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The High Road to Taos, listed in the New Mexico Register of Cultural Properties in 1975, covers 52 miles from just north of Santa Fe to Ranchos de Taos at the southern boundary of the town of Taos. In addition to spectacular mountain scenery, the High Road contains Pueblo Indian settlements dating back to the 1300s and Hispanic settlements dating back to the 1600s. Historic adobe Catholic churches can be seen in each village, with the church at Las Trampas having been constructed in 1760. Today, artist communities have grown in and around the villages. Photographers from the federal Farm Security Administration extensively photographed the villages along the High Road in the 1930s and 1940s. These photographs provide an exceptional record of Hispanic village life in northern New Mexico and will be of interest to travelers along the High Road as a basis of comparison to what they are viewing today.

Pres. Theodore Roosevelt once referred to the Apache Trail as "one of the most spectacular best-worth-seeing sights of the world." The once narrow, ancient foot trail built as a supply road for the construction of Roosevelt Dam has now evolved into a state highway with majestic scenic vistas and historical grandeur. Even in the 1920s, the Southern Pacific Railroad touted this road as a "must-see side trip." Each year, thousands of people venture along the trail to take a step back in time and relish the breathtaking experience of this fabulous journey. The Fish Creek Hill section remains much as it was back in the early 1900s, a narrow one-vehicle passage on an extremely steep incline that drops 900 feet within a mile along the edge of a steep cliff. Although several miles of the road are now paved, dirt portions remain that allow tourists a sense of perilous adventure.

Now listed in the National Register of Historic Places, Sixth Street began more than 170 years ago as the only level pathway into the town of Austin from the east. Originally called Pecan Street, throughout its history the street was also a level playing field for merchants and minorities, for moneyed dynasties and little mom-and-pop places. When Austin was a segregated society, Sixth Street was a standout exception where people of all races lived and worked. By 1871, the arrival of the railroad kindled the explosive development of Pecan Street into Austin's first mercantile center. It was home to Austin's first hotel, Bullock's at Congress Avenue and Pecan Street; the first fight with the government of the new Republic of Texas; and the first brothel. In the 1970s, the commercial district suffered some deterioration. Then, as it has done before, Sixth Street was reborn, this time as the Sixth Street Historic Entertainment District. Loved by Austin residents and visitors alike, Sixth Street is Texas's most famous thoroughfare.

In the early 1890s, Humphrey Barker Chamberlin installed a lifeline to his namesake suburb west of the city. A trolley connected to Arlington Heights Boulevard at the Trinity River's Clear Fork and chugged across prairie land to reach Chamberlin Arlington Heights. Camp Bowie, a soldiers' city, sprawled over both sides of the road from 1917 until 1919. At the Great War's end, the stretch west of present-day University Drive became the commemorative Camp Bowie Boulevard. The 1920s brought twin ribbons of cordovan-colored brick pavement, the prestige of inclusion in the Bankhead Highway network, and westering developers of another elite village: Ridglea. Midway through the Great Depression, the Will Rogers complex arose on a farm tract, visible from the thoroughfare, to host Texas Centennial celebrations and a special livestock exposition. Museums began claiming adjacent space in the 1950s. By the second decade of the 21st century, Camp Bowie Boulevard bisected a built environment both modern and historic.

The Turquoise Trail is a quirky, alternative road stretching between Santa Fe and Albuquerque. Before horses trod the route, it linked three Native American pueblos. The earliest mining activity in North America took place along the trail; local Native Americans mined a huge vein of turquoise that was visible on the surface. In the age of horses and wagons, the road ran through dusty Wild West towns, mining districts, and mountains, which were once roamed by thousands of prospectors with dreams of finding the mother lode. When mining became unprofitable, the inhabitants packed whatever they could into their cars and pulled out, seeking employment elsewhere. But a time came when people realized there was still potential in these old ghost towns. The buildings that once housed miners and the businesses that supported them are now occupied by art galleries, boutiques, and modern pioneers. The route still has a flavor of the Wild West, but instead of cowboys and miners, it now attracts motorcycle enthusiasts, movie crews, and day-trippers who appreciate authenticity and local color.