auto trail

{{Short description|Historic type of marked roadway}}

{{Original research|date=December 2007}}

{{Multiple image

| header = 1922 map of auto trails

| width = 250

| image1 = Cram Transcontinental Highways of the United States 1922 UTA (left).jpg

| image2 = Cram Transcontinental Highways of the United States 1922 UTA (right).jpg

}}

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.

List of auto trails

{{inc-transport|date=August 2008}}

class="wikitable sortable"

!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

|

|n/a

Aroostook Trail

|Old Town, Maine

|Fairfield, Maine

|Maine Route 100, US 2

|

|n/a

Arrowhead Trail

|Salt Lake City, Utah

|Los Angeles, California

|US 91

|

|75px

Atlantic Highway

|Calais, Maine

|Miami, Florida

|US 1, US 25, US 17, US 1

|

|n/a

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

|

|n/a

Atlantic Yellowstone Pacific Highway

|Chicago, Illinois

|Sioux Falls, South Dakota

|US 20, US 218, US 18

|

|n/a

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

|

|

|n/a

Black and Yellow Trail

|Chicago, Illinois

|Yellowstone National Park

|US 41, US 16, US 14, US 16, US 20

|

|

75px

Blackhawk Highway

|Dixon, Illinois

|Beloit, Wisconsin

|IL 2, IL 251, US 51

|

|n/a

Broadway Of America

|New York City, New York

|San Diego, California

|US 80, Arizona 87, Arizona 84, 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 Arizona 87 and Arizona 84 between Gila Bend and Tucson, another followed US 80 between both cities.{{cite book |title=Drive the Broadway of America! |publisher=Bygone Byways |last=Jensen |first= Jeff |year=2013 |location=Tucson |isbn=9780978625900}}{{Cite map |title=Broadway Of America |publisher=American Automobile Association |scale=1:5,300,000 |location=Washington, D.C. |date=1932 |url=https://collections.leventhalmap.org/search/commonwealth:0r96fq392 |access-date=March 28, 2023}}

|n/a

California-Banff Bee Line

|

|

|

|

|n/a

Cannon Ball Route

|Chicago, Illinois

|Hannibal, Missouri

|

|

|n/a

Capital Route

|Omaha, Nebraska

|Austin, Texas

|

|

|n/a

Chicago, Kansas City and Gulf Highway

|Chicago, Illinois

|Galveston, Texas

|

|

|n/a

Colorado to Gulf Highway

|Denver, Colorado

|Galveston, Texas, and Brownsville, Texas

|US 85, US 385, US 370, US 81, US 181

|

|n/a

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

|US 75, US 16, US 116, US 87E, US 87

|

|n/a

Dallas-Canadian-Denver Highway

|Boulder, Colorado

|Galveston, Texas

|US 85, US 50, US 83, US 70, US 77

|

|n/a

Daniel Webster Highway

|Chartierville, Quebec

|Franconia, New Hampshire

|

|

|n/a

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

|Illinois 1, US 136, US 31, Indiana 37, 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

Egyptian Trail

|Chicago, Illinois

|Cairo, Illinois

|

|

|n/a

Electric Highway (Auto trail)

|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, State Road 37, US 150, State Road 56, US 231, and State Road 62

|

|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

|Yellowstone National Park

|US 89 W from West Yellowstone to Shelby, Montana; US 2 from Shelby to Cut Bank, Montana; and MT 213 from Cut Bank to the Canada–US border{{cite book |last1=Baranowski |first1=Shelley |last2=Furlough |first2=Ellen |title=Being Elsewhere: Tourism, Consumer Culture, and Identity in Modern Europe and North America |location=Ann Arbor, Mich. |publisher=University of Michigan Press |date=2001 |pages=168–169}}{{Cite book |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SfpBAAAAYAAJ&pg=RA9-PA21 |title=Rules and Regulations Yellowstone National Park, 1920. Season June 20 to September 15. |author=Department of the Interior / National Park Service |publisher=Government Printing Office |location=Washington, D.C. |date=1920 |language=en |chapter=Automobile Highway Information |pages=21–23}}

