Route 66 State Park
Route 66 State Park
4.5
About
Travel through history on The Mother Road at Route 66 State Park. Route 66 captured Americans’ imagination and exposed millions of citizens to small towns and different cultures across the country. Sample a slice of that at Route 66 State Park’s visitor center, which has displays showcasing the road. The visitor center is the former Bridgehead Inn, a 1935 roadhouse that sat on the original Route 66. The park’s location, close to metro St. Louis provides visitors with a quick getaway to nature. More than 40 types of birds have been identified in the park and picnic sites are sprinkled throughout the park.
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Most Recent: Reviews ordered by most recent publish date in descending order.
Detailed Reviews: Reviews ordered by recency and descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as waiting time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.
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4.5
96 reviews
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AndyKansasCity
Kansas City1,324 contributions
Sept 2022 • Couples
The park is divided by the Meramac River and there’s currently no bridge between the two sections, so the different parts of the park have to be accessed from different exits on I44. We only visited the museum side of the park, but greatly enjoyed it. The museum is a converted roadhouse that contains lots of history about Route 66 as well as the former town of Times Beach. There’s also a gift shop and restrooms. Admission is free. There’s currently an effort underway to restore the Meramac River bridge, which will connect the two sections of the park.
Written 30 November 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Kathy D
Saint Louis, MO361 contributions
Jul 2022
I am now 65 years old. When I was a girl, my parents would bring me to Steiny's Inn every year for my birthday lunch. In subsequent years, Steiny's Inn changed hands several times, and eventually close. But now that same in has been repurposed as the Visitors Center and Museum for Route 66! I spent almost 2 hours studying every photo, every relic, and every write-up. I grinned the entire time!
Written 4 July 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
outdoortravelfun
Pacific, MO89 contributions
Jun 2020 • Couples
My husband and I have been biking here all spring. Great thing to do to get out during covit 19 pandemic. Not real crowded. We ride fro Eureka around route 66 loop and back. 6 miles. Nice and relaxing. Park boarders the Meramec river. Small ponds in park also. I would recommend visiting it some nice sunny day. Only 30 minutes outside St Louis.
Written 3 June 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
WorldTraveler
Columbus, OH373 contributions
Jun 2021
Stopped in to get our Route 66 passport stamped. Gave out a neat pen for each of the kids. Nice gift shop. Well laid out shop and building. Little bit off of the beaten path, but might be worth it.
Written 19 June 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
VillagerRick
The Villages, FL1,013 contributions
Jun 2022
We arrived at the Visitors Center mid day, and were warmly greeted. The Rt. 66 memorabilia is mostly local, and very well displayed. They also have a large gift shop. This is worth a stop.
Written 7 June 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
KV R
3 contributions
Jul 2021
We're of the age when nostalgia draws us to certain things. It was a beautiful day and we hiked one of the trails and then found a shaded picnic area for lunch. Afterwards we sought out the Visitor's Center. It's across the highway and you have to pay attention to find it...BUT it is worth the effort! Lots of memorabilia and well laid out. The gift shop had all sorts of RT 66 items. We were quite happy with our day.
Written 4 August 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
TravelGuySTL
St Louis665 contributions
Jan 2015 • Family
Most historic sites in Missouri are insulated by the passage of many years. The Route 66 State Park is an exception. This park was created on the land that was once Times Beach, which had dioxin exposure because of contaminated oil being sprayed on the dirt roads of the village for dust control. The site, along with Love Canal in New York, was one of the nation’s worst environmental disasters. As a result, the entire town of 2,000+ was relocated and the site remediated by the EPA in the 1980’s. There are still some remnants of the town – curbs, foundations, etc. – and it’s not unusual to have history buffs and joggers sharing the same space.
The park name evokes the past, although there are no obvious signs of Route 66 anywhere except for the visitor’s center, east of the park on the other side of the river.
Today the site is a park for biking or walking with lots of parking, picnic sites, clean rest rooms and a playground. It’s one of the few parks in the area that is almost exclusively flat, making it perfect for the non-competitive hiker or biker. The road on the main trail is a one-way loop, 2 miles long that is marked for cars in the center with bikers, hikers and joggers on either side in striped lanes. This is a very sensible way to allocate space and resources. There are plenty of deer and turkey in the park.
Entry into the park – as others have noted – is a little confusing. The park is on the North side of highway 44, west of the Meramec River. The approach is from Eastbound 44 from Highway 109 taking the Williams Road exit, about a mile east of the Highway 44 / Highway 109 intersection. This exit puts you on the South outer road which leads to the park entrance and the road the goes under the Highway 44 Bridge to the park. The Visitor Center is a separate location on the East side of the Meramec River, at the Lewis Road exit. The visitor center is a former roadhouse overlooking the Meramec River at the old Route 66 Bridge - which is no longer in use. All of the typical Route 66 trinkets, etc. are found at the visitor’s center.
