Route 66 is not in Las Vegas, but it's close. The nearest stretch of the old road starts in Kingman, Arizona, about 105 miles southeast of the Strip on US-93, a drive of a little under 2 hours. From Kingman you can do a one-day loop to Oatman (where wild burros walk down Main Street), Cool Springs and the Hackberry General Store, and be back in Vegas for dinner. With two days you add Seligman and Williams, with three the Grand Canyon. Or you can turn west at Oatman and ride Route 66 all the way to the pier in Santa Monica.
I'm Helena. I drove the whole of Route 66 in April 2026 for my Field Manual, and the western end of Arizona is the part I send people to first when they tell me they only have a free day in Vegas. Below are the distances, the drive times, three itineraries (1, 2 and 3 days), the hours of the stops I could verify, and where to sleep.
How far is Route 66 from Las Vegas?
The closest point is Kingman, Arizona. From the Strip, take I-11 and US-93 south through Boulder City, cross the Colorado River on the Hoover Dam bypass bridge (the Mike O'Callaghan and Pat Tillman Memorial Bridge, opened in 2010), and keep going on US-93 to Kingman. It's roughly 105 miles from the Strip, and most people make it in 1 hour 45 minutes to 2 hours without stops. Traffic at the Boulder City end on Friday and Sunday afternoons can add more.
US-93 meets I-40 at Kingman. Route 66 runs right through town as Andy Devine Avenue, and from there it heads two ways: northeast toward Hackberry and Seligman, and southwest over the Black Mountains to Oatman and the Colorado River.
Distances and drive times from Las Vegas
The Las Vegas figures are rounded and assume you start on the Strip. The legs between Route 66 towns come from my free Route 66 trip planner, which measures the drive between 56 towns on the route.
| Leg | Miles (approx.) | Drive time (no stops) |
|---|---|---|
| Las Vegas Strip to Kingman (US-93) | 105 | 1 h 45 min to 2 h |
| Kingman to Oatman (Oatman Road, over Sitgreaves Pass) | 28 | about 55 min |
| Kingman to Hackberry General Store (Route 66) | 25 | about 30 min |
| Kingman to Seligman (I-40) | 74 | about 1 h 20 min |
| Seligman to Williams | 43 | about 45 min |
| Williams to Grand Canyon South Entrance | about 60 | about 1 h (NPS) |
| Las Vegas to Williams (US-93 and I-40) | about 220 | 3 h 30 min to 4 h |
| Oatman to Needles, California | 22 | about 40 min |
| Kingman to Santa Monica on Route 66 (via Oatman, Needles, Barstow) | 366 | about 8 h of driving |
One thing to know before you plan: the old road between Seligman and Kingman (Arizona State Route 66) swings north through Peach Springs, Truxton, Valentine and Hackberry, so it's longer and slower than the 74 miles of I-40. That's the stretch you came for, so give it time.
Route 66 day trip from Las Vegas: the Kingman and Oatman loop
If you have one day, this is the loop I'd drive. It covers the two most famous western Arizona stops, the mountain pass, and the Hackberry store, and it keeps the total around 320 miles.
| Time | Stop | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| 7:30 a.m. | Leave Las Vegas | US-93 south over the bypass bridge |
| 9:30 a.m. | Kingman, Powerhouse Visitor Center | Free maps, Arizona Route 66 Museum, restrooms |
| 10:30 a.m. | Hackberry General Store | 25 miles northeast on Route 66, then back |
| 12:30 p.m. | Lunch in Kingman | Andy Devine Avenue |
| 1:30 p.m. | Oatman Road via Cool Springs and Sitgreaves Pass | Photos at Cool Springs, slow climb to the pass |
| 2:30 p.m. | Oatman | Burros, the old main street, the Oatman Hotel |
| 4:30 p.m. | Back over the pass to Kingman | Cross the mountains in daylight |
| 7:30 p.m. | Las Vegas | Back on US-93 |
If you'd rather see Seligman than Oatman, swap them: from Kingman take Route 66 northeast through Hackberry, Valentine and Peach Springs to Seligman, then come back on I-40. It's a longer day (close to 400 miles round trip), and I wouldn't try to do Oatman and Seligman both in one day from Vegas. You'd spend it all behind the wheel.
