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Route 66 - Western Missouri Road Trip

Road Trip

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Alamy/Ivan Kmit
197.6 miles: 4 hours, 42 minutes
From Kansas, Route 66 enters Missouri by way of Joplin. The city’s turn-of-the-20th-century mining history is vibrantly reflected in a Thomas Hart Benton mural that hangs in City Hall. Joplin is also resilience personified, recovering from a devastating tornado in 2011. In Carthage, look for the vintage Art Deco-style Boots Court Motel, a Mother Road landmark.
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Drive trips stop
Alamy/Ken Howard
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Joplin to Springfield
89.7 miles: 2 hours, 2 minutes
From Kansas, Route 66 enters Missouri by way of Joplin. The city’s turn-of-the-20th-century mining history is vibrantly reflected in a Thomas Hart Benton mural that hangs in City Hall. Joplin is also resilience personified, recovering from a devastating tornado in 2011. In Carthage, look for the vintage Art Deco-style Boots Court Motel, a Mother Road landmark.
Recommended Stops
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Joplin History & Mineral Museum
West 7th Street & South Schifferdecker Avenue, Joplin Galena Township, Missouri 64801
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Precious Moments Chapel and Gardens
4321, South Chapel Road Jackson Township, Missouri 64836
Drive trips stop
AAA Images
2
Springfield to St. Robert
107.9 miles: 2 hours, 39 minutes
One of southwestern Missouri’s geological features you’ll see along the highway are bare rock outcrops that often jut out from hillsides (locals call them balds). In and around Lebanon, Route 66 landmarks like Wrinks Market once catered to auto travelers; most are no longer in business, although you can still spend the night at the vintage Munger Moss Motel.
Recommended Stops
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Fantastic Caverns
4872, North Farm Road 125 Robberson No. 2 Township, Missouri 65803
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Dickerson Park Zoo
1401, West Norton Road Springfield Township, Missouri 65803