Route 66 lore flavors visits to St. Robert and Waynesville, where reminders of the fabled roadway captivate travelers seeking the romance of yesteryear
Being a fan of all things Route 66 and pumped up for the road’s centennial celebrations in 2026, I made a point of visiting St. Robert and Waynesville on my recent trip to central Missouri. Both Pulaski County towns are important stops for Route 66 aficionados looking to soak in some of the nostalgia associated with the famous east-west highway born in 1926.
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New Development Enhances St. Robert’s Route 66 Heritage
The big news in St. Robert is a project that will bring together some 15 neon signs that once stood at motels and other businesses along Route 66 in Missouri. St. Robert Route 66 Neon Park, an open-air museum set for completion this fall or next spring, will feature a storyboard and a historical photo for each restored sign. Installed among oak trees in an existing park along Historic Route 66, the vintage neon artifacts will be lit at night.
George M. Reed Roadside Park, with concrete picnic tables from another era, is the longest continuously operating roadside park along Missouri Route 66. Located in the median of Route 66, the city-owned park lies just south of Interstate 44, the superhighway that replaced the Mother Road in Missouri.
The park’s M-60 tank pays tribute to the region’s military heritage, as Fort Leonard Wood, the U.S. Army’s second largest training installation, is 1.5 miles away. The base has three free-admission museums open to the public—the U.S. Army Engineer Museum, U.S. Army Chemical Corps Museum and U.S. Army Military Police Corps Regimental Museum.
The Route 66 shield in downtown Waynesville makes a great photo op. (Randy Mink Photo)
Missouri’s Pulaski County Abounds with Route 66 Lore
Thirty-three miles of Historic Route 66 run through Pulaski County. The Pulaski County Tourism Bureau offers an illustrated driving tour brochure with turn-by-turn directions to 50-plus stops scattered among the Ozark landscapes. It can provide a step-on guide for bus tour groups.
One of the most scenic stops is Devils Elbow, a former resort community notable for its 200-foot limestone bluffs and 1923 steel truss bridge over the Big Piney River. By the bridge, the abandoned Elbow Inn (established in the late 1930s as the Moss Sandwich Shop) operated until 2019 and was known for its BBQ and a ceiling decorated with bras. The brochure points out the locations of motels, cafes, gas stations and many other businesses that flourished during 66’s heyday.
Route 66 Diner in St. Robert, Missouri serves up hearty American food with a dash of nostalgia. (Photo credit: Pulaski County Tourism Bureau)
The Route 66 Diner in St. Robert, though not original to old Route 66, dishes out the spirit of the famed highway that stretched 2,400 miles from Chicago to Los Angeles. Clad in shiny aluminum with a glass-block entrance, it serves comfort food favorites like meatloaf in molasses sauce and an open-face roast beef sandwich on Texas toast with mashed potatoes and gravy. The menu describes King Kong’s Chicken Fried Steak as “bigger than anything you’ve ever seen.” Oldies music from the jukebox, along with pictures of Marilyn Monroe, James Dean and Elvis Presley, bring back the ’50s.
Waynesville Preserves Its History and Small-Town Charm
Down the road in Waynesville, the 8-foot-tall Route 66 shield is the perfect selfie spot. It stands on the grounds of the 1903 Courthouse Museum, a former Pulaski County courthouse and now a repository of local history. Nearby, the Old Stagecoach Stop House Museum, which started as a stagecoach way station in the 1850s, is another trove of local treasures. The county’s oldest building, it served as a Civil War hospital and Route 66 hotel. Bus groups can be split up as they take turns touring the two museums.
Hoppers Pub, a group travel favorite on Historic Route 66 in Waynesville, Missouri. (Randy Mink Photo)
Hoppers Pub, across Historic 66 from the old and current courthouses, is decorated with Route 66 memorabilia and other antiques. On tap are 66 beers. A group buffet lunch and a speaker can be arranged.
The courthouse square neighborhood abounds with inviting specialty shops. Eclectic Originals Ozark Gift Boutique carries mostly Missouri-made products, from pottery, jewelry and corn-cob pipes to chocolates, coffee and craft sodas. Two doors down, Sweet Sam’s sells 20+ flavors of ice cream sweetened with honey. The Rocky Route 66 flavor blends chocolate honey ice cream with black walnuts, marshmallow and chocolate chunks. Across the street is Lost in the Woods Antiques & Collectibles.
A few blocks away in Laughlin Park, the Trail of Tears Memorial, a linear National Park Service installation spread along a paved path skirting Roubidoux Creek, features storyboards chronicling the forced migration of the Cherokee and other Indian nations from their Georgia homes to what is now Oklahoma. On the 800-mile journey in which people died of hunger, diseases and exhaustion, two detachments of Cherokee camped at Roubidoux Spring in the late 1830s. A recreational as well as a historical spot, the creek is stocked with brown and rainbow trout, and kids frolic in the water on warm days. The spring’s cavern attracts scuba divers from around the world.
Uranus Fudge Factory & General Store. (Randy Mink Photo)
Stop in St. Robert for Great Fudge and Barbecue
St. Robert is home to Uranus Fudge Factory & General Store, a wacky retail/amusement complex. Though Uranus was conceived long after the glory days of Route 66, its kitschy style mirrors earlier times when quirky roadside attractions lured motorists to pull over and look. The store sells not only Route 66 souvenirs and nostalgia candies but also signs, magnets and clothing with irreverent, silly, playful, even naughty sayings. Or perhaps you’re in the market for a coonskin cap, box of dried crickets, novelty pajamas, or Uranus-branded moonshine and craft soda.
Keeping in mind that the store’s signature item is fudge in 15 flavors, you’ll come away realizing that one particular phrase—emblazoned on T-shirts and other merchandise—sums up the whole shtick: “The Best Fudge Comes from Uranus.”
Other attractions at Uranus include mini golf, an ice cream shop and the Sideshow Museum’s collection of oddities. A London double-decker bus, giant green dinosaur, and vintage truck and police car provide fun photo ops. Also on the grounds is the World’s Largest Belt Buckle (10 by 13 feet), as certified by Guinness World Records.
With plenty of room for bus parking, Uranus makes a good comfort stop for groups traveling between Branson and St. Louis. For visits arranged in advance, the group’s host and driver each receive a free coffee or soft drink, plus a Uranus T-shirt and a half-pound of fudge.
In a humble stone building down the road from Uranus Fudge Factory resides Sweetwater BBQ, a must stop for barbecue lovers. Choose from chopped beef brisket, pulled pork, ham, turkey, sausage, chicken or ribs slathered with the house-made barbecue sauce (for sale in bottles). The sides are equally as tempting. I never had baked beans as good as their Hillbilly Beans, and I could have made a meal out of the tasty Fried Spuds, hand-cut potato slices. Top off your meal with carrot cake, a chocolate brownie or Mom’s Pecan Pie.
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Lead photo – The 1923 steel truss bridge at Devils Elbow is one of the most notable Route 66 landmarks in Pulaski County, Missouri. (Photo credit: Pulaski County Tourism Bureau)
