The Highway "My Way" Bucket List
Some people collect salt and pepper shakers, postcards and spoons. We collect highways. It seems so logical. We spend half our trips finding new roads and the other half wishing we had time to travel every single one. We've been saying for years that we are running out of roads so this page is dedicated to the ones we've travelled on. Is it possible to put every single road on our bucket list? We're trying.
On the road again
Just can't wait to get on the road again
The life I love is making music with my friends
And I can't wait to get on the road again.
On the road again
Goin' places that I've never been
Seein' things that I may never see again
And I can't wait to get on the road again.
Willie Nelson
Highway Hierarchy
Highways are split into four main types of systems. A highway shield or route marker is a sign denoting the type and route number of a highway, in the form of a symbolic shape with the route number enclosed. As the focus of the sign, the route number is usually the sign's largest element, with other items on the sign rendered in smaller sizes or contrasting colors. Numbered Highways
Interstate.
The U.S. Interstate Highway System is a federally funded and administered (but state-maintained) network of freeways that forms a part of the National Highway System of the United States. Interstate Highway System
Trans Canada.
The Trans-Canada Highway system is the only federally maintained highway system in Canada. Numbered highways in Canada are split by Province. Letters added to the number indicate an alternate business, truck, connector, scenic, or spur route.Trans Canada Highway
U.S. Highways.
The system of United States Numbered Highways is an integrated network of roads and highways numbered within a nationwide grid in the United States. The roadways are maintained by state or local governments. U.S. Numbered Highway System
State Highways.
Each state has a state highway system. State highways are of varying standards and quality. State Highways
County Highways.
The final administrative level is the county-maintained county highway. County routes vary widely from well-traveled multilane highways to dirt roads into remote parts of the county. County Highways
Canadian Provincial Highways.
Numbered highways in Canada are split by province, and a majority are maintained by their province or territory transportation department. With few exceptions, all highways in Canada are numbered. Every province has a number of highways that are better known locally by their name rather than their number.
America's Byways, Historic & Exceptional Highways
America's Byways
America's Byways® is the umbrella term used for the collection of distinct and diverse roads designated by the U.S. Secretary of Transportation. America's Byways include the National Scenic Byways and All-American Roads.
In order to be recognized the road must have at least one of the six "intrinsic qualities" - scenic, natural, historic, cultural, archeological, and recreational. America's Byways
National Scenic Byways
A National Scenic Byway is a road having at least one of the six "intrinsic qualities". The program was established by Congress in 1991 to preserve and protect the nation's scenic but often less-traveled roads and promote tourism and economic development. There are 120 National Scenic Byways. National Scenic Byway - Wikipedia
All-American Roads
The most scenic byways are designated All-American Roads, which must meet two or more of the six intrinsic qualities. The designation means they have features that do not exist elsewhere in the United States and are unique and important enough to be tourist destinations unto themselves. There are 31 All-American Roads. All American Roads - Wikipedia
National Historic Trails
The National Trails System Act of 1968 authorized a National System of Scenic, Historic and Recreation trails to preserve access to significant outdoor scenic and historic resources of the nation.
A National Scenic Trail (NST) or National Historic Trails (NHT) requires Congressional approval by both the House and Senate. National Historic Trails
Emigrant Trails
The Emigrant Trails were overland wagon trails throughout the American West, used by migrants from the eastern United States to settle lands west of the Interior Plains during the migration of the mid-19th century. The term specifically applies to the overlap of three interrelated routes: the Oregon Trail (from the 1830s), Mormon Trail (from 1846), and California Trail (from 1841). Separate routes were the Santa Fe Trail (from 1821) and the Old Spanish Trail (1830-1848).
