Auto trail

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Not to be confused with Autotrain.
For the British motorhome manufacturer, see Auto-Trail.
Auto trails
Auto trail markers for the Dixie Highway, the Lincoln Highway, and the Old Spanish Trail
Highway names
InterstatesInterstate X (I-X)
US HighwaysU.S. Route X (US X)
StateVaries by state

The system of auto trails was an informal network of marked routes that existed in the United States and Canada in the early part of the 20th century. Marked with colored bands on utility poles, the trails were intended to help travellers in the early days of the automobile.

Auto trails were usually marked and sometimes maintained by organizations of private individuals. Some, such as the Lincoln Highway, maintained by the Lincoln Highway Association, were well-known and well-organized, while others were the work of fly-by-night promoters, to the point that anyone with enough paint and the will to do so could set up a trail. Trails were not usually linked to road improvements, although counties and states often prioritized road improvements because they were on trails.

In the mid-to-late 1920s, the auto trails were essentially replaced with the United States Numbered Highway System. The Canadian provinces had also begun implementing similar numbering schemes.

Map

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1922 map of auto trails

List of auto trails

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Name North or east end South or west end U.S. Highways (approximate, based on 1926 plan and later additions) Notes Highway Marker
Albert Pike Highway Hot Springs, Arkansas Colorado Springs, Colorado US 270, US 64, US 183, US 154, US 50, US 85
Aroostook Trail Old Town, Maine Fairfield, Maine SR 100 (Maine), US 2
Arrowhead Trail Salt Lake City, Utah Los Angeles, California US 91 Served four states: Utah, Arizona, Nevada, California
Atlantic Highway Calais, Maine Miami, Florida US 1, US 25, US 17, US 1 Served DC and 14 states: Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida
Atlantic-Pacific Highway New York, New York Los Angeles, California US 1, US 211, US 15, US 33, US 60, US 52, US 460, US 50, US 54, US 70, US 60
Atlantic Yellowstone Pacific Highway Chicago, Illinois Sioux Falls, South Dakota US 20, US 218, US 18
Baltimore Pike Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Baltimore, Maryland
Bankhead Highway Washington, D.C. San Diego, California US 1, US 15, US 70, US 170, US 29, US 78, US 70, US 67, US 80
Bee Line Highway Chicago, Illinois New Orleans, Louisiana US 51 n/a
Ben Hur Highway St. Louis, Missouri Fort Dodge, Iowa
Black and Yellow Trail Chicago, Illinois Yellowstone National Park[where?] US 41, US 16, US 14, US 16, US 20

