Lincoln Highway
Lincoln Highway is a National Scenic Byway in Illinois. Within Illinois it covers roughly 180 miles. The map below shows its route. Use “Plan a drive” to open it in the Road Sorties route planner — already routing along Lincoln Highway with scenic roads turned on, ready to add your own stops.
The Illinois segment of the Lincoln Highway follows the route of America's first transcontinental automobile road, dedicated in 1913 to link New York with San Francisco. Across northern Illinois it passes through small farm towns that celebrate the heritage with murals and interpretive gazebos. It traces an early chapter of American road-trip history.
- first transcontinental highway
- 1913 auto route
- heritage murals
- northern Illinois farm towns
- road-trip history
Designated for its historic qualities
Plan a drive on Lincoln Highway → Drive this route in Road SortiesTurn-by-turn on iPhone · App Store
Places to stop along Lincoln Highway
Egyptian Theatre
A 1929 Egyptian Revival movie palace in downtown DeKalb, still showing films and hosting shows a block off the Lincoln Highway.
WebsiteMalta Seedling Mile
A marker for the first "seedling mile" of concrete on the Lincoln Highway, poured near Malta in 1914 to show farm country what a paved road could be.
Franklin Grove
A small town whose 1860s brick storefront serves as headquarters and interpretive center for the Lincoln Highway Association, the group keeping the old coast-to-coast route alive.
Ronald Reagan Boyhood Home
The modest Dixon house the Reagan family rented in the early 1920s, restored with period furnishings and a visitor center next door.
WebsiteDe Immigrant Windmill
An authentic Dutch windmill, built by millwrights in the Netherlands and assembled on Fulton's Mississippi River dike. It has ground grain since 2001, and tours are free.
Website
Where to Stay along Lincoln Highway
No campgrounds are listed close to Lincoln Highway yet, but there are rooms near the route.
Campsite, lodging, RV rental and membership links are affiliate links — booking through them may earn Road Sorties a small commission, at no extra cost to you. Recreation.gov links are not affiliate links.
Photos of Lincoln Highway
What is a National Scenic Byway?
National Scenic Byways are roads recognized at the federal level for at least one outstanding quality — scenic, natural, historic, cultural, archaeological or recreational — that gives travelers a reason to seek them out rather than just pass through.