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The Historic National Road was the nation's first federally funded interstate highway. It opened the nation to the west and became a corridor for the movement of goods and people. Today, visitors experience a physical timeline, including classic inns, tollhouses, diners, and motels that trace 200 years of American history.
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Explore selected surviving sections of the Mother Road, from Midwestern towns to Southwestern desert and the California coast. Build a trip around specific signed alignments, roadside history and the communities that make the journey distinctive.
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Explore the extended expedition corridor from the Ohio River to the Pacific. River overlooks, tribal museums and interpretive centers reveal a journey made possible by existing Native knowledge and trade networks.
Discover the story →Discover the early coast-to-coast highway through town centers, road markers and surviving alignments. The route changed over time, so the pleasure lies in exploring selected sections and the communities they connected.
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Trace the nineteenth-century migration from Nauvoo toward the Salt Lake Valley. Interpretive places tell stories of faith, displacement, wagon travel and the hardships endured by some handcart companies.
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Learn about the forced removal of Cherokee people from their homelands and the endurance of communities who survived. Museums, memorials and historic sites interpret multiple removal routes and personal experiences.
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