Blackhawk Highway Dixon, Illinois Beloit, Wisconsin Route 2 (Ill), US 51 n/a
Broadway Of America New York, New York San Diego, California US 80, SR 87 (Ariz), SR 84 (Ariz), US 80, US 67, US 70, US 41, US 70S, US 70, US 11W, US 11, US 211, US 1, US 40, US 13, US 1 Later addition auto trail, established in 1930. One alignment used SR 87 and SR 84 between Gila Bend and Tucson, another followed US 80 between both cities.[1][2] n/a
California-Banff Bee Line Los Angeles, California Cranbrook, British Columbia
Cannon Ball Route Chicago, Illinois Hannibal, Missouri
Capital Route Omaha, Nebraska Austin, Texas n/a
Chicago, Kansas City and Gulf Highway Chicago, Illinois Galveston, Texas
Colorado to Gulf Highway Denver, Colorado Galveston, Texas, and Brownsville, Texas US 85, US 385, US 370, US 81, US 181
Columbia River Highway Pendleton, Oregon Portland, Oregon US 30
Cooley Highway Grand Rapids, Minnesota Sisseton, South Dakota n/a
Cornhusker Highway Sioux City, Iowa Oklahoma City, Oklahoma n/a
Custer Battlefield Highway Omaha, Nebraska Glacier National Park, Montana US 75, US 16, US 116, US 87E, US 87
Dallas-Canadian-Denver Highway Boulder, Colorado Galveston, Texas US 85, US 50, US 83, US 70, US 77
Daniel Webster Highway Chartierville, Quebec Franconia, New Hampshire
Detroit-Lincoln-Denver Highway Detroit, Michigan Denver, Colorado US 12, US 32, US 38 n/a
Dixie Highway Chicago, Illinois, and Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan Miami, Florida Route 1 (Ill), US 136, US 31, SR 37 (Ind), US 150, US 31W
Dixie Bee Line Chicago, Illinois Nashville, Tennessee US 41, US 241 n/a
Dixie Overland Highway Savannah, Georgia San Diego, California US 80, US 84, US 380, US 366, US 80
Egyptian Trail Chicago, Illinois Cairo, Illinois, Illinois n/a
Electric Highway Forsyth, Montana Helena, Montana US 12, US 89 n/a
Evergreen National Highway Victoria, British Columbia El Paso, Texas US 99, US 10, US 97, US 410, US 95, US 30, US 30N, US 91, US 95, US 66 n/a
Florida Short Route n/a
French Lick Route Cincinnati, Ohio Evansville, Indiana US 50, SR 37 (Ind), US 150, SR 56 (Ind), US 231, and SR 62 (Ind) n/a
George Washington Memorial Highway Cambridge, Massachusetts Agawam, Massachusetts n/a
George Washington National Highway Savannah, Georgia Seattle, Washington n/a
Geysers-to-Glaciers Highway Glacier National Park, Montana Yellowstone National Park US 89, US 2, MT 213[3][4] n/a
Glacier to Gulf Motorway Calgary, Alberta Tampico, Tamaulipas n/a
Glacier Trail Seattle, Washington Jacksonville, Florida n/a
Grant Highway Chicago, Illinois Portland, Oregon US 20 n/a
Great Plains Road Portal, North Dakota Brownsville, Texas n/a
Great White Way Davenport, Iowa Council Bluffs, Iowa US 6 Also known as the White Pole Road n/a
International Peace Highway Québec, Québec, and Rouses Point, New York Laredo, Texas, and Mexico City n/a
Jackson Highway Chicago, Illinois New Orleans, Louisiana US 152, US 52, US 31, US 168, US 68, US 31, US 43, US 45, US 11
Jefferson Highway Winnipeg, Manitoba New Orleans, Louisiana US 59, US 2, US 71, US 10N, US 10, US 65, US 69, US 71/US 73E, US 73, US 75, US 69, US 67, US 271, US 80, US 171, US 71, US 61
Jefferson Davis National Highway Washington, D.C. San Diego, California US 1, SR 12 (Ga), US 29, US 80, US 43, US 90, US 96, US 277, US 90
King of Trails Winnipeg, Manitoba Galveston, Texas, and Brownsville, Texas US 75/US 81, US 75/US 77, US 75, US 73, US 73E, US 50, US 73W, US 75, US 77, US 81, US 181, US 96 n/a
Lackawanna Trail Binghamton, New York Delaware, New Jersey US 11,[5][unreliable source?] US 611[6][unreliable source?] n/a
Lakes to Gulf Highway Duluth, Minnesota Galveston, Texas n/a
Lakes-to-Sea Highway Atlantic City, New Jersey Erie, Pennsylvania US 30, US 120, US 22, US 322, US 19 n/a
Lee Highway Washington, D.C. San Diego, California US 1, US 211, US 11, US 72, US 70, US 366, US 80, US 180, US 80, US 101
Lewis and Clark Highway Missoula, Montana Lewiston, Idaho n/a
Liberty Highway New York, New York Cleveland, Ohio New Jersey 4, New Jersey 17, NY 17, NY 430, NY 394, US 20[7]
Lincoln Highway New York, New York San Francisco, California US 1, US 30, US 40, US 93, US 50, US 99, US 48
Logan-Lee Highway Rock Island, Illinois Paducah, Kentucky US 67, Route 3 (Ill) n/a
Lone Star Route Chicago, Illinois Lake Charles, Louisiana (earlier Brownsville, Texas) US 66, US 67, US 63, US 165 n/a
Lone Star Trail St. Augustine, Florida Los Angeles, California US 1, US 90, US 84, US 67, US 290, US 80, SR 86 (Ariz), US 80, SR 84 (Ariz), Maricopa–Casa Grande Highway (Ariz), Gila Bend–Maricopa Highway (Ariz), US 80 n/a
Magnolia Route n/a
Meridian Highway Winnipeg, Manitoba Mexico City US 81 n/a
