National auto trail

The system of National 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. It has been said 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 1926, the National Auto Trails were replaced in the United States with the Congressionally-sanctioned system of numbered United States highways. Similar numbering schemes had begun to be implemented in the Canadian provinces as well.

List of National Auto Trails

• Bankhead Highway
• Boston Post Road
• Columbia River Highway
• Conners Highway
• Cumberland Road
• Dixie Highway
• Jefferson Highway
• Jefferson Davis Highway
• John Anderson Highway
• Lee Highway
• Lincoln Highway
• Midland Trail
• National Old Trails Highway
• Ozark Trail
• Pan American Highway
• Seminole Trail

See Also

• United States highway
• List of United States Highways

Sources and external links

• North American Auto Trails

See also: National auto trail, 1926, 20th century, Automobile, Bankhead Highway, Boston Post Road, Canada, Columbia River Highway