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
List of auto trails
<!--please verify before adding one that it was actually an auto trail-->
<!--old termini are only shown if it was truncated or realigned, not simply extended-->
<!-- Here's the site where you can find clean shields for the various autotrails that existed:
https://www.americanroads.us/autotrailslist.html -->
{| class="wikitable sortable"
!Name
!class="unsortable"|North or east end<!--placing this first because that's how they were generally listed; people wanted to go from the Northeast to other places-->
!class="unsortable"|South or west end
!class="unsortable"|U.S. Highways (approximate, based on 1926 plan and later additions)
!class="unsortable"|Notes
!class="unsortable"|Highway Marker
|-
|Albert Pike Highway
|Hot Springs, Arkansas
|Colorado Springs, Colorado
|US 270, US 64, US 183, US 154, US 50, US 85
|
|75px
|-
|Aroostook Trail
|Old Town, Maine
|Fairfield, Maine
|SR 100 (Maine), US 2
|
|75px
|-
|Arrowhead Trail
|Salt Lake City, Utah
|Los Angeles, California
|US 91
|Served four states: Utah, Arizona, Nevada, California
|75px
|-
|Atlantic Highway
|Calais, Maine
|Miami, Florida
|US 1<!--shown via Wilmington on 1924 map – is this correct?-->, 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
|75px
|-
|Atlantic-Pacific Highway
|New York, New York
|Los Angeles, California
|US 1<!--shown via Wilmington on 1924 map – is this correct?-->, US 211, US 15, US 33, <!--SR 42, -->US 60, US 52, <!--Cincinnati to Jasper, -->US 460, US 50, US 54, US 70, US 60<!--later realignment/extension-->
|
|75px
|-
|Atlantic Yellowstone Pacific Highway
|Chicago, Illinois
|Sioux Falls, South Dakota
|US 20, US 218, US 18
|
|75px
|-
|Baltimore Pike
|Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
|Baltimore, Maryland
|
|
|75px
|-
|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
|
|75px
|-
|Bee Line Highway
|Chicago, Illinois
|New Orleans, Louisiana
|US 51
|
|n/a
|-
|Ben Hur Highway
|St. Louis, Missouri
|Fort Dodge, Iowa
|
|
|75px
|-
|Black and Yellow Trail
|Chicago, Illinois
|Yellowstone National Park<!-- Which state is the western terminus located in? -->
|US 41, US 16, US 14, US 16, US 20
|
|
75px
|-
|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.
|n/a
|-
|California-Banff Bee Line
|Los Angeles, California
|Cranbrook, British Columbia
|
|
|75px
|-
|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
|
|
|75px
|-
|Colorado to Gulf Highway
|Denver, Colorado
|Galveston, Texas, and Brownsville, Texas
|US 85, US 385, US 370, US 81, US 181
|
|75px
|-
|Columbia River Highway
|Pendleton, Oregon
|Portland, Oregon
|US 30
|
|75px
|-
|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
|
|75px
|-
|Dallas-Canadian-Denver Highway
|Boulder, Colorado
|Galveston, Texas
|US 85, US 50, US 83, US 70, US 77
|
|75px
|-
|Daniel Webster Highway
|Chartierville, Quebec
|Franconia, New Hampshire
|
|
|75px
|-
|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
|
|75px
|-
|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
|
|75px 75px
|-
|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<!--then how?-->
|
|n/a
|-
|Florida Short Route
|
|
|
|
|n/a
<!--|-
|Fort Smith, Pauls Valley & Wichita Falls Highway
|
|commenting this out because I can find VERY little about it, even though it's on the 1924 map-->
|-
|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
|<!--shown on the midget map, but not sure how it went-->
|
|n/a
|-
|Geysers-to-Glaciers Highway
|Glacier National Park, Montana
|Yellowstone National Park
|US 89, US 2, MT 213
|
|n/a
|-
|Glacier to Gulf Motorway
|Calgary, Alberta
|Tampico, Tamaulipas
|<!--not all shown on the 1924 map-->
|
|n/a
|-
|Glacier Trail
|Seattle, Washington<!--but shown to Vancouver on the 1924 map-->
|Jacksonville, Florida
|<!--US 10, US 195, US 95, US 2, US 52, US 10, looks like there were several branches-->
|
|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
|
|75px
|-
|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
|
|75px
|-
|Jefferson Davis National Highway
|Washington, D.C.
