~Welcome to the Yellowstone Trail Association~
Click the Play Button below to view highlights from
the 2026 Laurel, Montana, America 250 Event.
Take a tour of the J. W. Parmley Historical Home and Museum along with the Parmley Land Agency building located in Ipswich, South Dakota. Narration and Tour Guide is Tom Hammrich, YTA Board of Director Member.
Click the play button (arrow) below:
Current YTA co-founder Alice A. Ridge has written another wonderful Yellowstone Trail article,
“The Yellowstone Trail and America’s 250th Birthday” – May, 2026.
Click Here for The Yellowstone Trail and America’s 250th Birthday
by Alice A. Ridge
The Yellowstone Trail (YT) was the very first transcontinental automobile highway in the United States.
The YT passes through the northern tier of states from Washington State to Massachusetts, starting in 1912.
The YT goes through 13 states connecting the East Coast and West Coast by way of Yellowstone National Park.
“Founder of the original 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.
Click here for Yellowstone Trail Association History.
We cordially invite you to Join in our ongoing Mission:
Public Education
To increase public awareness and understanding of the Yellowstone Trail (also called ‘The Trail’), and, its significance in both local and national history.
Historical Research
To collect, preserve, and share information, oral histories, and other documentation about the Trail and its historical context.
Historical Preservation
To encourage and support the preservation of appropriate sections of the Yellowstone Trail, as well as related buildings, landmarks, and artifacts.
Communication
To provide effective channels of communication, collaboration, and mutual support among members and interested parties.
Heritage Tourism
To promote heritage tourism along The Trail as a means of advancing the above charitable and educational purposes.
Related Events
To sponsor, organize, or support events and activities that highlight the history and significance of The Trail in furtherance of these purposes.
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.
This website is based upon the Ridge’s book,
“A Good Road From Plymouth Rock to Puget Sound”.
In 2013, the Ridge’s released a video we proudly use today
as an introduction to the Yellowstone Trail.
Narration by Alice Ridge
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.
Click here for YTA History page.
REMEMBER: Although the Yellowstone Trail Association was not active from 1931 – 1999, the Yellowstone Trail itself is still there today along with the Association.
We cordially invite you to Travel the Trail and have made two (2) tools to help you find the YT:
