Sweetwater County has more miles of still-visible pioneer trails than any other area in the United States.
The Oregon Trail stretched from Missouri to Oregon. Once the weary traveler surmounted South Pass and approached Pacific Springs, the journey was half over. The Continental Divide hadbeen crossed, and Oregon Buttes served as a marker to continue onward. The travelers approached the Parting of the Ways, where the trails headed north on the Oregon Trail or south along the Mormon Pioneer or California National Historic Trails.
The Oregon Trail, Pony Express Route, Cherokee Trail, Overland Trail, Parting of the Ways, and Old Emigrant Trail all pass through Sweetwater County. In fact, Highway 28 parallels the Oregon,Mormon Pioneer, Pony Express and California National Historic Trails. Intact trail ruts are visible at the False Parting of the Ways, Simpson’s Hollow and Pilot Butte sites.
Visiting Sweetwater County’s backcountry is exciting because it’s one of the last huge, unfenced, open areas in the United States. However, due to the great distances and open country, you need to make basic preparations before you begin exploring. Be sure your vehicle is adequate—high clearance or 4-wheel-drive. Carry water. Most importantly, let someone know where you’re headed and when you’re expected back.
Listed below are some of the finest trail remains in the United States. Please respect and protect them!
View the National Historic Trails Guide (PDF)
Highway 28 Historic Trails Driving Tour
Travel on Highway 28 between the Green River (west of Farson) and the South Pass Rest Stop (east of Farson). Along this route there are six significant sites: South Pass Overlook, False Parting of the Ways, Big Sandy Crossing, Simpson’s Hollow, Pilot Butte Trail Site and Lombard Ferry.
Pilot Butte Trails Site
Approximately 12 miles west of Farson on Highway 28 lies this BLM Historic Interpretative site with signs about the Pilot Butte Trail(s) landmark, Indian-Emigrant relations and Transcontinental Telegraph. Signs are adjacent to trail ruts of the Oregon, Mormon Pioneer, Pony Express and California National Historic Trails.
Pony Express Route
The route runs from South Pass in Sublette County to Pacific Springs, to Dry Sandy, to Little Sandy, to Big Sandy, and Farson, to Big Timber, Michael Morrins, to Hams Fork, to Church Buttes, to Millersville and to Fort Bridger.
Cherokee Trail
The trail runs from north of Baggs, Wyoming, to the old Emigrant Trail, east of U.S. 191. It crosses the Dans Creek and Little Bitter Creek south of Rock Springs, then Sage Creek (twice). It finally crosses the Green River just above the Blacks Fork River Confluence and to the Lone Tree Station. A high-clearance or 4-wheel-drive vehicle and dry road conditions are needed for access.
Overland Trail
This old stagecoach route runs across Bridger Pass in Carbon County to Sulphur Springs, Washakie, Duck Lake, Dug Spring, Fort LeClede, Black Buttes, Point of Rocks, Salt Wells, Rock Springs, Green River, Lone Tree Station, Granger and on into Fort Bridger. Remnants of stage stations along the trail can be easily accessed at Point of Rocks (along I-80) and Granger (also along I-80). There is a stage station marker in Rock Springs along Springs Drive and in Green River on Uinta Drive. A high-clearance or 4-wheel-drive vehicle and dry road conditions are needed for access to most areas.
Old Emigrant Trail
From Bridger Pass on the Overland Trail to Fort LeClede, turn southwest until it meets up with the Cherokee Trail on the Little Bitter Creek, then to Lone Tree Station follow the Overland Trail until Fort Bridger, then northwest through the Bridger Antelope Trap. A high-clearance or 4-wheel-drive vehicle and dry road conditions are needed for access.
Outlaw Trail
The northern route of the Outlaw Trail ran right through the middle of Sweetwater County—giving this area a strong outlaw history. According to some stories, Frank and Jesse James spent a winter in the county while hiding out from the infamous Northfield robbery in Minnesota.
Robert LeRoy Parker or “Butch Cassidy” was the most famous of all Western outlaws. He spent quite a bit of time here in Rock Springs and Green River in the 1890s. In fact, he got his nickname “Butch” by working at a butcher shop one winter in Rock Springs. The building is still there in downtown Rock Springs on South Main Street.