Mississippi River Scenic Highway Winnipeg, Manitoba, and Port Arthur, Ontario Fort Myers, Florida, and Port Arthur, Texas US 75, US 2, US 71, US 10N, US 10, US 61, US 55, US 61, US 90; US 49E, US 49, US 98, US 90, US 19, US 41
Mississippi Valley Highway Ely, Minnesota, Minnesota Gulfport, Mississippi (earlier New Orleans, Louisiana) US 53, US 61, US 55, US 161, US 67, US 51, US 45, US 11, US 49 Earlier known as the Burlington Way n/a
National Old Trails Road Washington, D.C., and Baltimore, Maryland Los Angeles US 240/US 40, US 40, US 50N, US 50, US 350, US 85, US 70, US 66 Served DC and 12 states: Maryland, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Missouri, Kansas, Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona, California
National Park-to-Park Highway Loop connecting National Parks US 99, US 48, US 40, US 99E, US 99, US 10, US 195, US 95, US 2, US 87, US 87W, US 20, US 185, US 85, US 50, US 285, US 450, US 550, US 64, US 666, US 66
National Parks Highway Boston, Massachusetts, and New York, New York Seattle, Washington Also known as the Northwest Trail n/a
National Roosevelt Midland Trail Washington, D.C., and Newport News, Virginia (earlier Oyster Bay, New York) Los Angeles, California US 60, US 150, US 50, US 40, US 40N, US 40, US 40S, US 50, US 6 n/a
New Santa Fe Trail Kansas City, Missouri Los Angeles, California US 50, US 350, US 85, US 66 n/a
Old Oregon Trail Independence, Missouri Seaside, Oregon, and Olympia, Washington US 40, US 30, US 26, US 20, US 87E, US 30N, US 30 n/a
Old Spanish Trail St. Augustine, Florida San Diego, California US 1, US 90, US 80
Ozark Trail Kansas City, Missouri; Hannibal, Missouri; St. Louis, Missouri; and Memphis, Tennessee Denver, Colorado, Las Vegas, New Mexico, New Mexico, and El Paso, Texas n/a
Pacific Highway Vancouver, British Columbia San Diego, California US 99, US 40, US 101
Pershing Way Winnipeg, Manitoba New Orleans, Louisiana n/a
Pikes Peak Ocean to Ocean Highway New York, New York Los Angeles, California (earlier San Francisco, California) US 22, US 250, US 36, US 136, US 36, US 40N, US 40S, US 50, US 91 Also known as the Pershing Transport Route
Puget Sound-to-Gulf Highway n/a
Red Ball Route n/a
River-to-River Road Davenport, Iowa Council Bluffs, Iowa
Southern National Highway n/a
Southwest Trail Chicago, Illinois El Paso, Texas US 32, US 65, US 50S, US 81, US 160, US 281, US 60, US 366 n/a
Susquehanna Trail Buffalo, New York Washington, D.C. US 20, US 15, US 111/US 240
Theodore Roosevelt International Highway Portland, Maine Portland, Oregon US 302, US 2, US 11, US 104, US 23, US 2, US 95, US 195, US 295, US 410, US 30
Three C Highway Cleveland, Ohio Cincinnati, Ohio SR 3 (Ohio) n/a
Transprovincial Highway Ottawa, Ontario Toronto, Ontario Later Ontario Highway 2 and Ontario Highway 15 n/a
Victory Highway New York, New York San Francisco, California US 1, US 40, US 40S, US 83, US 40N, US 40
White River Trail Springfield, Missouri Ponca City, Oklahoma n/a
White-way 7 Highway Chicago, Illinois Omaha, Nebraska US 32 In Iowa, created from segments of the River to River Road from Davenport to Redfield, and the Great White Way from Dexter to Council Bluffs. n/a
William Penn Highway New York, New York Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania US 22
Yellowstone Highway Denver, Colorado Yellowstone National Park n/a
Yellowstone Trail Plymouth, Massachusetts Seattle, Washington US 20, US 30, US 41, US 110, US 10, US 212, US 12, US 10, US 195, US 295, US 410, US 97, US 10

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Jensen, Jeff (2013). Drive the Broadway of America!. Tucson: Bygone Byways. ISBN 9780978625900.
  2. ^ Broadway Of America (Map). 1:5,300,000. Washington, D.C.: American Automobile Association. 1932. Retrieved March 28, 2023.
  3. ^ Baranowski, Shelley; Furlough, Ellen (2001). Being Elsewhere: Tourism, Consumer Culture, and Identity in Modern Europe and North America. Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan Press. pp. 168–169.
  4. ^ Department of the Interior / National Park Service (1920). "Automobile Highway Information". Rules and Regulations Yellowstone National Park, 1920. Season June 20 to September 15. Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office. pp. 21–23.
  5. ^ Kitsko, Jeffrey. "US 11". Pennsylvania Highways. Self-published. Retrieved January 16, 2013.
  6. ^ Kitsko, Jeffrey. "US 611 (Decommissioned)". Pennsylvania Highways. Self-published. Retrieved January 16, 2013.
  7. ^ Johnston, R. J. (April 4, 1918). "The Liberty Highway: Touring and Driveaway Route Between Cleveland and New York". Motor Age. 33 (14): 72–75. Retrieved January 16, 2013.

Sources

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