Route 66 Trip Planning Realities

Again, on my other scenic road trips, I was used to having to plan my routes by placing waypoints on Google Maps and saving them in advance of my trip so it would take me on the scenic highways I wanted and stay off the fastest or shortest route like it constantly wants to recalculate you on.  That is borderline unrealistic for Route 66.  I’d probably have 66 saved maps (can only have 10 waypoints per map) to get it to go where I wanted.  

So, knowing this would be different, I ordered 3 books, a set of 8 maps, plus a laminated map.  I thought for sure, armed with all of this that we couldn’t go wrong.  When I found the Begin Route 66 sign (which GPS will take you to) I was excited to begin the journey…we were on our way!  Five minutes later, in a maze of one way congested downtown streets, we were struggling to figure out where our next turn was.  Sure, the paper map may have said “turn on such and such street” but I had no idea if that was in .8 miles or 8 miles.  It was stressful!  Not only that, the navigator has to keep their eyes glued to the tiny print of the maps and hopefully not lose their place while looking around and trying to enjoy the trip.

By the outskirts of Chicago I had pulled into a parking lot and downloaded the blue (free) Route 66 Ultimate Guide app for navigation.  The screen shots in the app store show nice maps and distances to the next turn like any normal Google or Waze type navigation program.  The app itself says “it does not include a live map…this is to increase safer driving, and allows you to experience Route 66 without having to watch an app.”  Umm, okaaaay, but I was desperate so onward we went.  Listen, this thing couldn’t even get me out of the parking lot.  I found my own way to the road and used it for about 15 miles but it was almost like the paper map we already had.  It would just tell you the next turn but no map and I don’t even think it told me distances to the next turn.  There may be other merits like the points of interests but the navigation part was a no-go.

So, into another parking lot I went and downloaded the yellow (paid) Route 66 Navigation app.  While this app wasn’t without its challenges, it did keep me on Route 66 with clear instructions and a visual map.  The books and paper maps rode in the trunk for the remainder of the trip.  I highly recommend bypassing everything else and just hocking up the cost of the app as part of your trip expenses and move on with life.  Now, this does not help with pre-planning…it does best while you are on the route and want to stay on the route.  

We wasted at least an hour, probably more like 2, just sorting out our navigation issues.  It was really a rocky start to a trip and was totally uncharacteristic (and need I say humbling?) for us.  

Another item of note is that neither of these apps are compatible with Android Auto (and I assume Apple CarPlay) so you will be navigating directly from your phone and not your cars in-screen display.  This means you may want to be prepared with a phone mount on your dash (which I wasn’t) to have it visible.  The other thing to think about is which phone to put the paid app on.  If the navigation app is on the same phone that is your primary picture taking phone then you’ll have an added layer of annoyance of always unhooking your phone and disconnecting the navigation to take pics and then hooking it all back up again.  If you are wiser than I was, you’d pay for the app on the phone not taking the pics.

My navigator also wants to remind readers that there is more to being the navigator than reading the map.  For one, they too are along to enjoy the sights and when they look up to see a famous icon then look back to the map, its very easy to lose the place in the route instructions and its very hard to tell if we’ve driven past the next turn or not.  In addition to keeping the car on the route, the navigator also has the added duties of retrieving snacks to keep the driver from getting hangry, topping off water jugs, searching for the pen that fell down the side of the seats, getting the phone ready for an upcoming photo op, finding gas stations and meal stops, etc.  All of these other things take their eyes off reading the map and makes navigating by books and paper maps infinitely more difficult.  So, take it easy on your navigator and pay for the app.

Note – I am not affiliated with the yellow Route 66 app in any way or earn a commission by recommending it.  This is just my true personal experience on the road after using all of these various resources, wasting time unnecessarily, and having a meltdown or two while we got our act together and settling in with what worked best for us.

My last tidbit of navigating wisdom is, yes, the route is mostly well marked.  But, I did experience areas where signs were missing or were confusing.  I would not solely rely on the route markers along the road to be your navigational beacon.