The State Parks website: http://mostateparks.com/page/54997/general-information devotes only two sentences to the Times Beach dioxin history, almost as if the official Missouri guidelines prohibit the connection to the park and Times Beach. The rebranding of an historic environmental disaster into a fun, road-trip “route-66” experience is blatant. There is much more dignity viewing the natural beauty of this space with the sober reminder that we need to be careful with our environment rather than glossing over that little “disaster” thing while rushing to convey an image of pink poodle skirts and ’57 Chevy’s.
The park name evokes the past, although there are no obvious signs of Route 66 anywhere except for the visitor’s center, east of the park on the other side of the river.
Today the site is a park for biking or walking with lots of parking, picnic sites, clean rest rooms and a playground. It’s one of the few parks in the area that is almost exclusively flat, making it perfect for the non-competitive hiker or biker. The road on the main trail is a one-way loop, 2 miles long that is marked for cars in the center with bikers, hikers and joggers on either side in striped lanes. This is a very sensible way to allocate space and resources. There are plenty of deer and turkey in the park.
Entry into the park – as others have noted – is a little confusing. The park is on the North side of highway 44, west of the Meramec River. The approach is from Eastbound 44 from Highway 109 taking the Williams Road exit, about a mile east of the Highway 44 / Highway 109 intersection. This exit puts you on the South outer road which leads to the park entrance and the road the goes under the Highway 44 Bridge to the park. The Visitor Center is a separate location on the East side of the Meramec River, at the Lewis Road exit. The visitor center is a former roadhouse overlooking the Meramec River at the old Route 66 Bridge - which is no longer in use. All of the typical Route 66 trinkets, etc. are found at the visitor’s center.
The State Parks website: http://mostateparks.com/page/54997/general-information devotes only two sentences to the Times Beach dioxin history, almost as if the official Missouri guidelines prohibit the connection to the park and Times Beach. The rebranding of an historic environmental disaster into a fun, road-trip “route-66” experience is blatant. There is much more dignity viewing the natural beauty of this space with the sober reminder that we need to be careful with our environment rather than glossing over that little “disaster” thing while rushing to convey an image of pink poodle skirts and ’57 Chevy’s.
Written 29 January 2015
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Emily K
Dallas, TX223 contributions
Feb 2017 • Family
Wow, how have I never heard this story before this trip?! This is a vital piece of American history, a lesson learned, and should still be taught today. Sadly, even when we visited, there was not much to tell the story. I had to look the information up online! The former town of Times Beach, Missouri, was the site of one of the largest environmental disasters in U.S. history!
Times Beach was founded in the 1920s with the goal of beginning a high-end weekend retreat, just west of St. Louis. When that plan went defunct, it eventually did become a small, working-class community of about 2,000 people. In the early 1970s, the city hired Russell Bliss to spray its unpaved streets with used motor oil to help control the dust problem, a technique Bliss had previously used. However, Bliss, had also been hired by a company called IPC to dispose of a toxic waste material known as dioxin, which is generated by the production of Agent Orange. He mixed this waste with the motor oil before spraying the towns roads. This continued for four years between 1972 and 1976.
This was not discovered until 1982, when the federal government discovered the contamination with toxic dioxin, making Times Beach uninhabitable.
In 1984 the government paid $33 million to buy Times Beach and decontaminate the area. It took 15 years before cleanup was declared complete. Four hundred acres of what was once Times Beach have since been reopened as the Route 66 State Park.
Times Beach was founded in the 1920s with the goal of beginning a high-end weekend retreat, just west of St. Louis. When that plan went defunct, it eventually did become a small, working-class community of about 2,000 people. In the early 1970s, the city hired Russell Bliss to spray its unpaved streets with used motor oil to help control the dust problem, a technique Bliss had previously used. However, Bliss, had also been hired by a company called IPC to dispose of a toxic waste material known as dioxin, which is generated by the production of Agent Orange. He mixed this waste with the motor oil before spraying the towns roads. This continued for four years between 1972 and 1976.
This was not discovered until 1982, when the federal government discovered the contamination with toxic dioxin, making Times Beach uninhabitable.
In 1984 the government paid $33 million to buy Times Beach and decontaminate the area. It took 15 years before cleanup was declared complete. Four hundred acres of what was once Times Beach have since been reopened as the Route 66 State Park.
Written 16 January 2018
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
L W
St. Louis, MO32 contributions
Pretty for one of most notorious toxic sites which held incinerator and has the nasty ash under a thin layer of earth. Looks can be deceiving. History of site not prominent enough; could easily miss reference in the small museum.
Written 7 June 2012
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Kaimannaa
Columbus, OH43 contributions
We weren't really sure what we'd find here, but we were most pleasantly surprised. The Museum is full of artifacts from both Route 66 and the ill-fated town of Times Beach. There are stories from Times Beach residents, as well, some of them quite fascinating. We enjoyed the displays, the quiet nature of the museum, and its friendly staff. Visitors will also find clean restrooms and a nice little gift shop. I definitely recommend if you are a 66 roadie, a history buff, or simply nostalgic and enjoy seeing remnants from our past.
Written 29 June 2010
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
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