Kingman: Powerhouse Visitor Center and Route 66 Museum
Kingman's Powerhouse, at 120 West Andy Devine Avenue, is the best first stop. The visitor center is free and, according to the city's tourism office, open daily from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. It holds the Arizona Route 66 Museum ($10 for adults, $6 for seniors and Mohave County residents, children 12 and under free with a paid adult, per Explore Kingman when I checked in October 2026), the electric vehicle museum, the Historic Route 66 Association of Arizona gift shop, and Tesla Superchargers if you're driving electric. They also hand out free highway maps, which is useful before the desert.
Hackberry General Store
The Hackberry General Store opened in 1932 as the Northside Grocery. In the 1990s the Route 66 artist Bob Waldmire owned it and turned it into the roadside stop it is today: old cars, rusty gas pumps, a garage full of signs, cold drinks and souvenirs. Listings put its hours at roughly 9 a.m. to 5 or 6 p.m. daily, but it's a small business, so call before a late visit (928-769-2605). The address is 11255 Route 66, about 25 miles northeast of Kingman.
Cool Springs and Sitgreaves Pass
To reach Oatman, leave Kingman at I-40 exit 44, McConnico, and follow the Oatman Road. The Bureau of Land Management manages it as the Route 66 Historic Back Country Byway: 42 miles of paved two-lane through the Black Mountains to Topock. The first landmark is Cool Springs Station, a rebuilt 1920s-style gas station and gift shop at the foot of the climb. Its hours are short and change, so treat it as a photo stop and count yourself lucky if it's open.
Then the road climbs to Sitgreaves Pass at 3,586 feet, with hairpin curves, steep drop-offs and no guardrails in places. Vehicles longer than 40 feet are not allowed over the pass between Golden Valley and Oatman. If you rented a big RV in Vegas or you're towing, stay on I-40 and reach Oatman from the Topock side instead. Go slowly, use a low gear on the way down, and don't drive it after dark. I compare the two roads in Route 66 vs I-40, and riders will find the pass in my motorcycle trip planner.
Oatman and the burros
Oatman was a gold mining town, and the burros are descendants of the animals the miners turned loose. They come down from the hills during the day and walk right up to cars and people. Feed them only the hay cubes sold in the shops in town, never human food, and never in the roadway. Give the mothers and foals space; some babies wear "do not feed" tags. The town itself is one street of old wooden storefronts, the Oatman Hotel, and souvenir shops. Most of the activity happens in the middle of the day, so don't arrive at sunset expecting a busy street.
Route 66 from Las Vegas in 2 days: Seligman and Williams
With a night out of town, you can drive the longest surviving piece of Route 66 instead of sampling it. The Historic Route 66 Association of Arizona counts almost 158 miles of uninterrupted old road from Crookton Road, east of Seligman, to Topock on the Colorado River, and Kingman sits in the middle of it.
| Day | Route | Sleep |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Las Vegas, Hoover Dam bypass, Kingman, Oatman Road to Oatman and back | Kingman |
| 2 | Kingman to Seligman on Route 66 via Hackberry, Valentine, Truxton and Peach Springs; back to Vegas on I-40 and US-93 | Las Vegas |
Seligman is where the Route 66 revival began. When I-40 bypassed the town in 1978, traffic disappeared almost overnight, and in 1987 the local barber, Angel Delgadillo, founded the Historic Route 66 Association of Arizona and got the "Historic Route 66" signs put back up. The Snow Cap Drive-In, with its joke signs, is the classic lunch; its hours are seasonal, so call ahead. I wrote about it in the best Route 66 diners.
Between Peach Springs and Seligman, fill up whenever you see a working pump. The gaps between services on this stretch are long, and Peach Springs is on the Hualapai Reservation, with limited services.
3 days: Route 66 from Las Vegas to the Grand Canyon
This is the version I'd pick for anyone who has never seen the Grand Canyon. Williams, 43 miles east of Seligman, was the very last Route 66 town bypassed by the interstate (on October 13, 1984), and it's the usual base for the South Rim.
| Day | Route | Sleep |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Las Vegas to Kingman, the Oatman loop, back to Kingman | Kingman |
| 2 | Kingman to Seligman on Route 66 via Hackberry, then on to Williams | Williams |
| 3 | Grand Canyon South Rim by train or car, then drive back to Las Vegas (about 220 miles from Williams) | Las Vegas |
For the canyon, you have two choices. The Grand Canyon Railway leaves Williams at 9:30 a.m. (8:30 a.m. in November and December) and returns at 5:45 p.m. (4:45 p.m. in those months), with a little over three hours at the rim. That doesn't leave time to drive to Vegas the same evening, so on the train plan, add a fourth night in Williams. Or drive: the National Park Service puts the South Entrance about an hour from Williams, which lets you spend the morning at the rim and be back in Vegas in the evening.
