The Oregon Trail meant 2000 miles of walking to the emigrants. (Contrary to popular belief, the wagons were used to haul belongings only, not people. And horses simply were not cut out for the long, arduous and hot passage across the continent). So far, I've only explored a fraction of this trail, which means I've got quite a few more vacations to plan! The map below shows the portion I've been on to date, and points out a few of the notable landmarks that I've seen.

The Oregon, California and Mormon trails were more or less coincident for much of their way across the Great American Desert. (If you want to quibble, however, the Mormons generally kept to the north bank of the Platte River, while the other overlanders stayed to the south.) And sometimes the Pony Express Trail joined in as well. If you follow the path shown in the map as part of a modern day vacation, you will encounter relics from all of these. You'll find interesting history and geography on both sides of the Platte, so be sure to cross it from time to time. And don't forget to look at the river itself — a unique river that gained the reputation for being "a mile wide, and an inch deep."

To keep things simple here, I'll lump the Oregon, Mormon and California Trails together. Let me show you some of my favorite stops. I'll describe them in much the same sequence as the overlanders would have encountered them—from east to west. Actually, this corresponds to the order I've usually seen them in too, since I start from a home base of Minnesota.

After each description in the following pages, you'll find contact information as well as links to other useful Web sites. Be sure to let me know if you have any corrections or suggestions for other links I should add.

At various places I'll show you some of the maps, brochures and guidebooks I've picked up along the way. But please understand, when I display pictures of these, it's simply to let you take a peek at some of my favorite mementos; I'm not trying to cash in on someone else's handiwork, and I'm not a merchant selling anything.

I hope you'll find navigating this Web site easy, for there's a lot in it. If you want to jump to a particular landmark on the Oregon Trail, you can click that item on the mini-menu near the top of each page. Or, if you prefer to follow the Platte River like the overlanders, simply click the big blue arrow at the bottom of each page. This will chain you sequentially from one landmark to the next, in order (east to west). The left arrow will take you back one notch to the previous location on the trail. Thus, using the blue arrows lets you read this Web site in order just like you might a book. If you're all set, click the blue arrow to begin your journey along the Great Platte River Road...

• Federal
  • National Park Service
  
  
• Other Interesting Sites
  • Complete Text of Francis Parkman's Oregon Trail
  • End of the Oregon Trail Interpretive Center
  • Inland Northwest Parks and Monuments Page
  • National Historic Oregon Trail Interpretive Center
  • Oregon-California Trails Association
  • Oregon Trail Diaries