Welcome to the Yellowstone Trail Association (YTA) website.
If you have questions or need assistance, please Contact Us Here.
Follow this link if you are a Tourism Professional located along the Trail and ready for Trail Travelers!.
Click Here for the Yellowstone Trail Association Story, a Best Seller in the making!
The Yellowstone Trail (YT) was the very first transcontinental automobile highway in the United States through the northern tier of states from Washington through Massachusetts, starting in 1912.
The YT passes through 13 states.
“Founder of the Yellowstone Trail Association (1912)”
Joseph William Lincoln Parmley (January 12, 1861 – December 12, 1940) was an American pioneer and early developer of the north central region of South Dakota during its early statehood. He is today memorialized by the J. W. Parmley Historical Home and Parmley Western Land Office Museums in Ipswich, South Dakota.
This website is an invitation to take, by auto or armchair, the Great American Road Trip along the nearly forgotten but historically important Yellowstone Trail!
An auto route “from Plymouth Rock to Puget Sound” was started at a time when roads carried wagons, and automobiles were few and still unreliable.
The Yellowstone Trail became a major factor in converting from railroads to highways.
This website is a guide to finding and exploring that highway’s nooks and crannies, scenic features both grand and unusual, and “things” that others have missed.
The Yellowstone Trail Association regularly publishes a newsletter, “The Arrow”, containing interesting stories, articles, and photos about the Trail and modern events related to the Trail.
Visit The Arrow webpage, where you can view current or past issues.
John and Alice Ridge have released their new book,
“A Good Road from Plymouth Rock to Puget Sound, A modern Guide to Driving the Historic Yellowstone Trail, 1912-
from which most of this website is derived.
A quick time-line overview of the YTA:
⇓ 1912
The original YTA was formed in 1912 and worked formally to create the transcontinental highway from Boston to Seattle known at the Yellowstone Trail.
⇓ Early 1930s
The Depression and aggressive efforts of state and federal governments to assume road building responsibility and route marking caused the YTA to fade, and, over time be forgotten.
The YTA was mostly inactive during this time until the end of the 1990’s.
⇓ Around 1999
A number of local historians, several retired university professors, and representatives of the tourism industry, individually and then collectively, began attempts to spread the word about the historical significance, the tourism potential, and the just plain fun that could be found in this old auto route.
Those efforts slowly jelled into a modern YTA that is beginning to make its mark.
Our new On-Line Store is a heart-beat away from opening for business once again!
Children…
The future of our society.
We were all children once upon a time, so most everyone will enjoy our Kids Page.
This page is under construction, check back often.
If there’s anything you’d like to see here, let us know!