If you'd rather not backtrack, you can also loop: Las Vegas to Williams on I-40, the canyon, then Route 66 westbound through Seligman, Hackberry, Kingman and Oatman on the way home. Westbound is how the road was built to be driven, and it leaves Oatman for the end. For the eastern side of the state, see my guide to Route 66 stops in Arizona.
Route 66 from Las Vegas to Santa Monica
Here's the other way to use Vegas: as the starting point of the last part of the road. From Kingman, cross Sitgreaves Pass to Oatman, drop to the Colorado River at Topock, and you're in California. By my planner's numbers, Kingman to Santa Monica on the Route 66 towns (Oatman, Needles, Amboy, Barstow, Victorville, San Bernardino, Pasadena) is about 366 miles and about 8 hours of driving, so two days is the sensible minimum, three is relaxed.
| Day | Route | Sleep |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Las Vegas to Kingman, Oatman Road over the pass, Oatman, Topock, Needles | Needles |
| 2 | Needles, I-40 to Kelbaker Road, Amboy, Ludlow, Barstow | Barstow |
| 3 | Barstow, Cajon Pass, San Bernardino, Foothill Boulevard, Pasadena, Santa Monica Pier | Santa Monica |
In 2026, parts of the National Trails Highway in the Mojave are closed for bridge replacement, including Kelbaker Road to Essex. The workaround is I-40 to Kelbaker Road and then the old road at Amboy. My guide to Route 66 stops in California has the closures, the fuel stops and the desert rules. If you're returning the car to Las Vegas afterward, the fast way back from Los Angeles is I-15.
Best time to drive Route 66 from Las Vegas
Spring (March to May) and fall (October and November) are the comfortable months. Summer in this corner of the desert is serious: in Needles, just across the river from Oatman, the average high is about 106°F in June, 110°F in July and 109°F in August. Kingman sits higher and is a bit cooler, but the Oatman Road and the Colorado River valley are not. Winter is mild for driving, with shorter days, which matters for Sitgreaves Pass.
Whatever the month, carry at least a gallon of water per person, fill the tank in Kingman before Oatman or Seligman, and download your maps, because phone coverage drops out in the mountains. I compare every month for the whole route in the best time to drive Route 66.
Where to stay on Route 66 near Las Vegas
- Kingman. The natural base for the day-trip stops. El Trovatore, the pre-war motel with the neon tower, is the one with character; the chain hotels are along the I-40 exits.
- Seligman. Small, with a few independent motels. Good if you want the old-road atmosphere after the day traffic leaves.
- Williams. The best choice for the Grand Canyon. It fills up around train and event weekends, so book early.
- Needles and Barstow. For the Santa Monica version. Book ahead and read recent reviews in Needles.
RV travelers have KOA campgrounds in Kingman, Williams and Needles; I cover them in my Route 66 RV parks guide, and the motels with the best stories are in the best Route 66 motels.
Is there a Route 66 tour from Las Vegas?
Yes. Several Vegas tour companies run guided day trips that usually combine the Hoover Dam with Kingman, Hackberry, Seligman or Oatman, and some motorcycle rental shops offer guided rides. They make sense if you don't want to drive or you're traveling alone. But this is an easy, well-signed drive on paved roads, and with your own car you choose the stops and the pace. The one exception is a big RV: don't take it over Sitgreaves Pass.
The short version
Leave Vegas early on US-93, stop at the Powerhouse in Kingman, see Hackberry, cross Sitgreaves Pass to the burros in Oatman, and be back over the pass before dark. With a second day, drive the old road to Seligman; with a third, go on to Williams and the Grand Canyon. Or point the car west at Oatman and finish at the Santa Monica Pier. If you then want the rest of the road, my guide to how long Route 66 takes shows how the whole trip fits together.
