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BLM
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
BUREAU OF LAND MANAGEMENT
Historic wagon in South Pass City, Wyoming. View of Split Rock on the Oregon Trail in Wyoming. Oregon Trail commemorative marker in Wyoming. Inscription Rock on the Oregon Trail in Wyoming. Replica of covered wagon on the Oregon Trail in Wyoming.
Wyoming
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Historic Trails in Wyoming

oregon-mormonpioneer trail marker

During the 1800s, the area now known as Wyoming became the focus for western expansion. The discovery of the South Pass route over the Rocky Mountains was the primary reason for the location of the Oregon, Mormon Pioneer, California, and Pony Express historic trails in Wyoming.

BLM-administered public lands in Wyoming are one of the few remaining locations where these national historic trails can be experienced in a setting relatively unchanged from the 1800s. In Wyoming, 60% (over 340 miles) of the Oregon, California, Mormon Pioneer, and Pony Express trails are under BLM stewardship. Learn more about the historic trails by visiting our interactive map.

In 1986, an historic trails management plan was prepared to guide BLM management of the Oregon, California, Mormon Pioneer, and Pony Express trails and cutoffs. Since that time, interest in the historic trails and visitor use has steadily increased. BLM Wyoming is considering updating or revising the management plan to address overall management of all the historic trails in Wyoming.

Wyoming's prominence in both the history and current management of these trails made it the logical choice as the home of an interpretive center dedicated to this important chapter of American history.

 

Historic Trails Links

Interactive map

Virtual tour

Auto tour guide

Trails etiquette

Planning

Links

1846 Oregon Trail map

GIS viewshed data

GIS viewshed maps

Link to National Historic Trails Interpretive Center.