Prior to the establishment of the US Highway system in 1927 and state highway numbers, the country was criss-crossed by named motor trails. These trails were usually established and signed by road booster groups and other commerce groups, not the government. They were usually marked by multi-colored rectangular signs on utility poles at intervals. One such cross-country trail was the Victory Highway, which closely followed today's US 40. Consequences of this early naming can still be seen many places today, such as the street name for US 40 through Craig being Victory Way, and a road named Old Victory Highway northeast of Bennett. Other trails resulted in similar road names throughout the US.
Here is a listing of these marked motor trails in Colorado, as they existed in 1923. For other motor trails throughout the US, hit Dave Schul's site, where he has attempted to catalog all of the named motor trails that existed in the US throughout the early 20th Century.
Source: Auto Trails Map State of Colorado, Rand McNally, dist. by Continental Oil Co., 1923; held at the Western Geneology Center, Denver Public Library
Trail |
Marker |
Routing in Colorado |
Nationally |
Notes |
Albert Pike Highway |
|
KS - Lamar - La Junta - Rocky Ford - Avondale - Pueblo - Colorado Springs - Palmer Lake - Sedalia - Littleton - Denver |
Southeast to Hot Springs, AR |
|
Black Hills Loop Highway |
|
Iliff - Peetz - NE |
North to Lead, SD |
Map calls this the "Black Hills Loup Highway". Oops! |
Buffalo Highway |
|
NM - Trinidad - Walsenburg - Pueblo - Colorado Springs - Palmer Lake - Sedalia - Littleton - Denver - Broomfield - Longmont - Fort Collins - Wellington - WY |
South to Amarillo |
Thanks to Kevin Griffith for the nifty buffalo marker! |
Burlington Highway |
|
Greeley - Orchard - Weldona - Fort Morgan - Brush - Akron - Wray - NE |
East to Culbertson, NE |
|
Colorado to Gulf Highway |
|
NM - Trinidad - Walsenburg - Pueblo - Colorado Springs - Palmer Lake - Sedalia - Denver |
Southeast to Galveston |
|
Dallas - Canadian - Denver Highway |
|
OK - Stonington - Springfield - Lamar - La Junta - Pueblo
- Colorado Springs - Monument - Larkspur - Castle Rock |
Southeast to Galveston |
"Canadian" refers to Canadian, TX, not Canada |
Denver - Black Hills Highway |
|
Denver - Brighton - Greeley - Purcell - Briggsdale - Hereford - WY |
North to Hot Springs, SD |
|
Denver - Deadwood |
|
?? - WY |
Unknown |
Marked on the legend, but in the map body it appears to start at Cheyenne |
Detroit - Lincoln - Denver Highway |
|
Denver - Hudson - Prospect Valley - Wiggins - Fort Morgan - Brush - Merino - Atwood - Sterling - Haxtun - Holyoke - NE |
East to Detroit |
|
Golden Belt Route |
|
Limon - Burlington - KS |
East to Saint Louis |
|
Gulf Plains and Canada |
No marker |
Granada - Cheyenne Wells - Burlington - Wray - Holyoke - Julesburg - NE |
Wayside, NE |
Name doesn't make any sense given its route. And what's the reason if there's no marker? |
Kansas - Colorado Boulevard |
|
Pueblo - Baxter - Ordway - Eads - Sheridan Lake - KS |
East to Kansas City, KS |
|
Midland Trail |
|
UT - Grand Junction - De Beque - Glenwood Springs - Wolcott - State Bridge - Kremmling - Fraser - Georgetown - Golden - Denver - Bennett - Limon - Burlington - KS |
East to Norfolk, VA |
|
National Old Trails Road |
|
NM - Trinidad - La Junta - Lamar - KS |
East to Baltimore |
|
National Park to Park Highway |
|
NM - Durango - Pagosa Springs - Del Norte - Center - Saguache - Salida - Cañon City - Pueblo - Colorado Springs - Monument - Larkspur - Castle Rock - Denver - Lafayette - Boulder - Lyons - Allenspark - Estes Park - Drake - Masonville - Fort Collins - Wellington - WY |
Loop throughout the West following a circuitous route |
|
National White Way |
|
Colorado Springs - Limon - Burlington - KS |
East to Chicago |
|
New Santa Fe Trail |
|
NM - Trinidad - La Junta - Lamar - KS |
Unknown |
|
Old Santa Fe Trail |
|
NM - Trinidad - Walsenburg - Pueblo - Avondale - La Junta - Lamar - KS |
Unknown |
|
Pikes Peak Ocean to Ocean Highway |
|
UT - Grand Junction - De Beque - Glenwood Springs - Aspen
- Buena Vista - Woodland Park - Colorado Springs - Limon -
Burlington - KS |
East to New York |
|
Plains Mountains Highway |
|
Stonewall - Trinidad - Beshoar Junction - Trinchera - Branson - Kim - Springfield - Two Buttes - KS |
Unknown |
|
Powder River Trail |
|
Colorado Springs - Palmer Lake - Sedalia - Denver - Broomfield - Longmont - Fort Collins - Wellington - WY |
Unknown |
|
Rainbow Route |
|
Grand Junction - Delta - Montrose - Gunnison - Salida - Cañon City - Pueblo |
|
|
Rocky Mountain Highway |
|
Denver - Longmont - Fort Collins - Laporte - Virginia Dale - WY - (Current SH 127) - (Current SH 125) - WY |
Northwest to Yellowstone National Park |
|
Spanish Trail |
|
Cortez - Durango - Pagosa Springs - Del Norte - Alamosa - Walsenburg |
|
|
Union Pacific Highway |
|
Denver - Bennett - Limon - Kit Carson - Cheyenne Wells - KS |
East to Kansas City, KS |
|
Victory Highway |
|
UT - Craig - Steamboat Springs - Kremling - Fraser - Georgetown - Golden - Denver - Bennett - Limon - Burlington - KS |
East to New York |
|
Trail |
Marker |
Routing in Colorado |
Nationally |
Notes |
Routes on the map indicated as part of a motor trail, but it is unclear of what trail:
Related Sites
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Last updated 6 March 2004