Exploring Historic Route 20

09/01/2026

Your adventure on Historic Route 20 awaits. Over 3000 miles of small towns, classic diners and motels, old alignments and historic sites that shaped our country.

08/12/2026

How Route 20 came to be.

07/30/2026

Hell’s Half Acre, Wyoming

Right off US Route 20, about 40 miles west of Casper, this otherworldly 320-acre badlands scarp drops away from the high plains into deep ravines, caves, hoodoos, and eroded rock formations that look like they belong on another planet.

Native peoples once used the rim as a buffalo jump. Early travelers called it Devil’s Kitchen, the Pits of Hades, or the Baby Grand Canyon. And in 1997, Hollywood turned it into the bug-infested world of Klendathu for Starship Troopers.

After being fenced off for nearly 20 years, it reopened in 2026 with a new boardwalk, viewing platform, interpretive signs, and picnic areas—making it an easy, must-stop roadside wonder on the way to Yellowstone.

Pull over. Look down. Feel the deep time of Wyoming.

07/27/2026

This is what Route 20 used to be not to far east of the Montana/Idaho border.

https://maps.app.goo.gl/FrLZs8KGR1HTgwd28?g_st=ic

07/25/2026

On June 5, 1976, the Teton Dam failed, releasing a massive flood of water into the Upper Snake River Valley.

The communities of Sugar City and Rexburg—and the stretch of U.S. Highway 20 that runs through the area—were among those hardest hit.

Homes, farms, businesses, and infrastructure were swept away or left under several feet of water and debris. Sugar City suffered particularly severe destruction. Rexburg saw widespread flooding and displacement. Roads and bridges, including sections along Route 20, were damaged or washed out, complicating rescue and recovery efforts. Eleven people lost their lives, and thousands more faced the loss of homes, livelihoods, and livestock.
In the face of that devastation, neighbors, volunteers, and local institutions—including Ricks College (now BYU-Idaho)—came together with remarkable strength and compassion. The recovery that followed showed the deep resilience of these Eastern Idaho communities.

We remember those who were lost, honor the survivors, and recognize the lasting lessons that improved dam safety across the country. The people of Sugar City, Rexburg, and the surrounding valley rebuilt with determination and faith.

Photo- Rexburg

07/23/2026

There are some sections Route 20 that were realigned so many years ago, that the Historic routes remain as they were back in 1926! Take a nostalgic ride down gravel roads, through cornfields in western Iowa travel back in time.

This section is part of the “steps” out of Fort Dodge to Calhoun County.

07/22/2026

07/21/2026

Sunrise along the Historic Route in Blairsburg, Iowa.

If you’re an early riser, you can catch some beautiful sunrises and begin your day, get in a hike or explore a town.

Blairsburg was founded in 1869 in Hamilton County, Iowa, by John I. Blair (for whom it’s named), a railroad chief engineer. After earlier attempts to plat a nearby town called Hawley in 1857 (anticipating the Dubuque & Pacific Railroad) fell short, Blair platted his own town about a mile north when land deals didn’t pan out. 

Robert Tinling was the first settler, and Gilbert Blair served as the first postmaster. The town grew slowly at first—only 44 residents by 1880—but boomed with the railroad, reaching over 270 by 1900.

It became a hub along Historic Highway 20, with busy corners featuring restaurants, gas stations, and a thriving business district.

Highlights include the early one-room school (1870), electricity in the 1920s, and the beloved Blairsburg Opera House (now restored and hosting events). A shallow local lake, once nicknamed “Shotgun Lake” for lost hunting guns, even hosted steamboat rides! 
Today, this friendly community of about 176 proud residents keeps its history alive while embracing its quiet charm off the interstate. A classic slice of Iowa heartland!