Route 66 turns 100 in 2026. Missouri State Parks lists a free celebration at Route 66 State Park in Eureka on November 7, 2026, and the State Historical Society closes the Missouri year with a webinar on November 12.
Dates here come from the Missouri State Parks event page and the State Historical Society of Missouri, read October 31, 2026. The national centennial site and the Missouri association did not list matching dates.
Dates From Official Pages
| Date | What | Where | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| November 7, 2026, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. | Route 66 Centennial Celebration. Free and open to the public: museum, car show, live music, food trucks, hayrides and a guided hike. Car show and cruise participants register. | Route 66 State Park, 97 N. Outer Road, Eureka | Missouri State Parks event page no update date printed |
| November 12, 2026, 11 a.m. to noon | Webinar “Asphalt Archives: Telling Missouri’s Route 66 Story,” which the Society calls the conclusion of a full year of Route 66 commemoration in Missouri. Price not listed. | Zoom | State Historical Society of Missouri year from the page address |
The state park page says the route was officially added to the federal highway network in 1926. The national Route 66 Centennial Commission says the celebration runs “all through 2026” (route66centennial.org, no end date). The Route 66 Association of Missouri lists a Route 66 Centennial Traveling Exhibit project, updated January 26, 2026 (missouri66.org).
Plan Your Route 66 Trip
- Route 66 in Missouri: stops, history and facts
- Route 66 in Two Days
- Route 66 State Park
- Missouri open data
Take-Down Date
We will take this page down on December 31, 2026 and keep the Route 66 guide linked above. The only official end-of-year framing we found is the November 12 webinar, so this date is ours.
What We Could Not Verify
- November 11, 2026, the centennial date many sources use: no official page we read prints it.
- The national centennial’s end date: its site says only “all through 2026.”
- The Missouri association’s events: its events block was empty.
- Webinar price: not listed.
- The National Park Service Route 66 corridor page did not load.
- A National Museum of Transportation event on the centennial date: seen only in a news listing, so not printed.
More Missouri Guides
Questions People Ask
When did Route 66 begin?
Missouri State Parks says it was officially added to the federal highway network in 1926.
Is the Route 66 centennial event in Eureka free?
Yes. The Missouri State Parks page says admission is free and open to the public.
Sources
- Missouri State Parks: Route 66 Centennial Celebration
- SHSMO: Asphalt Archives webinar
- Route 66 Centennial Commission
- Route 66 Association of Missouri
Checked October 30, 2026 by It’s Missouri. Cite this page: It’s Missouri (https://itsmissouri.com/history/route-66-centennial-in-missouri/), checked October 30, 2026. Free to quote with a link.