Route 66 Turns 100: Meet the Mother Road at the Pacific

Route 66 turns 100 on November 11, 2026. See where the Mother Road meets the Pacific at the Santa Monica Pier, on a private tour.

On November 11, 2026, Route 66 turns 100. And if you’d like to stand where the Mother Road meets the Pacific, we can take you there on a private tour.

I’ll admit it: I love a good anniversary, especially one with a coastline attached. Here is why this one belongs on your Los Angeles list.

A highway turns 100

Route 66 was commissioned on November 11, 1926, a road that ran from Chicago to Los Angeles and became one of the first continuous paved highways in the country, according to the Route 66 Road Trip centennial guide. Its famous number came earlier that year, on April 30, 1926, which is why towns along the route have been celebrating all through 2026.

Santa Monica kicked off its own centennial on January 3, 2026, when vintage vehicles set out from the Santa Monica Pier on a Route 66 caravan bound for Chicago, as Santa Monica Travel & Tourism tells it.

Two finish lines, one coastline

Here is my favorite bit of Route 66 trivia, and it makes a great conversation starter on the drive. Santa Monica Travel & Tourism says the highway officially concluded at the intersection of Olympic Boulevard and Lincoln Boulevard, where Mel’s Drive-In stands today. According to the California Historic Route 66 Association, the route was extended to that corner on January 1, 1936.

The pier is the romantic ending. Santa Monica describes the pier’s “End of the Trail” sign as the symbolic end of Route 66, and travelers have treated the pier as the finish line for generations. Who wouldn’t want the last stop of a cross-country road trip to be the edge of the Pacific?

The sign at the end of the trail

The End of the Trail sign on the Santa Monica Pier was put up in 2009, for the highway’s 83rd birthday, with Route 66 News reporting a dedication on November 11, 2009. The project is credited to Dan Rice, who ran a Route 66 shop on the pier.

Our guests see the sign when we visit the Santa Monica Pier, and if you’d like, we will stop right at the Route 66 sign so you can take it in at your own pace. It is a classic Los Angeles moment: a road-trip icon, the Pacific Ocean, and the pier all in one frame.

Centennial fun to look for

Santa Monica has hosted a full season of centennial happenings in 2026, and the Santa Monica Pier’s events page lists a long run of them. As of October 2026, I did not find any Santa Monica centennial events listed for the coming weeks, so please check the official Santa Monica Pier and Santa Monica Travel & Tourism websites before you plan around a date. Even without a festival, the anniversary on November 11 is a lovely excuse to visit.

Make it part of your private tour

Three of our private tours visit the Santa Monica Pier, and on each of them we can add the Route 66 sign if you’d like. They are the Top Hollywood Highlights Tour, the Malibu, Venice & Santa Monica Coastal Tour with Getty Villa, and The Olympic Road: Coast to Coliseum.

The Top Hollywood Highlights Tour is a full-day, fully customizable tour that pairs Venice Beach, Beverly Hills, the Sunset Strip and Griffith Observatory with the pier. The Coastal Tour with Getty Villa adds Palisades Park overlooks, the PCH drive and the Getty Villa. The Olympic Road follows the 1984 Olympic torch relay route from the Malibu coast to the LA Memorial Coliseum.

Every tour is designed around the guest, and every tour includes a complimentary pre-tour consultation. Tell us you are a Route 66 fan when we talk, and we will build your day around it. A fully custom experience is also available if the Mother Road is the star of your trip.

Tips for your Route 66 moment

• Mention the Route 66 sign when you book or on your consultation call, and we will plan the stop with you.
• Check the official Santa Monica Pier and Santa Monica Travel & Tourism sites for centennial events before you go.
• Ask us about pairing the pier with Venice Beach or the Palisades Park overlooks, depending on the tour you choose.
• Bring a camera, and a friend to take the classic sign photo with you.
• Traveling with kids? Children are welcome, and we can bring a car seat on request.

A hundred years on, the Mother Road still has a way of making people smile. Come see where the trail meets the sea with a family-run team that is happy to handle the driving.

Sources: Santa Monica Travel & Tourism, Route 66 in Santa Monica | Santa Monica Travel & Tourism, Centennial kickoff | Route 66 Road Trip, Centennial guide | Route 66 News, End of the Trail sign dedicated | California Historic Route 66 Association, Santa Monica | Santa Monica Pier, Route 66 events