There are many historic trails and roads in the United States which were important to the settlement and development of the United States including those used by American Indians.

The lists below include only those routes in use prior to the creation of the American Highway System in 1926. Many more local routes are discussed at entries for the relevant town.

Settlement routes Albany Post Road, in use by 1642, from Bowling Green to Albany, New York; called "Broadway" for long stretches Bozeman Trail from Virginia City, Montana, to central Wyoming California Road established 1849, from Fort Smith, Arkansas, to California California Trail from Missouri to California. Carolina Road from Roanoke, Virginia, on the Great Wagon Road through the Piedmont to Augusta, Georgia. Cherokee Trail along the Arkansas River from the Indian Territory to Wyoming. Coushatta-Nacogdoches Trace (or Natchitoches) El Camino Real (California), from Mission San Diego de Alcalá in San Diego to Mission San Francisco Solano in Sonoma El Camino Real de Tierra Adentro El Camino Viejo Farm Highway completed 1696, from Boston Post Road Stratford, Connecticut, to Nichols, Connecticut.A History of the Old Town of Stratford and the City of Bridgeport, Connecticut, Reverend Samuel Orcutt, Fairfield County Historical Society, 1886, Vol. II, page 1039 Federal Road (Cherokee lands) from Athens, Georgia to Chattanooga and Knoxville, Tennessee Federal Road (Creek lands) from Fort Wilkinson (close to Milledgeville, Georgia, to Fort Stoddert (close to Mobile, Alabama) Forbes Road established 1759, from Fort Pitt, Pennsylvania to Fort Bedford, Pennsylvania Gaines Trace in the Mississippi Territory from near Muscle Shoals, Alabama, on the Tennessee River to Cotton Gin Port, Mississippi, on the upper Tombigbee River and on to Fort Stoddert on the lower Tombigbee Great Wagon Road (Pennsylvania Wagon Road) from Pennsylvania to Georgia Jackson's Military Road from Nashville, Tennessee to New Orleans, Louisiana Memphis to Little Rock Road, from Memphis, Tennessee, to Little Rock, Arkansas Mormon Trail Mullan Road from Fort Benton, Montana, to Walla Walla, Washington Natchez Trace National Road (Cumberland Road), from Cumberland, Maryland, to Vandalia, Illinois Oregon Trail Old Spanish Trail from Santa Fe, Nuevo México, to Alta California. Old Wire Road, from St. Louis, Missouri, to Fort Smith, Arkansas San Antonio-El Paso Road, from San Antonio to El Paso in Texas. Santa Fe Trail Siskiyou Trail Southern Emigrant Trail Southwest Trail, from St. Louis, Missouri, to Texarkana, Texas Stockton - Los Angeles Road, from Stockton to Los Angeles in California Territorial Road of Michigan, from Detroit west to St. Joseph and Lake Michigan Wilderness Road (Wilderness Trail) scouted by Daniel Boone from the Shenandoah Valley through the Cumberland Gap to the Ohio River

Indian routes Catawba Path Coushatta Trace Coushatta-Nacogdoches Trace Great Warrior Road Natchitoches Trace, from Missouri River's mouth to Natchitoches, Louisiana Nemacolin's Path St. Joseph Indian Trail, Michigan Tuscarora Path Kittanning Path from Frankstown, Pennsylvania, through the Alleghenys to Kittanning, Pennsylvania Vincennes Trace

Mail and passenger routes Boston Post Road or King's Highway First ride to lay out Post Road January 1, 1673.Daughters of the American Revolution Magazine, January 1917, Vol. 50, page 386, San Antonio-San Diego Mail Line (1857–1861) San Antonio, Texas to San Diego, California Butterfield Overland Stage Route (1858–1861) St. Louis, Missouri, to San Francisco, California Pony Express Route (1860–1862) Saint Joseph, Missouri, to Sacramento, California Central Overland Route (1861–1869)

Gaps and passes Apache Pass Cumberland Gap Cooke's Pass, Massacre Canyon Dead Mans Pass Delaware Water Gap Donner Pass Glorieta Pass King's Highway (Charleston to Boston) Kittanning Gap Lemhi Pass Lolo Pass Monida Pass Raton Pass South Pass Warner Pass

Cattle trails Abilene Trail Chisholm Trail Goodnight-Loving Trail Texas Road (Shawnee Trail)

Early motor routes

The Good Roads Movement established in May 1860 agitated for better roads for bicyclists. At the turn of the 20th century, interest in the bicycle began to wane in the face of increasing interest in automobiles. In 1913 the Lincoln Highway Association was formed to plan and promote and sign a highway suitable for automobiles using existing roads from Times Square in New York City to San Francisco, California. This was a success and was followed by the development of named auto trails throughout North America. Most of these were subsequently converted to numbered highways.

See also National Historic Trail U.S. Route 66 Potawatomi Trail of Death State wildlife trails (United States) Trail of Tears Turnpike

Notes

External links Migration Routes, Roads & Trails, Cyndi's List Trading Path Association The Wilderness Road