The Ultimate Guide to Route 66: Oklahoma

If you thought driving all of Route 66’s 2,448 miles was a long haul, try running it on foot, and adding another 1,000 miles on top of that. It’s precisely what Andy Payne did, in 1928, 2 years after Route 66 made its debut. A member of the Cherokee tribe and a native of Foyil, a small town on Route 66 in northeastern Oklahoma, Payne won the Great Transcontinental Footrace (aka the Bunion Derby), which spanned from New York City to Los Angeles, traversing much of the Mother Road out west.

It took 84 days for 20-year-old Payne to complete his cross-country journey, earning $25,000 as a prize. After years spent working as clerk for the Oklahoma Supreme Court, and his death in 1977, his hometown of Foyil commemorated their native son with a bronze statue, sculpted by local artist John Free, in 1992. Located on the south side of Foyil, between the original alignment of Route 66 and the modern path of the Mother Road, the statue depicts Payne as he’d want to be remembered: running.

The largest animal in the world was bound to make a splash when it landed on Route 66 in Catoosa, just northeast of Tulsa. The Blue Whale of Catoosa, a gentle giant perched in a roadside pond, was the imaginative vision of Hugh S. Davis, a zoologist who wanted to create a larger-than-life gift for his wife, Zelta.

A lover of whales, Davis drew inspiration from his wife’s collection of whale figurines, ultimately designing a smiling whale that stretched 80-feet-long and 20-feet-high. With the help of a friend, he welded a metal frame and constructed it with hand-mixed cement, in hopes of gifting it to Zelta for their anniversary. Davis initially wanted to paint it black and white, like an orca, but his wife suggested a more docile species, hence the blue.

Completed in 1972, with porthole-style windows and a slide that plunged into the pond, it was as much a gift as an attraction. For years, travelers could stop and swim at the Blue Whale of Catoosa, and while swimming is no longer allowed, the Catoosa Chamber of Commerce has poured concerted efforts into restoring and preserving this piece of Route 66 iconography. Today, it’s a popular stop for photos and picnics.

A treasure trove of Route 66 trinkets, art, and souvenirs, Buck Atoms Cosmic Curios—located in the historic Meadow Gold District in Tulsa—is also home base for its namesake “space cowboy,” Buck Atom. A 21-foot-tall Muffler Man, Buck previously sat in a junkyard in Alberta, Canada, until he was restored in 2018, when shop owner Mary Beth Babcock commissioned fiberglass artist Mark Cline to turn the Muffler Man into a new character, with his own lore.

What resulted was the story of Buck Atom, a cowboy who was taken aboard a spaceship for 66 years, until he decided it was time to return to Earth to help bolster traffic on Route 66. Unveiled in 2019, complete with a space visor and cowboy hat, Buck Atom now stands in front of his namesake Route 66 gift shop, which was once a ‘50s gas station. Inside, guests can peruse all manner of colorful books, postcards, art, toys, stickers, and apparel, including special shirts for the Route 66 Centennial. On the other side of the store, guests will find Buck’s counterpart, the “cosmic cowgirl,” Stella Atom.

Looming large over Tulsa’s Expo Square, the Golden Driller statue is to Oklahoma as the Space Needle is to Washington, or the Statue of Liberty is to New York. At 76-feet-tall, the gilded oilman ranks as one of the tallest freestanding statues in the country, and an unmissable homage to the oil booms that defined Oklahoma’s growth and success. The Golden Driller was first constructed by the Mid-Continental Supply Company for the 1953 International Petroleum Exposition, it was such a hit that the city repurposed it for the 1959 trade show, before donating it to the Tulsa County Fairgrounds.

It’s stood, arm perched astride a towering oil derrick, in front of Expo Square since 1966, officially becoming the state monument in 1979. Free to visit for photo ops, the Golden Driller is a fixture on Oklahoma license plates, and an essential stop on Route 66.

Just southwest of Tulsa, the town of Sapulpa charms at every turn. Home to about 21,000 people, it’s got the look and feel of a well-preserved small town, right down to its mid-century drive-in, complete with retro trailers for overnight stays.

The route runs right through the heart of Sapulpa, which became an official Main Street community in 1990, thanks to its brick-clad downtown district. Such a designation ensures the continued preservation, and economic investments, in the community, where vibrant storefronts include the Route 66 Vintage Market and Little Bit of Country, a western-themed shop that’s also home to Western Anvil Artisan Metals.

Main Street is also home to the annual Route 66 Blowout, a vintage and modern car show held every September. For the Centennial, Sapulpa is offering the unique opportunity for travelers to take home a piece of the Mother Road—literally. Pieces of roadway, upturned during repairs, are being handed out at Gasoline Alley Classics, three times a year all year long. Anyone interested in taking home a piece of paved history just needs to snag a ticket at the shop, and be in attendance for the drawings. 

