The Yellowstone Highway was an unpaved “auto trail” established in 1915 that was mapped, maintained, and promoted by local businesses and Good Roads Clubs. It ran from Denver, Colorado, to Yellowstone National Park by way of Rocky Mountain National Park, plus Cheyenne, Douglas, Casper, and Cody. Connecting two national parks, this historic route sparked the idea of linking all national parks of the western United States with one, scenic road. Inaugurated in 1920, the resultant National Park-to-Park Highway absorbed the old Yellowstone Highway, bringing more national park tourists along the axis preserved at this site.
Yellowstone was established in 1872 as the first national park. By 1919, eleven other western national parks had joined its ranks. Since rich Americans traditionally vacationed in Europe, several western destinations and railways began promoting travel to the wonders of the West with the slogan, “See America First” — especially during World War I. By the 1920s, the growing middle class had more time, money, transportation (thanks to Henry Ford), and destinations provided by the national parks, the American road trip was born.
Yellowstone Park gave access to automobiles in 1915, the same year Rocky Mountain National Park near Denver was established. The two events lead to the development of Yellowstone Highway, which connected the parks and their state capitals, and was called “the leading road in the State of Wyoming.” Stephen Mather — who was the energy behind many of the national parks being created and behind the establishment of the National Park Service — enthusiastically endorsed extending Yellowstone Highway to connect all the western national parks.
The 600-mile Yellowstone Highway extended into the almost 6,000-mile National Park-to-Park Highway thanks to park promoters and the Good Roads Movement, which was initiated by bicyclists in 1880 and adopted by motorists to advocated quality rural roads. Completed in 1920 at almost twice the length of the transcontinental Lincoln Highway, the National Park-to-Park Highway was the longest automobile project to date. A 20-car caravan made the landmark journey along it in a 76-day dedication tour. Though mostly unpaved when completed, the road was described as “the master motor road of the country.”
Long before anonymous interstates and the whir of superhighway traffic, America’s open roads promised drivers adventure and mystery. It’s still that way on historic U.S. Hwy. 26/287/20. In the 1920s, Model-T tourists dubbed this route west the “Yellowstone Highway” and marked its path with yellow rocks. Some remain for road-trippers to spot to this day. Today, this starkly beautiful stretch of road still delivers untethered adventure and the chance to remember the nostalgia and magic of the road less travelled.
The Old Yellowstone Highway remains the most scenic route to the south gate of Yellowstone and Grand Teton national parks, so why not set a classic road-trip pace across Wyoming’s Wind River Country to get to know the characters of welcoming frontier towns, explore the culture of the authentic West and the Wind River Indian Reservation, and expect the unexpected—exactly what road trips should be about.
Take a few days on the Old Yellowstone Highway through Wind River Country. Follow in the footsteps of the pioneers, mountain men, and Pony Express riders who paved this road West, and explore the culture and history that existed here long before that. Join hands and dance to a Native American drum circle. Have an outdoor adventure, spot jackalopes through the car windows, and take advantage of the above-average number of stores that sell cowboy hats.
Rediscover the pace and unexpected discoveries of this stretch of the Old Yellowstone Highway.
As you make your way through the real Old West along U.S. Highway 26, you’ll pass through beautiful Wind River Country, where the Rocky Mountains rise from the plains. You’ll weave your way through the small towns Shoshoni and Hudson, where life seems to slow down a little.
This wild country was home to the famous Lewis and Clark guide Sacajawea, Calamity Jane and Butch Cassidy. It’s also home to the Eastern Shoshone and Northern Arapaho tribes on the Wind River Indian Reservation—one of the largest Indian reservations in the country. Each community will welcome you to get to know them, be it cowboy life or Native American culture, rock climbing lifestyle or free music in the park.
By the time you reach the Togwotee Trail that leads to Yellowstone National Park, part of America’s great Centennial Scenic Byway, you won’t be sure you’re ready to leave Wind River Country. But from golden wide-open plains to snow-capped peaks, this route beckons travelers with amazing wildlife and unspoiled scenery.
In multiple places along its length towards Yellowstone are some of the most iconic viewpoints in America, including the Snake River Overlook, Schwabacher Landing and Mormon Row Historic District.
The Snake River Overlook is famous because of celebrated photographer Ansel Adams.
Ansel Adams was commissioned by the National Park Service in 1941 to capture in photographs the nature found in the National Parks. The goal was to help promote and protect the wild, western landscapes from development.
In 1942 he took the iconic picture of the Snake River and its meandering curves with the looming yet graceful Tetons behind.
Schwabacher Landing is famous for its water reflections of the Tetons and the pictures of these reflections. The site is named after Albert Schwabacher, a ranch owner who owned what is now today called “Lost Creek Ranch”.
There are multiple reflection spots here, but there is a most famous reflection spot, often called the “iconic spot”. The Iconic Spot is specifically of the Grand Teton and its fellow peaks framed on each side by the pine trees and are reflected in the small ponds.
This is a perfect spot for moose, ducks, and beavers. Indeed, beavers are responsible for the pools of water here, which in turn make the reflections of the Tetons possible. The beavers have worked tirelessly to damn up this slow-moving offshoot of the Snake River. As you look around, you will see beaver dams.
Chances are you are not a barn expert, but you have probably seen pictures of the famous Moulton Barns at Mormon Row Historic District, even if you did not know the name.
These barns aren’t necessarily famous just for being barns, but are famous because of the scenery they are a part of: the flat, barren land they sit on with the Tetons rising majestically in the background.
Here at the southern end of the park, the Grand Teton is closer, and the peaks seem more accessible than from a more northern view. The barns in front accentuate this perspective.