Route 66 in Illinois: Chicago to the Chain of Rocks Bridge
Nine stops from Lou Mitchell's in Chicago to the Chain of Rocks Bridge and its 22-degree bend over the Mississippi.
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Which app tells you Route 66's history as you drive?
Autio plays short stories in all eight states, and your first 5 are free. In Arizona, GuideAlong has 340+ audio points from $26.66, and Action Tour Guide 145+ stories at $24.99 a car. Stories covers Illinois and Arizona at $4.99 a drive, and stop 1 plays free. To stay on the historic road, Route 66 Navigation gives turn-by-turn directions. UCPlaces sells a first-day drive out of Chicago as well. What we say about the other five comes from their own sites and App Store listings on November 10, 2026, linked at the bottom; Stories is our own app.
Stories is only worth it on the two stretches we cover, Chicago to the Mississippi and the Painted Desert to Oatman. Anywhere else on the road, pick one of the others.
What does each app play, and on which stretch?
Autio covers the whole road a few minutes at a time. GuideAlong, Action Tour Guide and Stories sell set drives along parts of it, and Route 66 Navigation is for finding the road rather than hearing about it.
| App | What you get | Which stretch | Price | Offline | App Store (US) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Autio | Stories of 2 to 3 minutes that play by GPS as you pass places, some read by Kevin Costner or John Lithgow | All eight states | First 5 stories free, then a plan, from $14.99 for 14 days to $69.99 for 3 years | Its listing mentions downloads | 4.8 from 4,260 ratings |
| GuideAlong | 340+ audio points across Arizona, with the turns told in the narration. It was made with the Historic Route 66 Association of Arizona | Arizona, 300+ miles from Petrified Forest to Topock | From $26.66 | Yes | 4.9 from 16,360 ratings |
| Action Tour Guide | 145+ stories across Arizona, with directions as you reach each place | Arizona, 326+ miles from near Sanders to Topock | $24.99 per car | Yes, after you download it | 4.8 from 11,819 ratings |
| UCPlaces | The first of its day-by-day drives, 14 stops with directions between them. Its tour creator is listed as "UCPlaces AI", and it works with CarPlay and Android Auto | Chicago to Springfield, Missouri, 471.6 miles | $15.00 | Its page says you need a signal to download it, and doesn't mention offline | 3.0 from 42 ratings |
| Route 66 Navigation | Turn-by-turn directions on the historic road, both ways, on your phone or CarPlay, and 1,300+ places described by the author Jim Hinckley. The voice gives directions, not stories | Chicago to Santa Monica | Free to browse; navigation $17.99 to $19.99 for 7 days or $35.99 to $39.99 a year | Yes | 2.8 from 203 ratings |
| Stories (ours) | Two drives, with a story of about 3 minutes at each stop that plays by GPS as you arrive | Illinois, 299 miles from Chicago to the Chain of Rocks Bridge; Arizona, 322 miles from the Painted Desert Inn to Oatman | $4.99 a drive for your group, on up to 4 phones; stop 1 free in your browser | Yes, in the iPhone app | 5.0 from 2 ratings |
Prices in US dollars on each company's own page or US App Store listing on November 10, 2026, before any sale. Autio's App Store page counts 20,000+ stories in all and its own site 25,000+. Ratings are for each whole app.
How do the three Arizona drives differ?
Three of these apps sell a drive across Arizona. GuideAlong and Action Tour Guide tell you far more along the way; ours costs $4.99 and lets you hear the first stop before you pay.
| GuideAlong | Action Tour Guide | Stories | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | From $26.66 | $24.99 per car | $4.99 for your group, on up to 4 phones |
| What you hear | 340+ audio points, with directions | 145+ stories; its FAQ says 140+ segments of 2 to 5 minutes | 7 stories of about 3 minutes |
| The route | Petrified Forest National Park to Topock, 300+ miles, either way | Near Sanders (I-40 exit 303) to Topock, one way, 326+ miles | The Painted Desert Inn to Oatman, 322 miles |
| How long | 2 days for the highlights, 3 to 4 to explore, it suggests | 2 to 3 days, or 5 to 6 hours of driving | About 8 hours of driving and listening, before you stop anywhere |
| Try it first | An audio preview on the tour page | Its tour page has a preview section | Stop 1 plays free in your browser |
Ours ends at Oatman and leaves out the last miles to the California line that both of the others drive.
What's on the Stories drive through Illinois?
Nine stops over 299 miles, about 7 hours 42 minutes with the driving, from the diner where the road began to the bridge over the Mississippi, as the tour page listed them on November 10, 2026.
| Stop | Where | The story | Drive from the last stop |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lou Mitchell's, Chicago | The Diner That Was Here First (free, 2 minutes 38 seconds) | Start here |
| 2 | Old Joliet Prison | The Prisoners Who Built Their Own Walls | 67 minutes |
| 3 | Gemini Giant, Wilmington | The Astronaut Who Got Bought Back | 34 minutes |
| 4 | Ambler's Texaco Gas Station, Dwight | Sixty-Six Years at the Pumps | 38 minutes |
| 5 | Odell Standard Oil Station | The Add-On That Saved Odell's Station | 14 minutes |
| 6 | Funks Grove | The Grove the Prairie Fires Missed | 79 minutes |
| 7 | Cozy Dog Drive In, Springfield | The Hot Dog That Needed a Better Name | 80 minutes |
| 8 | Ariston Cafe, Litchfield | The Cafe That Chased the Highway | 56 minutes |
| 9 | Chain of Rocks Bridge | The Bridge That Changed Its Mind Midstream | 67 minutes |
What's on the Stories drive through Arizona?
Seven stops over 322 miles, about 8 hours with the driving, from a pueblo-style inn on the Painted Desert to a gold-rush town where burros walk Main Street.
| Stop | Where | The story | Drive from the last stop |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Painted Desert Inn | The Inn That Was Ordered Torn Down (free, 2 minutes 54 seconds) | Start here |
| 2 | Wigwam Motel, Holbrook | A Motel Paid For in Dimes | 40 minutes |
| 3 | Standin' on the Corner Park, Winslow | Two Songwriters, One Corner in Winslow | 41 minutes |
| 4 | Meteor Crater | The Man Who Mined a Missing Meteorite | 43 minutes |
| 5 | Seligman | The Barber Who Brought the Road Back | 151 minutes |
| 6 | Hackberry General Store | The Store With No Off-Ramp | 82 minutes |
| 7 | Oatman | The Town That Gold Built, Burros Kept | 100 minutes |
Stop 1 ends by telling you where to drive next and how far, about 28 miles to Holbrook. The app shows the route on a map, but it doesn't speak turn-by-turn directions.
Where do the other apps go further?
- The whole road
Autio has stories in all eight states and Route 66 Navigation runs from Chicago to Santa Monica. We cover two of the eight states.
- More to hear
GuideAlong's Arizona drive has 340+ audio points and Action Tour Guide's 145+ stories. Ours has 7, one at each big stop.
- Staying on the old road
Route 66 Navigation speaks turn-by-turn directions along the historic road, westbound or eastbound.
- Your car's screen
Route 66 Navigation shows its directions on CarPlay, UCPlaces works with CarPlay and Android Auto, and GuideAlong and Action Tour Guide play their audio through CarPlay. Stories doesn't work with CarPlay or Android Auto yet.
- Years of reviews
GuideAlong has 16,360 App Store ratings and Action Tour Guide 11,819. Ours has 2 so far.
Our two Route 66 drives, and three more
Illinois and Arizona on the old road, then Skyline Drive, the 17-Mile Drive and Gettysburg. Play the first stop of any of them to hear how ours sound.
Stop 1 is free, no sign-up. The whole tour is $4.99 for your group, on up to 4 phones.
Route 66 in Arizona: Painted Desert to Oatman
Seven stops from the Painted Desert Inn to Oatman, with the 1950 Wigwam Motel in Holbrook and the Winslow corner from a 1972 Eagles hit.
Skyline Drive Through Shenandoah
Six stops from Dickey Ridge at mile 4.6 to Lewis Mountain, opened in 1939 as the park's area for Black visitors.
17-Mile Drive: Pacific Grove to Pebble Beach
Seven stops from the Pacific Grove Gate to Pebble Beach Golf Links, opened in 1919, with Bird Rock and the Lone Cypress between.
Gettysburg Battlefield Driving Tour
Nine stops from McPherson Ridge, where Buford's cavalry held on July 1, 1863, to Soldiers' National Cemetery and its 979 unknowns.
Read next: Shaka Guide alternatives, for scenic drives and national parks · Gifts for a road trip · Self-guided audio tour apps compared.
Questions people ask
What is the best app for driving Route 66?
For stories along the whole road, Autio. For a long, detailed drive across Arizona, GuideAlong or Action Tour Guide. To stay on the historic road, Route 66 Navigation. And for Illinois or Arizona at $4.99 a drive, Stories, with stop 1 free in your browser.
Is there an audio tour of Route 66?
Yes, for parts of it. GuideAlong, Action Tour Guide and Stories each sell an Arizona drive, Stories and UCPlaces have drives out of Chicago, and Autio plays short stories along the whole road.
Is Autio free?
Your first 5 stories are free. After that it sells plans, from $14.99 for 14 days to $69.99 for 3 years in the US App Store on November 10, 2026.
What happened to HearHere?
Its old website, hearhere.com, now forwards to autio.com, as it did when we checked on November 10, 2026.
Do these apps work without a signal?
GuideAlong, Action Tour Guide and Route 66 Navigation say they do once you download, and Stories does in the iPhone app. Download before you set out.
How long does it take to drive Route 66 across Arizona?
GuideAlong suggests 2 days for the highlights and 3 to 4 to explore. Action Tour Guide counts 5 to 6 hours of driving. Our Arizona drive, 322 miles from the Painted Desert Inn to Oatman, takes about 8 hours with the stories before you stop anywhere.
Where these facts come from
- autio.com: Route 66 audio tour (all eight states, June 9, 2026)
- Autio on the App Store (free stories, plans)
- hearhere.com (now forwards to autio.com)
- guidealong.com: Arizona's Route 66 audio driving tour
- guidealong.com: FAQ (free tours, phones, CarPlay and Android Auto)
- GuideAlong on the App Store
- actiontourguide.com: Arizona Route 66 audio tour
- Action Tour Guide on the App Store
- ucplaces.com: Route 66 driving audio tour, Day 1, Chicago to Springfield, Missouri
- UCPlaces on the App Store
- Route 66 Navigation on the App Store (directions, places, prices)
- Stories: Route 66 in Illinois (stops, miles, hours)
- Stories: Route 66 in Arizona (stops, miles, hours)
- Stories on the App Store
- Stories: support (phones per purchase, refunds)
Checked November 10, 2026. Prices, catalogs and ratings change: check each app before you buy. Spot something wrong or out of date? Tell us at support@winding.ai and we'll fix it.