SWITCHBACKMOTO
Get the app
The Atlas/Illinois/Dixie Travel Plaza

Dixie Travel Plaza

Founded in 1928 by J.P. Walters and John Geske as a sandwich stand in a truck mechanic's garage on US Route 66, the Dixie Trucker's Home in McLean is one of the longest-operating truck stops in America. Located at 260 Dixie Rd (Route 136), McLean, IL 61754, off I-55 exit 145, it sits roughly halfway between Chicago and St. Louis. The Geske family ran it from 1928 to 2003; it survived a fire in 1965 and closed for only one day. Now operating as a full travel plaza, it remains a documented Route 66 landmark.

Illinois
Region
Food & fuel
Stop type
Standalone stop
Atlas
// Why riders stop

Documented Route 66 landmark operating for nearly 100 years. Midpoint fueling and food stop on the Chicago-to-St. Louis run. The historical marker on site commemorates 'A Home on the Road' — the truck stop's longstanding welcome to travelers.

// Rider photos

Shot by the riders who've run it.

Riders upload photos to their profile and tag the road or stop — tagged shots show up here automatically.

0 rider submissions
Sign in to add a photoUpload & tag from your profile
// Nearby & related
StopIllinois
Cahokia Mounds State Historic Site
Illinois
A UNESCO World Heritage Site at 30 Ramey St, Collinsville, IL 62234, eight miles east of downtown St. Louis off I-55/70 and I-255. The pre-Columbian city of Cahokia reached a population of nearly 20,000 around 1100 AD and covered 4,000 acres with roughly 120 earthen mounds. The 100-foot Monks Mound is the largest pre-Columbian earthwork north of Mexico. Grounds are free and open dawn to dusk daily. The Interpretive Center lobby (restrooms, gift shop, site model) is open Wednesday–Sunday, 9 am–3 pm.
StopIllinois
Cozy Dog Drive In
Illinois
A Route 66 institution open since 1949 at 2935 S 6th St, Springfield, IL 62703. Ed Waldmire Jr. invented the corn dog on a stick here in the early 1940s and named it the 'Cozy Dog.' The original drive-in moved to its current building in 1996 but has operated continuously on Route 66 ever since. The walls are covered in Route 66 memorabilia and old photographs. Open Monday through Saturday 8 am to 8 pm.
StopIllinois
Galena Historic Main Street
Illinois
Galena's Main Street curves through a remarkably preserved 19th-century downtown where over 85% of the city's buildings are on the National Register of Historic Places, including the Ulysses S. Grant Home at 511 Bouthillier St (coordinates 42.4112°N 90.4246°W). Named 'Best Main Street in the Midwest' by Midwest Living, the strip hosts galleries, antique shops, restaurants, and outfitters. Galena draws over 1.5 million visitors annually and sits at the gateway to the Driftless Area — the region's best riding terrain, including Blackjack Road, a 15-mile rural road that twists north toward Savanna with Mississippi River views.