A Brief History of The Yellowstone Trail
By Curt Cunningham

The Yellowstone Trail was the first transcontinental automobile highway to span the northern states, stretching from Plymouth, MA to Seattle, WA. This trail was pivotal in opening up Yellowstone National Park and the Pacific Northwest as accessible tourist destinations for motorists during a time when cross-country road travel was still in its infancy.

The idea for the highway originated with Joseph W. Parmley in Ipswich, South Dakota, on May 23, 1912. Parmley, a lawyer and early advocate for the Good Roads Movement, initially sought to build a quality road between Aberdeen and Mobridge, South Dakota, to facilitate local travel. However, his vision quickly grew as he recognized the potential of a transcontinental route.

The concept of "Good Roads" became a national movement during the early 20th century, driven by the rise of the automobile and the need for better road infrastructure. At that time, most roads were little more than dirt paths, impassable in bad weather, and there was no comprehensive system for building or maintaining roads.

Construction on the highway began on July 11, 1912, and by October, it had expanded to include Montana, with a road to Yellowstone National Park, thus giving the trail its name. The trail was strategically designed to follow the established rail lines of the Milwaukee Railroad to Cartersville, MT, and the Northern Pacific Railroad to Three Forks, Montana. Railroads played a crucial role in early highway development as their routes were well-engineered for topography and had already established towns along the way, providing gasoline and services to travelers—a critical need in the era before ubiquitous gas stations and motels.

By 1915, the route had expanded to incorporate existing roads between Chicago and Seattle, and by 1916, the Yellowstone Trail could officially promote a "good road" from Plymouth Rock to Puget Sound. This achievement came just as America's enthusiasm for long-distance automobile travel was growing. Henry Ford's Model T, introduced in 1908, made car ownership more affordable, and tourists sought new destinations. The Yellowstone Trail became one of the first organized efforts to meet this demand by offering motorists a well-mapped and maintained route through diverse landscapes, from farmlands and prairies to mountainous terrain.

In 1919, the route gained further national attention when Dwight D. Eisenhower, then a young army officer, participated in the Transcontinental Motor Convoy, which followed much of the route from Washington, D.C., to San Francisco. The convoy’s challenges on unpaved and rugged roads left a lasting impression on Eisenhower, influencing his later decision as president to champion the creation of the Interstate Highway System in the 1950s.

The route from Montana followed parts of the Old Mullan Road and the Milwaukee Railroad, passing through Coeur d’Alene, ID, and on to Spokane, WA. The stretch between Coeur d’Alene and Spokane became known as "Apple Way" due to the apple orchards planted along much of the route, symbolizing the region's agricultural heritage.

From Spokane to Seattle, the trail organizers debated two routes. The first was the Sunset Highway, a more direct route crossing the Columbia Plateau and traveling over Old Blewett Pass to Cle Elum and Snoqualmie Pass. The second, longer route, went south from Spokane to Walla Walla, then northwest through Yakima to Cle Elum. Initially, the longer route was chosen because Blewett Pass was not yet fully developed as a "good road." However, by 1925, improvements to Blewett Pass led the Yellowstone Trail Association to reroute the trail along the shorter Sunset Highway, saving motorists approximately 150 miles.

In the summer of 1916, the first organized publicity drive took place along the entire 3,700-mile length of the Yellowstone Trail. The journey, which would take about five days at an average speed of 31 miles per hour, was a monumental achievement in an era when cross-country travel was still a novelty. Parmley's vision of a transcontinental highway was realized, as this route became a symbol of early American infrastructure.

By the late 1920s, the name "Yellowstone Trail" began to fade, largely due to the Federal Highway Acts of 1916 and 1921, which significantly increased federal and state funding for highways. The federal government began designating highways by numbers, and the new U.S. Route System was established in 1926, replacing many named trails like the Yellowstone Trail. Route 10, for instance, followed much of the Yellowstone Trail through the northern states.

Despite the eventual decline in its prominence, the Yellowstone Trail left a lasting legacy in the history of American road travel. Today, towns along the original route are rediscovering this historic highway, with signs and markers designating sections of the trail. What began as a modest proposal in South Dakota has endured as an important chapter in the history of American road-building, symbolizing the early 20th century’s push toward a more connected nation.