Major cities it passes through are Saskatoon, North Battleford in the central part of the province, Yorkton in the far east and Lloydminster to the far west.

North Battleford has an equestrian statue of a Royal Canadian Mounted Police officer located at the junction of Highway 40 and the Yellowhead.

Wynyard a town of 1,767 residents on the 2011 census[5] is located just east of the Hwy 640 intersection and is in the northern area of the Touchwood Hills.

Wynyard and District Regional Park is located 2.4 kilometres (1.5 mi) south of the Yellowhead at the intersection with Hwy 640.

The Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) Station Yorkton was renamed White Spruce in 1966.

[18] Langenburg is home to the world's largest swing, named Goliath, and is the last incorporated Saskatchewan community before the Manitoba provincial boundary.

Sir George Simpson, governor of the Hudson's Bay Company, employed a surveyor, James Macmillan, to find a route west.

James Macmillan used an Iroquois guide "Tête Jaune" (Pierre Bostonais) to help find the most feasible path.

A Hudson's Bay Company store and trading post, the North-West Mounted Police barracks and Government House were all established in 1876.

[28] The railways would not build across the western frontier without settlement as it would be too costly to provide train service across a barren wilderness.

The federal government survey crew reached this southeastern area of the District of Assiniboia, North-West Territories in 1880.

The North-West Territories established departments, which did not last long, and were soon replaced by a rural administrative system called local improvement districts (LID).

[33] The Local Improvement District #17T2 was the first administrative government in the area starting in 1907 serving until the incorporation of Viscount No.

[35] Humboldt and Watson were served to the north, and Nokomis to the south as well as the main Saskatoon Winnipeg line.

[37]The one event that had the greatest impact on the western segment of the Yellowhead was the decision of Donald Mann and William Mackenzie, owners of the Canadian Northern, to build from Manitoba to the Pacific.

Lack of roads and excessive difficulties in building them throughout the district were major problems of the [Churchbridge] council as a resolution as passed and forwarded to the Provincial Government indicate.

In a preamble to their resolution they point out that Good roads are the most important factor in forming a well to-do and contented population.

[43] A chain-driven Case was the first gasoline power buggy driven in Paynton by Eddie Langier followed by Alex McKay's McLaughlin automobile.

...when this was a Local Improvement District ... men worked out the taxes by building up the road with pick and shovel and a team of horses and what we called a scraper.

[44] Norman Lambert of Denholm sold Ford Model T gas-powered buggies and the McLaughlin Buicks providing a 15- or 20-minute driving lesson to the proud new owner.

The prairie trails proved inadequate and road allowances were graded and built up; culverts had to be installed where the natural water runs were.

Gradually, some of the main highways would get some gravel and it was quite a pleasure to pull of a muddy country road on to a few miles of gravel—Les Moffatt.

[41]The company that built the old highway (#5) that paralleled the Canadian National Railway...grading that road in 1928 or 1929 with their four horse teams.

The Borden Bridge–Saskatoon cut off was officially opened on October 20, 1969, shortening the trip between North Battleford and Saskatoon by 6 miles (9.7 km) As the highway was developed and the course straightened out, some towns disappeared as they were disconnected from the Yellowhead route.

A larger improvement came about as a part of the industrial revolution in the 1940s following the return of the men from World War II.

[32] Improved highways and travel by automobile soon saw the demise of a great majority of settlements along the prairie which were lively communities in the first half of the 20th century.

November 1947 saw communities along the Yellowhead organize together with caravans and meetings to encourage the Trans-Canada Trail to build on the northern route connecting eastern and western Canada.

[55] The original Kirilovka Doukhobor Village was discovered by the Saskatchewan Highways and Transportation when undertaking construction of new lanes for Provincial Hwy 5 northwest of Saskatoon, and west of Langham.

A strong national roads system is essential to the transfer of goods and services across this country.Highways and Transportation Minister Judy Bradley A ribbon-cutting ceremony was held August 24, 2000 when 10.7 kilometres (6.6 mi) of the Yellowhead highway were twinned in the summer of 2000 between Lashburn and Marshall.

$42.4 million was spent on this twinning creating 92 kilometres (57 mi) of new highway,[63] a new bridge over the north Saskatchewan River near Borden and a new railway underpass.