Historic Motor Trails in Minnesota

What are National Trails? They were the first means of long-distance navigation as the nation's road network developed. At first, one had to navigate over long distances by following detailed guides that described various landmarks. By the 'teens, motoring associations began to spring up. They worked with roadside businesses and towns to established named trails. States, while they often built and maintained the roads, had little involvement or expense with the national trail markings. Trail markings were somewhat different from what we are accustomed to today; generally, each trail's unique marker was emblazoned on telephone poles along the road. Today's motorists have probably not heard of most of the historic national trails. A few have names that linger on in folklore: Lincoln Highway, Dixie Highway. Others are mostly forgotten except perhaps for some street names that retain the old national trail name.

By the mid-1920s, most states had adopted numbered route systems, and in 1926, the U.S. numbered route system began to be posted. The national trails fell into disuse and were no longer maintained by their sponsoring organizations. Many original sections of the historic routes were bypassed as states improved their routes. Still, the concept lingers on to some extent, as many states mark some commemerative routes that supplement the numbered marking.

These names and routes were drawn from my Clason's Motoring Guide, dated 1926 and the 1919 edition of the T.I.B. Motor Guide. This latter reference was one of the detailed guides discussed above. For references to national trails across the U.S., check Dave Schul's excellent national compilation of motor trails.

Route	Pole Marker	National beginning	National end	Principal Minnesota cities	Corresponding current routes in Minnesota
Black Trail	[black band]	[several routes within Minnesota]		Duluth, Sandstone, Twin Cities, Rochester, Spring Valley Sauk Centre, Glenwood, Morris Long Prairie, Little Falls Henning, Wadena	I-35, U.S. 52, U.S. 63 MN-28   MN-27 MN-29, MN-210
Black Diamond Trail	[black diamond on white band]	Fargo	Duluth	Fargo, Detroit Lakes, Wadena, Brainerd, Duluth	U.S. 10, MN-210, I-35
Black and Yellow Trail		Yellowstone NP	Chicago	New Ulm, Mankato, Owatonna, Rochester, Winona	U.S. 14
Blue Trail	[blue band]	[several routes across Minnesota]		Grand Forks, Crookston,Bemidji Rochester, Cannon Falls, Twin Cities, Anoka, Rush City Sioux Falls, Marshall, Granite Falls, Willmar, St. Cloud Albert Lea, LaCrosse	U.S. 2 U.S. 52, U.S. 10, MN-47, county roads to Rush City I-90, MN-23   I-90
Chippewa Trail	[CT with a tomahawk across it)			Detroit Lakes, Ogema, Waubun, Brooks	U.S. 59
Daniel Boone Trail	[Stylized B inside D]			Twin Cities, Mankato, Blue Earth, Algona IA	U.S. 169
Duluth to Wadena	[White/ Green/White bands]			Duluth, Carlton, McGregor, Brainerd, Wadena	I-35, MN-210, U.S. 10
Glacier Trail	Just as soon as I can draw a freehand mountain goat ;-)	Glacier NP	St. Louis	Moorhead, Willmar, Minneapolis, St. Paul, Faribault, Albert Lea	I-94, U.S. 71, U.S. 12, MN-3, I-35
Green Trail	[Green band]	[several routes across Minnesota]		Duluth-White Iron Beach Wadena-Sauk Centre Twin Cities, Willmar, Benson, Morris, Browns Valley Annandale-Fairmount ND Winona-LaCrosse	CR 4, MN-169 U.S. 71 U.S. 12, MN-9, MN-28   MN-55 U.S. 61
Jefferson Highway	Image courtesy Dave Schul	New Orleans	Winnipeg	Albert Lea, Faribault, St. Paul, Minneapolis, St. Cloud, Motley, Bemidji, Thief River Falls	I-35, MN-3, U.S. 10, U.S. 71, U.S. 2, U.S. 59
King of Trails		Galveston	Hallock (on to Winnipeg)	Ortonville, Moorhead, Crokston, Hallock, Winnipeg MB	U.S. 75
Lakes to Gulf Highway		?	?	Mabel, LaCrescent	MN-44
Minnesota Scenic Highway	Blue circle w/star inside red circle w/words "Minnnesota Scenic Highway"	In-state route		Twin Cities, Brainerd, Walker, Cass Lake, Int'l Falls, Donaldson, Moorhead, Detroit Lakes, Alexandria, Sauk Centre, St. Cloud	U.S. 10, MN-371, U.S. 2, U.S. 71, MN-11, U.S. 75, U.S. 10, MN-106, MN-29, MN-27/127, I-94
Miller Trunk Trail	White/ yellow/white bands	In-state route		Duluth-Virginia	U.S. 53
Mississippi River Scenic Highway		?	Port Arthur (now called Thunder Bay) ON	Winona, St. Paul, Duluth (via Wisconsin), Two Harbors, Grand Marais	U.S. 61, I-94, WI-35, MN-61
Mississippi Valley Highway		Gulfport MS	Ely	Rochester, Cannon Falls, St. Paul, Duluth, Ely	U.S. 52, MN-20, U.S. 61, I-35, CR 4, MN-135, MN-169
National Parks Highway		Seattle	Chicago	Moorhead, Fergus Falls, St. Cloud, St. Paul, Red Wing, Winona	I-94, U.S. 61
Nelson Trail	[Yellow circle with letter N inside black outline]	[In-state route]		Worthington, Slayton, Marshall, Granite Falls, Benson, Glenwood, Alexandria, Wadena, Park Rapids, Itasca	U.S. 59, MN-23, U.S. 212, MN-29, U.S. 71
Red Ball Route		Cedar Rapids	St. Paul	Austin, Owatonna, Faribault, St. Paul	U.S. 218, I-35, MN-3
Red Trail	[Red band]	Several in-state routes		Twin Cities, Red Wing, Winona, LaCrosse Fairmont, Albert Lea, Blue Earth Twin Cities, Shakopee, Norwood, Redwood Falls, Marshall Faribault, Mankato, Windom	U.S. 61   I-90 Old Shakopee Rd, CR 101, U.S. 212, MN-5, MN-19 MN-60
Theodore Roosevelt Highway		Seaside OR	Portland ME	E. Grand Forks, Crookston, Bemidji, Grand Rapids, Duluth	U.S. 2
Short Cut West		somewhere west?	Minneapolis	Dawson, Montevideo, Litchfield, Minneapolis	U.S. 212, MN-7
Vermillion Trail	[white/ green/white bands]			Duluth, Biwabik, Tower, White Iron Beach	CR 4, MN-135, MN-169
Wonderland Trail	[white/ red/white bands]			Duluth, Floodwood, Swan River, Grand Rapids, Cass Lake, Bemidji, Red Lake Falls, Crookston, Grand Forks	U.S. 2 (spur to RLF via MN-32)
Yellow Trail	[yellow band]			Worthington-Windom Bemidji, Cass Lake, Blackduck	MN-60 U.S. 2, CR 10/39
Yellowstone Trail	arrow inside circle, surrounded by yellow circle with Yellowstone Trail inside	Seattle	Plymouth MA	Montevideo, Olivia, Hector, Glencoe, Minneapolis	U.S. 212, I-94

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First uploaded April 4, 1998

Updated January 11, 1999