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California National Historic Trail
The 2,000 mile road carried over 250,000 gold-seekers and farmers to California during the 1840s and 1850s—the greatest mass migration in American history. Congress designated the California National Historic Trail in 1992. California Trail
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Morman Pioneer National Historic Trial
70,000 Mormons traveled along the 1,300 mile Mormon Trail from 1846 to 1869. The Morman Trail extends from Nauvoo, Illinois to Salt Lake City, Utah. Congress designated the Mormon Pioneer National Historic Trail in 1978. Mormon Trail
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Old Spanish Trail
The Old Spanish Trail witnessed a brief but furious heyday between 1830 and 1848 as a trade route linking Santa Fe, New Mexico and Los Angeles, California. The Trail left Santa Fe and split into two routes that eventually met again near Green River. It then trended southwest through the Mojave Desert to Los Angeles. Old Spanish Trail
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Oregon National Historic Trail
From early 1830s to 1869 the 2,200 mile Oregon Trail was used by about 400,000 fur traders, gold seekers, missionaries, settlers, ranchers, businessmen, and families. Congress designated the Oregon National Historic Trail in 1978. Oregon Trail
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Santa Fe National Historic Trail
The Santa Fe Trail connected Franklin, Missouri with Santa Fe, New Mexico. Between 1821 and 1880 it served as a vital international commercial highway, a military route during the Mexican–American War, and a connection to the new southwest territories until the introduction of the railroad in 1880. Santa Fe Trail
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Historic Trails and Routes of Significance
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Bighorn Highway
Bighorn Highway.Highway No. 40, also named Kananaskis Trail, extends 456 miles from Coleman to Grande Prairie. It currently has two gravel sections. Bighorn Highway
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Buffalo Trail
Highway No. 41, also named Buffalo Trail, is a 426 mile north-south highway extending from the Hamlet of La Corey at Highway 55 to the United States border at Wild Horse. Buffalo Trail
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Cowboy Trail
The north-south Highway No. 22 is named Cowboy Trail because it passes through extensive ranch country. The 363 mile highway generally follows the eastern slopes of the Rocky Mountains. Cowboy Trail
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Crowsnest Highway
Crowsnest Highway No. 3 in Alberta and British Columbia was officially established in 1932. The 721 mile highway mainly follows a mid-19th century gold rush trail. It takes its name from the Crowsnest Pass. Crowsnest Highway
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David Thompson Highway
Highway No. 11 runs 199 miles from Banff National Park east through Nordegg, Rocky Mountain House, Red Deer and finally connecting with Highway 12 near Stettler. David Thompson Highway
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Dinosaur Trail
The 29 mile Dinosaur Trail parallels the Red Deer River from Drumheller to the Bleriot Ferry. The Dinosaur Trail uses portions of Highway Nos. 575, 837 and 838. Dinosaur Trail
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Highway of Heroes
A portion of Highway 401 between Trenton and Toronto was named Highway of Heroes on August 24, 2007 in honour of Canadian soldiers who have died. Highway of Heroes
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Highway of Tears
The Highway of Tears murders is a series of unsolved murders and disappearances of young women along the 500 mile section of Highway 16 between Prince George and Prince Rupert, British Columbia from 1969 until 2011. Police list the number of victims at 18, but estimates by aboriginal organizations range into the 40s. Highway of Tears
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King's Highway 401
The Macdonald–Cartier Freeway is a 400-series highway stretching 508.2 miles from Windsor to the Quebec border. King's Highway
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Lake Superior Circle Tour
The 1000 mile Lake Superior Circle Tour is part of the Great Lakes Circle Tour. It loops around Lake Superior linking highways in Michigan, Minnesota, Wisconsin and Ontario. Lake Superior Circle Tour
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Lewis & Clark National Historic Trail
The 3,700 mile Lewis & Clark Trail commemorates the Lewis and Clark Expedition of 1804 to 1806. Beginning in Illinois, it passes through portions of Missouri, Kansas, Iowa, Nebraska, South Dakota, North Dakota, Montana, Idaho, Oregon, and Washington. Lewis and Clark
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Lincoln Highway