His gang was known as the Wild Bunch. They included his sidekick Harry “Sundance Kid” Longabaugh, Matt Warner, Elza Lay, Bob Meeks, Harvey Logan, Ben Kilpatrick, Bill Carver and many others.
After getting out of the Wyoming State Pen in 1896 for stealing horses, Butch kicked his outlaw career into high gear. Butch, Lay and Meeks robbed the Montpelier, Idaho bank to raise money for Matt Warner’s legal fees.
There are a number of stories about Butch and the Wild Bunch in this area in the years 1896 to 1900—including stories of jobs that were botched. At one point, Butch tried to go straight, but a deal worked out with the railroad fell through. It seems the railroad was considering hiring Butch as a train guard, which actually makes sense when you think about it.
In 1899 the Wild Bunch robbed a Union Pacific train in Wilcox, Wyo., between Rawlins and Laramie, blowing up the express car to get the job done. A year later, they pulled the same stunt in Tipton, just east of Rock Springs. The second time, though, the Union Pacific was prepared for them and within hours had a mounted posse of the best trackers in the West on the outlaws’ trail.The Tipton caper was pretty much the end of the Wild Bunch activities in Wyoming. They moved on to greener pastures in other states. Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid went on to SouthAmerica and weren’t seen again in the area until the 1920s. But that’s another story. Discover the hiding place for Frank and Jesse James, and follow the tails of Butch Cassidy, the Sundance Kid and the Wild Bunch.
Oregon & California Gold Rush Trails
Westward-bound families began crossing Wyoming in the early 1840s. Headed for Oregon, their journey took them along barely visible tracks over South Pass, down the Green River, then up over the mountains of western Wyoming. By 1850, the trickle of travelers had turned into a flood of emigrants as tens of thousands headed west for Oregon, Utah and the gold fields of California. Deeply entrenched ruts left by wagons headed west marked the once lightly traveled trail.
It is still possible to see much of the Oregon Trail. The arid environment combined with the lack of industrial development in the area has left long segments of the trail intact.
To travel the Oregon Trail, begin your trip either at South Pass State Historic Park or Fort Bridger State Historic Park. From South Pass, travel along Wyoming Highway 28 to Farson. From Farson, continue along Highway 28 toward the Green River, then follow Wyoming 372 south to I-80. Take I-80 west to Fort Bridger. If traveling west along I-80, simply exit at Fort Bridger and pick up one of the National Park Service guide tours. Upon returning to I-80, travel east to the LaBarge exit, then travel north on Wyoming 372 to the intersection with Highway 28. At Highway 28 turn east and drive to South Pass.
Mormon Trail
1996 and 1997 marked the 150th anniversary of the initial Mormon exodus to Utah. The Mormons were a unique part of the Western emigrant migration.
From 1846 to 1869, about 70,000 Mormons traveled along an integral part of the road west, the Mormon Pioneer Trail. It started in Nauvoo, Ill., crossed Iowa, connected with “The Great PlatteRiver Road” at the Missouri River, and ended near the Great Salt Lake. Generally following preexisting routes, the trail carried tens of thousands of Mormon emigrants to a new home in the Great Basin. From their labors would arise the State of Deseret, later to become the State of Utah.
Although their move to the Great Salt Lake Valley was not entirely voluntary, their goal was to maintain a religious and cultural identity and to find an isolated area where they couldpermanently settle and practice their religion in peace. This was a movement of an entire people,an entire religion, and an entire culture driven by religious fervor and determination.Because the Mormon Pioneer Trail is in pretty much the same corridor as the Oregon, California and Pony Express Trails in southwest Wyoming, the key landmarks and historic sites arethe same. However, one is unique to the Mormon Trail: the Willie Handcart Site.
Willie Handcart Site is a mass grave of 15 people who died in a single night in October 1856 when early winter storms trapped over 1,200 Mormon emigrants on the Wyoming plains. The site is about seven miles southeast of Atlantic City, Wyoming. As the road is unpaved and can be very muddy when wet, check local conditions before your visit.
Adventure Itinerary
Whether visiting for a week or just passing through, there are enough exciting opportunities to keep you occupied for years to come.
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National High School
Finals Rodeo
Rock Springs, WY
July 15-21, 2012
