Route 66 at 100: When the Mother Road Passed Through Santa Fe

In 2026, the “Mother Road” turns 100. When U.S. Route 66 was commissioned in 1926, it connected Chicago and Los Angeles—and for its first decade, it proudly passed through Santa Fe.

Travelers coming from the east across the high plains of New Mexico reached Santa Fe before turning south and west toward Albuquerque. After rolling into the capital—likely circling the Plaza, refueling, and perhaps spending the night—they would head down the rugged road toward La Bajada Hill. That descent, carved into a steep escarpment south of town, was legendary. Early motorists crept down in low gear, hugging tight switchbacks as they dropped toward the Rio Grande Valley and on to Albuquerque.

It was dramatic. It was scenic. It was slow.

By the mid-1930s, efficiency was becoming the name of the game. The Santa Fe detour added miles and time to a coast-to-coast journey. Communities along a more direct east–west line across central and eastern New Mexico saw opportunity. A straighter route would mean smoother travel—and new business for towns like Santa Rosa, Tucumcari, and Clovis.

But there was also politics swirling in the desert air.

A decade earlier, Governor Arthur T. Hannett had pushed to improve the road between Santa Fe and Albuquerque, seeking a more practical alignment that bypassed the punishing climb and descent at La Bajada. His efforts angered powerful political figures who had strong ties to Santa Fe. Old grudges lingered. When the chance arose in 1937 to officially reroute Route 66 onto a flatter, straighter alignment across eastern New Mexico, some contemporaries saw it as more than transportation reform—it felt like retribution.

Whether driven purely by practicality or nudged along by politics, the result was the same: Santa Fe was bypassed. The Mother Road shifted south, following a corridor that today parallels Interstate 40. Eastern New Mexico bloomed with neon motels and roadside diners, while the capital city quietly slipped off the main transcontinental artery.

And yet, Route 66 never fully disappeared from Santa Fe.

Fragments of the pre-1937 alignment remain—subtle curves in the road, old motor courts, and stories embedded in the city’s streets. At Santa Fe Discovery Walking Tours, our Route 66 walking tour traces that original path, bringing to life the decade when cross-country travelers reached Santa Fe first—before easing their way down La Bajada and onward toward California. And if you would like to actually experience parts of the unpaved original alignment between Santa Fe and La Bajada Hill in a vehicle, contact Santa Fe Mountain Adventures to arrange an off road adventure.

As the Mother Road marks its centennial, it’s worth remembering: highways shape fortunes. And for ten vivid years, Route 66 shaped Santa Fe.