Oregon Trail Historic Byway

Jody Vandergriff

Before roads were paved, before railroad tracks were set, and before most people knew exactly what lay beyond the Rocky Mountains, if you wanted to head west, you boarded a wagon and took the Oregon Trail. Stretching 1,932 miles from Missouri to Oregon, it took up to five months to travel in its entirety, on a route that did not make for an easy journey. Food was scarce, weather was unpredictable, and the terrain was bumpy, wet, mountainous, and often dangerous. But despite these harsh conditions, in just the three years between 1849 and 1852, over 150,000 intrepid pioneers went “westernizing” on the trail. By the time the Transcontinental Railroad was completed in 1869, nearly half a million settlers, farmers, miners, ranchers, and families had traveled west in search of fertile land, better jobs, and a new life. Today, there is no better way to experience the lasting pioneer spirit of America’s westward expansion than by following the original trail, a 57-mile route paralleling the North Platte River through southeast Wyoming. Deep gouges from thousands of wagon wheels are still visible, along with the names of travelers inscribed into landmark rocks along the way. Walk in the footsteps of history while following this iconic route of American pioneers.

Cheyenne Depot Museum, Cheyenne Frontier Days Old West Museum, Homesteaders Museum, Rawhide Wildlife Habitat Management Area West Parking, Fort Laramie National Historic Site, Register Cliff State Historic Site, Guernsey Ruts, Wyoming Pioneer Memorial Museum, Nicolaysen Art Museum, National Historic Trails Interpretive Center, Tate Geological Museum at Casper College, Fort Caspar Museum