Sandstone bluffs…Devil’s Elbow…W.H. Croaker. We’ve driven almost all of the Mother Road over the years. I can’t believe we missed exploring Route 66 through Pulaski County, Missouri, especially since we drive through Missouri often. When we finally made it to Pulaski County this summer, we followed the auto tour that the Pulaski County Tourism Bureau laid out in a brochure. The route is filled with natural beauty, remnants of Route 66 treasures, and one quirky road side attraction.
We actually stumbled upon Pulaski County a couple of years ago. We were on our way down to southern Missouri and got off the interstate to take a slower, more leisurely route for a while. Little did we know how slow it would end up being! It happened to be the day of the Waynesville High School homecoming parade, and we got caught by a parade roadblock. We tried going up and down different streets to no avail. But we saw so many interesting things that we knew we had to return.
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So return we did. We spent three days in Pulaski County. We kayaked the Gasconade River, played Pitch & Putt golf, and visited nearby Fort Leonard Wood to catch an antique military vehicle convoy that came through town. Then we drove Route 66 from one end of the county to the other. The auto tour begins on Highway Z, the I-44 Exit 169. I’ll let the photos tell the story.
Hooker
Side trip to Piney Beach Cabins
Devil’s Elbow
Saint Robert
You may want to spend some time in Saint Robert. Saint Robert served as our base during our Pulaski County visit. The city offers many restaurant options, including several ethnic foods. We ate two meals here.
Fort Leonard Wood
It isn’t surprising that Saint Robert has several military tributes, since Fort Leonard Wood is located only two miles away.
Waynesville
Route 66 to the county line
If you take the Route 66 auto tour through Pulaski County
You can download the Historic Auto brochure here or pick up a copy at the Pulaski County Visitors Center located at 137 Saint Robert Boulevard in Saint Robert, Missouri.
Accomodations
We stayed at the Baymont Inn and Suite in Saint Robert during our visit to Pulaski County. Check rates here.
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Disclosures: The Pulaski County Tourism Bureau hosted our visit to the area. However, all opinions in this article are my own.
This article contains an affiliate link. If you book a room through the “Check rates here” link above, I will receive a small commission, at no additional cost to you.
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My travel bucket list includes driving Route 66 (well, what’s left of it) from Illinois to California. This does such an amazing job of showing one slice of the experience!
Thank you! We have a couple of small stretches left that we somehow skipped over the years. We had planned to do it all at one time a couple of years ago, but to see everything would take at least three weeks.
There is literally SO much to see on Route 66! I done it in just under 3 weeks back in 2011, so had to skip parts! We stopped in Devil’s Elbow so saw the Elbow Inn and the steel bridge but I don’t remember seeing any of the other bits! Really interesting read!
You’re right that there is SO much to see on Route 66, especially when you get into some of the cities. You really could take months doing the route if you wanted to see and do everything.
How interesting I’ll have to get on Route 66 and head south!
Pulaski County does have some of the most scenic parts of Route 66 in the Midwest.
My travel bucket list includes driving Route 66 (well, what’s left of it) from Illinois to California. This does such an amazing job of showing one slice of the experience!
Thank you! We have a couple of small stretches left that we somehow skipped over the years. We had planned to do it all at one time a couple of years ago, but to see everything would take at least three weeks.
There is literally SO much to see on Route 66! I done it in just under 3 weeks back in 2011, so had to skip parts! We stopped in Devil’s Elbow so saw the Elbow Inn and the steel bridge but I don’t remember seeing any of the other bits! Really interesting read!
You’re right that there is SO much to see on Route 66, especially when you get into some of the cities. You really could take months doing the route if you wanted to see and do everything.