Route 66 Attractions: Spooky, Strange & Weird

UFOs & Alien Alley

Meteor Crater – Winslow, Arizona

Okay, so it’s not exactly a UFO crash site, but this otherworldly landscape on the Arizona section of Route 66 sure looks like one. This gigantic impact crater (over 3,900 feet wide!) was created by a meteor about 50,000 years ago, but if you stand at the edge, you can almost imagine an alien spaceship at the bottom. Just outside the buzzing town of Winslow, it’s like a scene straight out of Wes Anderson’s  “Asteroid City.” 

Roswell, New Mexico – Slight Detour

The mother of all UFO destinations is absolutely worth the slight detour south of the Mother Road. The infamous New Mexico crash site, first discovered in 1947 by a rancher checking on his flock, has been shrouded in mystery for decades. No one really knows where the exact site is anymore, and the general area is located on private property. But Roswell visitors can still stop by the International UFO Museum, filled with government conspiracy theories, alien autopsy exhibits, and enough cover-up suspicion to fuel you all the way to Texas.

Haunted Highway

Pythian Castle – Springfield, Missouri

Pythian Castle in Springfield, Missouri, was originally built as an orphanage and later served as a military hospital for German and Italian prisoners of war during World War II. To explore the castle, book a daytime history tour. If you’re feeling brave, opt for one of the evening mystery dinners or nighttime haunted experiences.

Lemp Mansion – St. Louis, Missouri

One of the creepiest stops on this section of Route 66 has to be the Lemp Mansion in St. Louis. This Victorian-era home was built by the Lemp family, German immigrants who started America’s first Lager beer brewery. Their business success was unfortunately also met with tragedy, as four members of the Lemp family spanning three generations died by suicide in the home. Guests can stay in the historic inn that now occupies the home and even hunt for ghosts as part of their overnight experience.

Calico Ghost Town – California

Nothing sends chills down a cold-sweat-drenched spine like an abandoned mining town in the middle of nowhere. Calico Ghost Town in California is just that. Wander amidst rusted equipment and wonder what happened to the souls that once called this desolate landscape home – or home away from home, that is. Many of the miners came here in search of better opportunities, but it’s unclear whether or not they found them.

Two Guns – Arizona

The Apache Death Cave near Two Guns, Arizona, marks the site of a tragic 1878 conflict where a territorial dispute between  Apache and Navajo warriors led to approximately 42 Apache losing their lives from smoke inhalation in a fire-blocked limestone cave. 

The cave and surrounding area hold deep cultural significance for both Apache and Navajo peoples. However, in the 1920s entrepreneur Harry Miller built the Desert View Trading Post nearby to capitalize on both the Route 66 traffic and the curiousity around the grizzly events fifty years before.

While the stairs leading to the cave built by Miller have since been destroyed, the ruins of the trading post still attract visitors interested in both history and the paranormal. Today the site remains primarily a place of historical significance and remembrance for the Indigenous lives lost there, and visitors continue to report unexplained phenomena around the cave and post ruins.

Subterranean Exploits

Meramec Caverns – Stanton, Missouri

If Route 66 is America’s Main Street and the Mother Road, then Meramec Caverns is America’s basement. The caverns, located along the Missouri portion of Route 66, are home to stunning mineral and rock formations. Above ground, riverboat tours and ziplining courses ensure entertainment for the whole family.

Grand Canyon Caverns – Peach Springs, Arizona

At Route 66 milemarker 115 in Peach Springs, Arizona, you’ll find America’s largest dry cave, Grand Canyon Caverns. Descend more than 200 feet below Earth’s surface to an enchanting underground limestone landscape. If being 21 stories deep doesn’t unsettle you enough, you can also take a ghost tour through the pitch black tunnels.

Other Odd Route 66 Attractions

Bigfoot – Missouri

You might associate Bigfoot with the Pacific Northwest, but a similar cryptid has allegedly been spotted along Route 66 in Missouri, particularly in the Ozarks. Known locally as “Momo” (Missouri Monster), this shaggy creature reportedly smells terrible and lurks in the woods near the highway.

Spooklight – Joplin, Missouri

On the Missouri-Kansas border there’s a mysterious ball of light which appears along a section of dirt road referred to by locals as “Devil’s Promenade.” Often spotted from the municipality of Hornet, Missouri, just outside of Joplin, the phenomena is technically located closest to Quapaw, Oklahoma, over the state line. It was first spotted by Native Americans along the Trail of Tears, and debates continue on whether this is an extra-terrestrial occurrence or a manifestation of Indigenous spirits.