|San Diego, California
|US 1, SR 12 (Ga)<!-- US 278 did not exist at that time. -->, US 29, US 80, US 43, <!--not shown through Mississippi/Louisiana-->US 90, US 96, <!--SH 72 etc. to Eagle Pass-->US 277, US 90<!--not shown beyond Texas-->
|
|75px
|-
|King of Trails
|Winnipeg, Manitoba
|Galveston, Texas, and Brownsville, Texas<!--1922 list says Galveston; 1924 map says Brownsville, but the map actually labels both routes; 1926 Rand McNally shows both-->
|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, US 611
|
|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.<!--Washington, D.C. in 1922-->
|San Diego, California<!--San Diego, California in 1922-->
|US 1, US 211, US 11, US 72, US 70, US 366, US 80, US 180, US 80, US 101
|
|75px 75px 75px
|-
|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
|
|75px
|-highway "rock island" Paducah, Kentucky
|Lincoln Highway
|New York, New York
|San Francisco, California
|US 1, US 30, US 40, US 93, US 50, US 99, US 48
|
|75px
|-
|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)<!--Brownsville on 1922 list; truncated to Lake Charles on 1924 map and 1926 Rand McNally-->
|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<!--then how??-->
|
|n/a
|-
|Magnolia Route
|
|
|
|
|n/a
|-
|Meridian Highway
|Winnipeg, Manitoba
|Mexico City<!--Laredo, Texas in 1922-->
|US 81
|
|n/a
|-
|Mississippi River Scenic Highway
|Winnipeg, Manitoba, and Port Arthur, Ontario
|Fort Myers, Florida,<!--Tampa, Florida in 1922--> and Port Arthur, Texas<!--New Orleans, Louisiana in 1922--><!--other endpoints also shown on the 1924 map – huh?-->
|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
|
|75px
|-
|Mississippi Valley Highway
|Ely, Minnesota, Minnesota<!--Duluth, Minnesota in 1922-->
|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
|75px
|-
|National Park-to-Park Highway
|colspan="2"|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
|
|75px
|-
|National Parks Highway
|Boston, Massachusetts, and New York, New York<!--the actual 1924 map shows it only west of Chicago-->
|Seattle, Washington
|
|Also known as the Northwest Trail
|n/a
|-
|National Roosevelt Midland Trail<!--"Roosevelt National Highway (Midland Trail) in 1922-->
|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
|
|75px
|-
|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
|US 60, US 63, US 66
|
|n/a
|-
|Pacific Highway
|Vancouver, British Columbia
|San Diego, California
|US 99, US 40, US 101
|
|75px 75px
|-
|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
|75px75px
|-
|Puget Sound-to-Gulf Highway
|
|
|
|
|n/a
|-
|Red Ball Route
|
|
|
|
|n/a
|-
|River-to-River Road
|Davenport, Iowa
|Council Bluffs, Iowa
|
|
|75px
|-
|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
|
|75px 75px
|-
|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
|
|75px
|-
|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<!--1924 map doesn't show if it's via Wilmington or not-->, US 40, US 40S, US 83, US 40N, US 40
|
|75px
|-
|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
|
|75px
|-
|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
|
|75px
|}
See also
- U.S. Highway association
References
Sources
External links
- North American Auto Trails
- Richard F. Weingroff, From Names to Numbers: The Origins of the U.S. Numbered Highway System