Native American trails
First peoples' routes
Native American trails were networks of footpaths created and used by indigenous peoples across North America for trade, migration, hunting, and communication between settlements.
Many of these routes followed natural corridors—river valleys, mountain passes, ridgelines—and became the foundations for colonial roads, highways, and rail lines.
The Natchez Trace began as a Native American trail connecting the Mississippi River to the Gulf Coast.
- footpathsRoutes for pedestrians
- travoisA-frame hauling device
- hiking trailsRecreational walking routes outdoors
- portageOverland boat hauling
- migration routesPaths animals travel seasonally
canoe routes · track · path · oral traditions · medicine wheel · river crossings · trade routes · earth · wayfinding · moccasin · birch bark · mountain passes · tribal territories · historical markers · camping sites · game trails · sacred · blazed
Native American trailsKing's Highway
Monarch-titled public road
Oregon Trail · military roads · pioneer trails · El Camino Real · turnpikes
Native American trailsinterstate highways
Multi-state limited-access roads
paved roads · superhighways · railroad lines · toll roads · turnpikes
Native American trailsinterstate highways
Multi-state limited-access roads
freeways · superhighways · expressways · autobahns · motorways