Yellowstone Trail

[556063]

It's probably been 20 years since I discovered the road in front of my property was part of the 1912-1930 Yellowstone Trail Route. Long story short, I finally broke down and bought the 18x24 marker signs, had the utilities marked, bought a top grade metal sign post off eBay, and put the signs up last night. They say "Historic National Automobile Route" on them. The route was the brainchild of some in South Dakota and Wyoming to promote tourism to Yellowstone National Park from the East Coast.

Someone went along and spray painted in yellow, markers on telephone poles in our section about five years ago. A few property owners several miles West of me have also erected signs. One of the sections of County Road still bears the name in the next County. YT was one of the first attempts, after the National Road, to mark a transcontinental route. Even before the Lincoln Highway. Rather than go on and on, here's the association's website with tons of information:

http://www.yellowstonetrail.org/

[Hallabutt]

I can't believe that nobody has anything to say about this route. I understand the allure of Route 66, and the reason behind the hype, but the Yellowstone is older and much more scenic then R66. I have been on both routs, numerous times. I think that everyone should travel R66 at least once, but just because you do, don't think that you have seen the West. Traveling R66 just barely scratches the surface. When it comes to route choices, it shouldn't be either/or, it should be both.

[DieselJim]

When we go out to Arizona, we run R66 from the Ok. Mo. state line to Ok City to save tolls. The next time we go to Yellowstone, we will take that route. Have been to Yellowstone 3 times. Our favorite park along with Big Ben in Texas.

[556063]

I doubt there are many left who remember the Trail or even the Association. If you click through the learn section, you can stumble upon this page:

http://www.yellowstonetrail.org/page141.html

As the State and US route numbering system came about, the need for this type of route faded away. And, this is all 90+ years in the past!

I have watched a number of Pre-War cars tooling along both the Lincoln Highway which follows a path just to our north, and the Yellowstone right past our house. The Yellowstone Trail in Indiana follows what are now obscure county roads. The Lincoln Highway took two routes through Northern Indiana over it's history. What is now US 30 was the 1913 Route, and what is now US 20 through South Bend was part of the 1928 Route:

https://www.lincolnhighwayassoc.org/map/

In other states, it may not be so complicated. But given the jig-jag path of the Yellowstone, following what were the "best" roads back in that day, I felt putting the markers up would help preserve what has already passed with the people who would have remembered it around here. Route 66 is a cultural icon. These roads or mapped and marked trails were groundbreaking, but never got their own TV Show or any other form of romantic embellishment.