Ten old Cadillacs, nose-down in a cow pasture, tail fins pointed at the sky and coated in about a thousand layers of spray paint. It sounds like something you’d dream up on a long drive, but it’s real, it’s free, and it’s been drawing road-trippers to Amarillo for more than 50 years.
This year Route 66 is marking its 100th birthday, so there’s no better time to pair a stop at Cadillac Ranch with a slow cruise down Amarillo’s stretch of the Mother Road. Amarillo is the seat of Potter County (the city spills into Randall County, too) and sits about 5.5 hours northwest of Dallas–Fort Worth and about 2 hours north of Lubbock.
The story behind Cadillac Ranch
Cadillac Ranch went up in 1974, when Amarillo businessman Stanley Marsh 3 teamed up with a San Francisco art collective called the Ant Farm. The result was a row of tail-finned Cadillacs buried nose-first at the same angle in a line across a field — a tribute to the big-car era of the American highway.
In 1997 the whole installation was dug up and moved a couple of miles farther west, away from the city’s growth. Today it sits in a field along the I-40 frontage road west of town, and Visit Amarillo lists it at the top of its Texas Route 66 must-sees.
How a visit works
There’s no ticket booth, no gift shop and no set hours. You pull off on the frontage road, park along the shoulder, step through a gate, and walk a couple hundred yards across the pasture to the cars. Plan on 30 minutes or so for photos, longer if you want to paint.
Painting is the whole point for many visitors. Bring a can or two of spray paint and add your own mark; it will almost certainly be painted over by the next visitors within hours, which is part of the fun. A few practical tips:
- Wear old shoes. The path across the field gets muddy after rain or snow, and the ground around the cars is caked with paint.
- Pack out your empty cans. Leave the pasture as clean as you found it.
- Go early or near sunset. Light is softer, and crowds tend to be smaller in the morning.
- Watch the traffic. You’re parking beside a busy frontage road, so keep kids close getting in and out of the car.
Route 66 on Sixth Avenue
From Cadillac Ranch, head back into town to the Route 66 Historic District on SW 6th Avenue. It runs about a mile between Georgia and Western streets and was one of Amarillo’s earliest business and residential districts. Today it’s lined with antique malls, vintage shops, galleries, cafes, breweries and live-music spots.
A couple of landmarks stand out. The Nat began in the 1920s as an indoor swimming pool, later became a big-band dance hall and concert venue, and now houses an antiques market. And the GoldenLight Cafe & Cantina is billed by Visit Amarillo as the longest continuously operating restaurant on Route 66 — a fitting place for a burger after a morning in the paint fumes. Check hours before you go, as many shops on the street keep their own schedules.
The Big Texan and the 72-ounce challenge
No Amarillo Route 66 trip is complete without at least driving past the Big Texan Steak Ranch, on I-40 on the east side of town. Like Cadillac Ranch, it moved from its original Route 66 location out to the interstate. It’s famous for the 72-ounce steak challenge: finish the whole meal in an hour and it’s free. Most folks are happy to just watch someone else try.
Making it a Panhandle weekend
Amarillo works well as a base for a longer trip. Palo Duro Canyon State Park is about half an hour southeast, and fall is a fine time to go. Following Route 66 west from Amarillo also takes you toward the Midpoint Cafe, which sits near the halfway mark of the old Chicago-to-Los Angeles route (call ahead for hours), if you want to add a little more old road to your day. And if you’ve caught the fair-food bug, our State Fair of Texas guide has you covered closer to home.
Good to Know
- Where: Cadillac Ranch is along the I-40 frontage road west of Amarillo (13651 I-40 Frontage Rd. is the commonly used address).
- Hours: No set hours; it’s an open field you can visit anytime.
- Cost: Free. Bring your own spray paint.
- Parking: Along the frontage road shoulder; short walk across a pasture.
- Route 66 Historic District: SW 6th Avenue between Georgia and Western streets, about a mile long.
- Plan for: Mud after rain and strong Panhandle wind.
Hours, dates and prices can change. Check the Visit Amarillo Route 66 page before you head out.
Cadillac Ranch is goofy, colorful and a little bit wonderful — the kind of stop that turns a long drive into a story. Grab a can of paint, add your mark, and then go find a booth on Sixth Avenue to celebrate a hundred years of the Mother Road.
Featured photo: scott1346 from Mechanicsville, MD, USA via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0.
