Some of America’s most famous roads are far more than ways to get from one place to another. Their stories helped shape the country’s history.
1. Route 66
Opened in 1926, Route 66 connected Chicago to Los Angeles and quickly became America’s most famous highway.
During the Great Depression, thousands of families fleeing the Dust Bowl traveled west along its 2,400-mile route in search of work. After World War II, it became the symbol of the classic American road trip before being officially decommissioned in 1985.
2. The Natchez Trace
Long before cars existed, the Natchez Trace was already one of North America’s busiest travel corridors.
For more than 10,000 years, Indigenous peoples used the route for trade and travel. Later, it became a postal route, military road, and migration path for settlers moving across the early United States.
3. The Alaska Highway
Built in just eight months during World War II, the Alaska Highway stretches more than 1,300 miles through Canada and Alaska.
Originally constructed as a military supply route after the attack on Pearl Harbor, it later became one of North America’s greatest engineering achievements.
4. The Lincoln Highway
Completed in 1913, the Lincoln Highway became America’s first coast-to-coast highway for automobiles.
It encouraged cross-country travel years before the Interstate Highway System existed and helped prove that long-distance driving was practical.
5. The Blue Ridge Parkway
Construction began during the Great Depression as part of a massive public works program.
Rather than serving commerce, the parkway was designed purely for scenic travel, eventually becoming one of the most visited units in the National Park System.
6. The Overseas Highway
Completed in 1938, the Overseas Highway connected mainland Florida to Key West using dozens of bridges built on the route of a former railroad.
Even today, driving across open ocean remains one of America’s most unique road experiences.