|

|n/a

Glacier to Gulf Motorway

|Calgary, Alberta

|Tampico, Mexico

|

|

|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

|Quebec, Quebec, and Rouses Point, New York

|Laredo, Texas, and Mexico City, Mexico

|

|

|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, US 278, US 29, US 80, US 43, US 90, US 96, US 277, US 90

|

|75px

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,{{Cite web |last= Kitsko |first= Jeffrey |title= US 11 |url= http://www.pahighways.com/us/US11.html |work= Pennsylvania Highways |publisher= Self-published |access-date= January 16, 2013}}{{unreliable source?|date=January 2013}} US 611{{Cite web |last= Kitsko |first= Jeffrey |title= US 611 (Decommissioned) |url= http://www.pahighways.com/us/decommissioned/US611.html |work= Pennsylvania Highways |publisher= Self-published |access-date= January 16, 2013}}{{unreliable source?|date=January 2013}}

|

|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 DC

|San Diego, California

|US 1, US 211, US 11, US 72, US 70, US 366, US 80, US 180, US 80, US 101

|

|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, New York 17, New York 430, New York 394, US 20{{Cite journal |last= Johnston |first= R. J. |title= The Liberty Highway: Touring and Driveaway Route Between Cleveland and New York |journal= Motor Age |date= April 4, 1918 |volume= 33 |issue= 14 |pages= 72–75 |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=vVgfAQAAMAAJ |access-date= January 16, 2013}}

|

|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, Illinois 3

|

|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, Arizona 86, US 80, Arizona 84, Maricopa–Casa Grande Highway (Arizona), Gila Bend–Maricopa Highway (Arizona), US 80

|

|n/a

Magnolia Route

|

|

|

|

|n/a

Meridian Highway

|Winnipeg, Manitoba

|Mexico City, Mexico

|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

|

|75px

Mississippi Valley Highway

|Ely, 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, California

|US 240/US 40, US 40, US 50N, US 50, US 350, US 85, US 70, US 66

|

|75px

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

|

|75px

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, Mo.

|Los Angeles

|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 Trails

|Kansas City, Missouri, Hannibal, Missouri, St. Louis, Missouri, and Memphis, Tennessee

|Denver, Colorado, Las Vegas, New Mexico, and El Paso, Texas

|

|

|n/a

Pacific Highway

|Vancouver, British Columbia

|San Diego, California

|US 99, US 40, US 101

|

|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

|Ohio SR 3

|

|n/a

Transprovincial Highway

|Ottawa

|Toronto

|

|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

|

|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

References

{{refbegin}}

  • {{Cite book |author= American Automobile Association |author-link= American Automobile Association |publisher= American Automobile Association |url= https://archive.org/details/highwaysgreenbo00assogoog |title= Highways Green Book |year= 1922 |edition= 3rd |location= Washington, DC |pages= [https://archive.org/details/highwaysgreenbo00assogoog/page/n436 418]–20}}
  • {{Cite map |publisher= Automobile Club of America and National Highways Association |url= http://alabamamaps.ua.edu/historicalmaps/unitedstates/1900.html |title= United States Touring Map |year= 1924}}
  • {{Cite map |publisher= Clason Map Company |url= https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/infrastructure/midgetmap.cfm |title= Midget Map of the Transcontinental Trails of the United States |year= 1923}}
  • {{Cite map|publisher=Clason Map Company |url=http://usautotrails.com/ClasonsPage/ |title=Touring Atlas of the United States |year=1925 }}{{dead link|date=October 2016 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}
  • {{Cite map |publisher= Rand McNally |title= Auto Road Atlas |year= 1926 |url= http://www.broermapsonline.org/members/}}

{{refend}}

{{Reflist}}