Some of the old alignments of Route 66 can still be found today, often with cracked pavement and tall weeds.
Stay on a later alignment, and you’ ll experience the highway as midcentury America knew it – streamlined, practical, and built for movement. These routes often pass just outside of towns rather than through them, which means fewer preserved neon signs and historic buildings but more continuous riding and a clearer sense of how Route 66 functioned as a national corridor.
The real magic happens when the two intertwine.
The Brick Road near Auburn, Illinois, is a very unique stretch of the route that can still be ridden today.
In states like Illinois, Missouri, Oklahoma, and Arizona, you can still ride sections where original pavement runs parallel to later bypasses – sometimes within sight of each other. One road carries the ghost of early crosscountry travel; the other reflects the modernization that replaced it. Choosing between them is about which version of the story you want to experience.
That’ s why Route 66 is often described as an archive. Every detour, spur, and abandoned segment represents a decision point in American transportation history. And for riders willing to explore beyond the most direct path, those decisions are still visible on the landscape.
Scan the QR code to view an interactive map that shows the final alignment and older alignments of Route 66.
FOLLOW THE RED BRICK ROAD There are plenty of places along Route 66 where you can admire history. The Auburn Brick Road is one of the few places where you can actually ride on it.
Stretching for just over a mile south of Auburn, Illinois, this preserved section of original Route 66 offers a rare opportunity to experience the Mother Road much as travelers did nearly a century ago. Built in 1921, the road remains surfaced with thousands of red bricks laid by hand.
At first glance, the road doesn’ t look particularly dramatic. Central Illinois
38 / AUGUST 2026 / RIDERMAGAZINE. COM