The Lincoln Highway was the first transcontinental highway for automobiles across the USA eventually covering 14 states from New York to California. The first officially recorded length of the entire Lincoln Highway in 1913 was 3,389 miles. Over the years, the road was improved and numerous realignments were made, and by 1924 the highway had been shortened to 3,142 miles. Lincoln Highway
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National Old Trails Road
The National Old Trails Road, also known as the Ocean-to-Ocean Highway, was established in 1912, and became part of the National Auto Trail system in the United States. It was 3,096 miles long and stretched from Baltimore, Maryland to California. After U.S. Route 66 was decommissioned, in eastern California portions of the road were renamed with the old name, and signed accordingly. National Old Trails Road
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National Park to Park Highway
This 6,000 mile auto trail of the 1910s and 1920s was one huge loop connecting twelve National Parks - Rocky Mountain, Yellowstone, Glacier, Mount Rainier, Crater Lake, Lassen Volcanic, Yosemite, General Grant, Sequoia, Zion, Grand Canyon, and Mesa Verde. By 1920, eleven states were involved in the Park-to-Park Highway program. Park to Park
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Nez Perce National Historic Trail
The Nez Perce National Historic Trail follows the route taken by a large group of people of the Nez Perce tribe in 1877 to avoid being forced onto a reservation. The trail approximates the route followed by a band of 750 Nez Perce warriors and civilians, including women, children, and elders, as they tried to resist U.S. Army efforts to confine them within federal reservation lands in Idaho. Nez Perce Trail
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Niagara Parkway
The Niagara Parkway is a scenic road that travels on the Canadian side of the Niagara River from the town of Fort Erie to Niagara-on-the-Lake. Niagara Parkway
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Okanagan Trail
The Okanagan Trail was an inland route to the Fraser Canyon Gold Rush from Washington and Oregon Territories in 1858-1859. The route follows that used by the Hudson's Bay Company fur brigades. Okanagan Trail
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Pony Express National Historic Trail
For 18 months, from April 3, 1860 until October 1861, the Pony Express Trail was used by young men on fast horses to carry the nation's mail from Missouri to California in the unprecedented time of only ten days. Congress designated the Pony Express National Historic Trail in 1992. Pony Express
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Poundmaker Trail
Poundmaker Trail, Highway No 14 in Alberta and Highway No. 40 in Saskatchewan, spans 341 miles from Shellbrook, Saskatchewan to Edmonton, Alberta where it connects with Highway 2. Poundmaker Trail was named after Chief Poundmaker of the Cree. Poundmaker Trail
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Queen Elizabeth Way
The QEW, is a 400 Series Highway linking Toronto with the Niagara Peninsula and Buffalo, New York. The freeway travels 86.4 miles around the western shore of Lake Ontario, ending at Highway 427. Queen Elizabeth Way
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Red Coat Trail
The 804 mile trail through Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta approximates the path taken in 1874 by the North-West Mounted Police in their quest to bring law and order to the Canadian West. Red Coat Trail
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Route 66 - The Mother Road
Route 66, also known as the Main Street of America or the Mother Road, was one of the original highways within the U.S. Highway System. The 2,451 mile Route 66 was established on November 11, 1926 and officially removed on June 27, 1985, replaced by the Interstate Highway System. Route 66
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The Volcanic Legacy Scenic Byway
The Volcanic Legacy Scenic Byway is an All-American Road in the states of California and Oregon. It is roughly 500 miles long and travels through the Cascade Range past numerous volcanoes. It is composed of two separate National Scenic Byways, the Volcanic Legacy Scenic Byway - Oregon and Volcanic Legacy Scenic Byway - California and passes through Crater Lake National Park and Lassen Volcanic National Park. Volcanic Legacy Scenic Byway
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Yellowhead Highway
The Yellowhead Highway officially opened in 1970. The 1,840 mile route is a major east-west highway connecting the four western provinces of British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba. Yellowhead Highway
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Yellowstone Trail Established on May 23, 1912, Yellowstone Trail was the first transcontinental automobile highway through the upper tier of the United States. The 3,719 mile Auto Trail ran from the Atlantic Ocean in Plymouth, Massachusetts, to the Pacific Ocean in Seattle, Washington. Yellowstone Trail
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