we ride through El Reno, over the 'mile-long bridge', near Bridgeport and into Oklahoma City, the heart and soul of Route 66.

The day starts early, with a tour along some of the oldest stretches of Oklahoma's Route 66. This was once the land of massive buffalo herds. This part of Route 66 crossed some of the great cattle trails used in the 1860s to drive cattle from Texas to the endpoint in Abilene, Kansas. We will ride a stretch of the Chisholm Trail, which runs through Yukon and El Reno, and stop at the amazing Route 66 Museum in Clinton. Past countless prickly pears, we will cross the border into Texas, into the southernmost part of the 'Great Plains'. We continue on to Amarillo in northern Texas, our destination for the day. There, we will be picked up by a friend of 'The Big Texan Steakhouse' in a fleet of old Caddies (Cadillacs) adorned with the horns of the Texas Longhorns. Get ready, we will enjoy the absolute best steaks in Texas.

We are leaving Texas again and traveling with our bikes into what is known as the 'Land of Enchantment', New Mexico, after visiting the Cadillac Ranch. The ghost town of Glen Rio awaits us, where one can stand with one foot in New Mexico and the other in Texas. We have already traveled through five states - Illinois, Missouri, Oklahoma, Texas, and New Mexico - and three more, Arizona, Nevada, and California are still ahead of us. We ride through the land of the Comanche and Tucumcari Indian tribes, where individual hills, mountains, cacti, and pines define the landscape, as we head into the higher plains of Santa Fe in central New Mexico. Santa Fe is one of the oldest and prettiest cities in America.

Today is a free day and we can enjoy the characteristic flavor of this nearly 400-year-old city. The mix of cultures is particularly evident in the styles of southwestern architecture, which are so closely associated with the capital of New Mexico. Optionally, you can drive along a riverside village to the old Indian city of Taos, enjoy a hot air balloon ride at sunset, or play cowboy and explore hiking trails in the saddle. Santa Fe offers something exciting for everyone.

This morning we continue south to Albuquerque, the largest city in New Mexico, where one third of the state’s population resides. Albuquerque is sprawling in the heart of New Mexico, where the east-west highway and tracks cross both the Rio Grande and the old road to Mexico. We cross the Rio Grande and head west - out into the vastness and Navajo wilderness. Later we ride through Grants and along the Cibola National Forest toward Gallup, a famous railroad town and stronghold for Native Americans.

Today is another big day filled with spectacular landscapes and Route 66 icons. We cross the border into Arizona and head to the Petrified Forest National Park, a petrified prehistoric forest with giant trees that have been excavated by erosion. Here we will have time to explore the breathtaking scenery and take a moment to get lost in the vastness that this area has to offer. After leaving the Petrified Forest National Park, we will continue west to Holbrook and stop to stand on the 'Corner in Winslow'. Tonight we will spend just about a mile away from the southern edge of the Grand Canyon and will be able to enjoy the sunset at the canyon's edge with a cold drink. The dream comes true!

Today we have the opportunity to experience one of the seven natural wonders: the Grand Canyon! For those who want to see the Grand Canyon from a bird's eye view, this can be arranged today. Let us know early and we can arrange a helicopter flight over the heart of the South Rim. We will have plenty of time to ride along the rim of the canyon and take in breathtaking views into the canyon. Later that day we will leave the Grand Canyon and return to Route 66 in Williams, Arizona. We will make a short stop at the famous 66 towns of Seligman, Peach Springs, and Hackberry.

On a short ride to Las Vegas, we will stop along the way at the old ghost town of Oatman, cross the border into Nevada, and travel over the famous Hoover Dam. Our time in Vegas is brief, but it's definitely worthwhile. If you'd like to try your luck at one of the countless gaming tables, this is the place for you.

Today we cross the border into our last state on Route 66 - California! One thing is for sure, today is a day like no other. We ride through the so-called 'Devil's Playground' in the heat of the Mojave Desert, which offers quite drastic landscapes in southern California. We can only imagine what it must have been like for the first travelers on Route 66 as they made their way through this vast expanse of desert, with solitary Joshua trees, cacti, volcanic rocks, and sand. That evening we will enjoy our last night on Route 66 together.

We are on the final leg of the 'American Dream', the end of Route 66 at Santa Monica Pier. To get there, we first need to ride 66 miles on the Angeles Crest Highway through the mountainous area of the Angeles National Forest. This highway is considered one of the best motorcycle routes in Southern California, rising over 2300 meters. From the crest, we descend into the giant metropolis of Los Angeles, with the destination being the Pacific Ocean and Santa Monica Pier. Motorcyclists often get mixed feelings when they see the 'End of Trail' sign on the pier. A feeling of joy and euphoria that one has completed a journey that many people only dream of, as well as a feeling of sadness that our journey is now coming to an end. We enjoy a pleasant breeze from the Pacific Ocean before saying goodbye to the bikes. After returning the motorcycles, we will transfer to the hotel. We will conclude this fantastic tour with a final dinner together.

Today marks the end of our motorcycle adventure journey along Route 66 in Los Angeles. We wish you a pleasant journey home and hope to welcome you again next year on an adventure on two wheels. We are happy to help arrange an extension of your vacation in Los Angeles or the surrounding area. It is always a sad moment when the OVERCROSS tour operator team has to say goodbye.