Rising an apt 66-feet over Route 66 in Arcadia, the world’s largest soda bottle beckons curious road-trippers looking for an eccentric pit stop. Welcome to Pops 66 Soda Ranch, a singular attraction in Oklahoma City’s northeast suburbs, which has been slinging quirky sodas and diner-style eats since 2007. Doubling as a retro-inspired service station with a sleek metal-and-glass motif designed by architect Rand Elliot, Pops is a restaurant and gift shop known for its wide array of sodas—available in every color and flavor imaginable.

Hundreds of bottled sodas are on hand, both lining the walls as kaleidoscopic art, and filling the refrigerators with retro classics like grape, root beer, sarsaparilla, and cream soda. Beyond the familiar flavors, though, Pops is best known for its zanier varieties, which run the gamut from bacon and PB&J, to blue cheese, carrot cake, cucumber, and even a “Martian” soda. Although quirky soda is a fixture here, Pops takes its name from founder Aubrey McClendon’s own father, and the restaurant serves soda shop-style fare, like burgers, sandwiches, and root beer bread pudding. At night, that 66-foot soda bottle glows with a rainbow of LED lights. 

Open since 2021, and anchoring the newly designated Horizons District hugging the south shore of the Oklahoma River in Oklahoma City, the First Americans Museum is a world-class institution for Native American heritage and art. The largest tribal cultural center in the U.S., clocking in at 175,000-sq.-ft., the museum is designed to preserve and celebrate Oklahoma’s 39 Native tribal nations, across multiple exhibits and galleries depicting all facets of Indigenous life in Oklahoma, from early tools and traditional garb, to sports, powwows, and the impact of stereotypes in pop culture.

The museum features a FAMily Discovery Center for visitors of all ages, and a restaurant serving Indigenous-inspired cuisine (think bison tartare, hominy stew, and rabbit tamales). While here, be sure to check out the adjoining Exhibit C Gallery, displaying Indigenous art, and OKANA, an 11-story resort and waterpark owned and operated by the Chickasaw Nation. 

Flanked by a wildlife reserve and an iconic steel-truss bridge, Lake Overholser casts a spell on road-trippers from its Route 66 locale on the west side of Oklahoma City. A manmade lake, built in 1919, it emerged as an epicenter of outdoor adventure, from the Route 66 Family Park playground and fishing dock, to nature trails and tennis courts. Stinchcomb Wildlife Refuge, on the north end of the lake, is a 1,000-acre wonderland of swamps, marshes, and hardwood forest—perfect for hiking, biking, or paddling.

On the lake itself, visitors can fish, sail, and go boating, while 7 miles worth of trails surround its shoreline. Be sure to check out the Lake Overholser Bridge, on the north side of the lake. Built in 1924, it’s an icon of steel truss construction that initially stood on the original path of Route 66.  

When in Rome, do as the Romans do. Or, when on Route 66, go to the Oklahoma Route 66 Museum. Located in Clinton, where wide-open prairies and wind-swept plains offer the quintessential Oklahoma backdrop, the museum is an immersive experience, transporting guests to yesteryear, and the heyday of America’s Mother Road. Oklahoma’s official institution for preserving Route 66 lore, operated by the Oklahoma Historical Society, visitors can discover the characters, efforts, and ideas that paved the way for one of the country’s first federal highways, and the immense impact it had on leisure travel and westward migration.

The Dust Bowl, a key factor in migration, is featured throughout museum exhibits, along with galleries focused on vintage diners and the Big Band Era, a period when roads were populated with roaring rigs and returning soldiers. Throughout the museum, there are treasures to be found—and heard. Including roadside trinkets collected along the Route, classic cars, videos, and the music that defined each era, like The Eagles. Take in a short film at the on-site theater, take a seat in the replica diner, and pause for photos under neon lights and archival signs. The Oklahoma Route 66 Museum is well worth a pit stop.

With practically every square inch of its brick facade covered in vintage Route 66 signs, The Sandhills Curiosity Shop—in the western Oklahoma town of Erick—is impossible to miss. As its name suggests, travelers will find a whimsical wonderland of oddities and art, as well as oak furniture, musical instruments, flags, signs, decor, and much more. It’s all courtesy of heavily bearded owner Harley Russell, a self-described “redneck hoarder” who’s become a veritable mascot in his own right, known for breaking into spontaneous song on his guitar, and enchanting passersby with tales of Route 66 wanderlust. Rich in history all its own, the building is the oldest brick building in town.