Cassady was born in Salt Lake City, literally "on the road", as his mother gave birth to him while his parents rode in a car. They later separated, with his father raising young Cassady in Denver, Colorado. He got into trouble often as a boy, and spent part of his teen years in a juvenile facility. While locked up, he began to write letters back and forth with Hal Chase, another member of the (then-future) Beat Generation. Chase told his friends Kerouac and Ginsberg about Cassady, who wanted to meet him. 