Auto trail
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 telephone 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, though 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
| Name | North or east end | South or west end | U.S. Highways | Notes |
| 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 | Maine Route 100, US 2 | - |
| Arrowhead Trail | Salt Lake City, Utah | Los Angeles, California | US 91 | - |
| Atlantic Highway | Calais, Maine | Miami, Florida | US 1, US 25, US 17, US 1 | - |
| 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 | - |
| Ben Hur Highway | St. Louis, Missouri | Fort Dodge, Iowa | - | |
| Black and Yellow Trail | Chicago, Illinois | Yellowstone National Park | US 41, US 16, US 14, US 16, US 20 | - |
| Blackhawk Highway | Dixon, Illinois | Beloit, Wisconsin | IL 2, IL 251, US 51 | - |
| California-Banff Bee Line | - | |||
| Cannon Ball Route | Chicago, Illinois | Hannibal, Missouri | - | |
| Capital Route | Omaha, Nebraska | Austin, Texas | - | |
| 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 | - | |
| Cornhusker Highway | Sioux City, Iowa | Oklahoma City, Oklahoma | - | |
| Custer Battlefield Highway | Omaha, Nebraska | Glacier National Park | 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 | - |
| Dixie Highway | Chicago, Illinois and Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan | Miami, Florida | Illinois 1, US 136, US 31, Indiana 37, US 150, US 31W | - |
| Dixie Bee Line | Chicago, Illinois | Nashville, Tennessee | US 41, US 241 | - |
| Dixie Overland Highway | Savannah, Georgia | San Diego, California | US 80, US 84, US 380, US 366, US 80 | - |
| Egyptian Trail | Chicago, Illinois | Cairo, Illinois | - | - |
| Electric Highway | Forsyth, Montana | Helena, Montana | US 12, US 89 | - |
| 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 | |
| Florida Short Route | - | |||
| French Lick Route | Cincinnati, Ohio | Evansville, Indiana | US 50, State Road 37, US 150, State Road 56, US 231, and State Road 62 | - |
| George Washington Memorial Highway | Cambridge, Massachusetts | Agawam, Massachusetts | - | |
| George Washington National Highway | Savannah, Georgia | Seattle, Washington | - | |
| 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 | - |
| Glacier to Gulf Motorway | Calgary, Alberta | Tampico, Mexico | - | |
| Glacier Trail | Seattle, Washington | Jacksonville, Florida | - | |
| Grant Highway | Chicago, Illinois | Portland, Oregon | US 20 | - |
| Great Plains Road | Portal, North Dakota | Brownsville, Texas | - | |
| Great White Way | Davenport, Iowa | Council Bluffs, Iowa | US 6 | Also known as the White Pole Road |
| International Peace Highway | Quebec, Quebec and Rouses Point, New York | Laredo, Texas and Mexico City, Mexico | - | |
| 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, US 278, 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 | - |
| Lackawanna Trail | Binghamton, New York | Delaware, New Jersey | US 11, US 611 | - |
| Lakes to Gulf Highway | Duluth, Minnesota | Galveston, Texas | - | |
| Lakes-to-Sea Highway | Atlantic City, New Jersey | Erie, Pennsylvania | US 30, US 120, US 22, US 322, US 19 | - |
| Lee Highway | New York, New York | San Francisco, 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 | - | |
| 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 | - |
| 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, Illinois 3 | - |
| Lone Star Route | Chicago, Illinois | Lake Charles, Louisiana | US 66, US 67, US 63, US 165 | - |
| 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 | - |
| Magnolia Route | - | |||
| Meridian Highway | Winnipeg, Manitoba | Mexico City, Mexico | US 81 | - |
| 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 | Gulfport, Mississippi | US 53, US 61, US 55, US 161, US 67, US 51, US 45, US 11, US 49 | Earlier known as the Burlington Way |
| 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 | - |
| 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 | |
| National Roosevelt Midland Trail | Washington, D.C. and Newport News, Virginia | Los Angeles, California | US 60, US 150, US 50, US 40, US 40N, US 40, US 40S, US 50, US 6 | - |
| National White Way | - | |||
| New Santa Fe Trail | Kansas City, Mo. | Los Angeles | US 50, US 350, US 85, US 66 | - |
| Old Oregon Trail | Independence, Missouri | Seaside, Oregon and Olympia, Washington | US 40, US 30, US 26, US 20, US 87E, US 30N, US 30 | - |
| Old Spanish Trail | St. Augustine, Florida | San Diego, California | US 1, US 90, US 80 | - |
| Ozark Trails | Kansas City, Missouri, Hannibal, Missouri, St. Louis, Missouri, and Memphis, Tennessee | Denver, Colorado, Las Vegas, New Mexico, and El Paso, Texas | - | |
| Pacific Highway | Vancouver, British Columbia | San Diego, California | US 99, US 40, US 101 | - |
| Pershing Way | Winnipeg, Manitoba | New Orleans, Louisiana | - | |
| Pikes Peak Ocean to Ocean Highway | New York, New York | Los Angeles, 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 | - | |||
| Red Ball Route | - | |||
| River-to-River Road | Davenport, Iowa | Council Bluffs, Iowa | - | |
| Southern National Highway | - | |||
| Southwest Trail | Chicago, Illinois | El Paso, Texas | US 32, US 65, US 50S, US 81, US 160, US 281, US 60, US 366 | - |
| 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 | Ohio SR 3 | - |
| Transprovincial Highway | Ottawa | Toronto | Later Ontario Highway 2 and Ontario Highway 15 | |
| 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 | - | |
| 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. |
| William Penn Highway | New York, New York | Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania | US 22 | - |
| Yellowstone Highway | Denver, Colorado | Yellowstone National Park | - | |
| 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 | - |