Stage 02 · Fri · Aug 7
Gateway West
St. Louis, MO → Springfield, MO
Out from under the Arch, the road leaves the river behind and starts to roll. This is Ozark country: oak ridges, spring-fed creeks, and the roadside empires they built here when the highway was the only show in town. Meramec Caverns still paints its name on barns three states away. Cuba lines its brick storefronts with murals; Fanning built the world's largest rocking chair just to make you stop. Devil's Elbow keeps a 1923 steel-truss bridge folded into a bend of the Big Piney that the Army Corps once called one of the seven beauty spots of Missouri. The hills do the storytelling on this leg — the rally just has to keep up. Springfield, the official birthplace of the name 'Route 66,' waits at the end.
The stage map
5 waypoints on this leg — tap an icon on the map for the story. Peak 1,499 ft.
What to watch for
- LandmarkThe Gateway Arch — 630 feet of stainless steel over the Mississippi
- Roadside oddityWorld's Largest Rocking Chair, Fanning — 42 feet of it, built to make you stop
- Route 66 loreMeramec Caverns, Stanton — the barn-ad king of the Midwest and Jesse James hideout legend
- Neon & motelsCuba's mural mile and the restored Wagon Wheel Motel — oldest continuously run motel on 66
- The viewDevil's Elbow — a 1923 steel-truss bridge folded into a bend of the Big Piney