The Lincoln Highway (US 30)
Times Square, NY → Lincoln Park, San Francisco, CA · ~3,400 miles · 2 weeks+
Stylized illustration, not a photo — the real place looks different (and that’s half the fun).
Dedicated in 1913, the Lincoln Highway was the first road built to cross the United States coast to coast — the route that taught America to road-trip, decades before the interstates. Much of it is shadowed today by US 30 across the Midwest and Plains, still marked by century-old concrete posts.
Good to know: It’s a historic auto trail, not one signed modern highway — alignments shifted over the years, so follow Lincoln Highway Association markers and US 30 rather than a single route number.
Updated July 2026.
America’s first coast-to-coast road.
It’s the original transcontinental road trip — small-town main streets, vintage motor courts, and Lincoln Highway markers all the way from Times Square to the Pacific.
States on this route
The signature stops
What to pull over for.
The best stops on the The Lincoln Highway (US 30) are the places that define the drive, not just the nearest towns. Roamward orders them for the road: start with Times Square, Gettysburg, Lincoln Highway across Nebraska, Continental Divide Basin, then open each stop guide for the pull-over context.
01Times Squarethe highway’s official eastern terminus in Manhattan — open the stop guideNY
02Gettysburgthe Civil War battlefield town on the Pennsylvania stretch — open the stop guidePA
03Lincoln Highway across Nebraskamore original Lincoln Highway miles than any other state, beside US 30 — open the stop guideNE
04Continental Divide Basinthe lonely high-plains crossing of the Great Divide — open the stop guideWY
05Bonneville Salt Flatsthe blinding-white salt desert west of Salt Lake City — open the stop guideUT
06Lincoln Park, San Franciscothe western terminus above the Golden Gate — open the stop guideCA
Where to eat
Restaurants along this route.
Restaurants on the The Lincoln Highway (US 30) are chosen for trip usefulness: gateway-town location, a clear reason to stop, and enough quality to make a traveler save the pick. Start with Katz's Delicatessen, White Manna, The Coffee Pot, Dobbin House Tavern.
A curated set of trip-useful meals near the route — enough to anchor driving days without turning the guide into a phone book.
- Katz's Delicatessen
A classic New York launch point for the Lincoln Highway story, loud, historic, and road-trip-worthy.
- White Manna
A tiny landmark burger counter for the New Jersey Lincoln Highway approach, giving the eastern corridor a properly old-school road-food stop.
- The Coffee Pot
A playful restored roadside-coffee-pot stop that gives the Pennsylvania stretch a proper Lincoln Highway artifact.
- Dobbin House Tavern
A historic tavern meal that pairs naturally with Gettysburg on the Lincoln Highway corridor.
- Schmidt's Sausage Haus
A Columbus German Village institution that gives the Ohio Lincoln Highway stretch a substantial, historic city meal.
- Shapiro's Delicatessen
A century-old Indianapolis deli for the Midwest middle of the Lincoln Highway run.
- Taylor's Maid-Rite
A loose-meat sandwich classic for the Iowa Lincoln Highway crossing, compact and deeply road-trip specific.
- Bierhaus Maisschaler
Old-world Bavarian bierhaus pouring liter steins alongside house-cased sausages and pretzels.
- LeadBelly
Haymarket favorite reinventing bar-and-grill comfort food with a lively downtown spirit.
- Runza
The Nebraska-born fast-food icon and its baked bread pocket stuffed with beef, cabbage and onion.
- The Normandy
Elevated fine-dining French room plating lobster, filet and caviar in an intimate soft-lit setting.
- The Oven
Northern Indian mainstay honored ten years running with Wine Spectator's Award of Excellence.
Build a trip around Lincoln Highway drive.
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Stay & experience
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Things to do near The Lincoln Highway (US 30)
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