The Oregon-California Trail Across Wyoming
“On the road from the fort… I saw a wagon – tolerable, good but heavy – bacon, beans, stoves, chairs, iron wedges, crowbar, soap, lead, ovens, and many other articles all lying about in the prairie. They could not use them, and they could not carry them, and the only alternative was to leave them.”
– Israel F. Hale, 1849
The vast expanse of Wyoming, with its rugged mountains, sweeping plains, and winding rivers, played a crucial role in the westward expansion of the United States. Through its heart snaked the Oregon-California Trail, a vital artery that carried thousands of emigrants seeking new lives in the West during the 19th century. This arduous path, fraught with challenges and marked by both triumph and tragedy, left an indelible mark on the landscape and the history of the Cowboy State. This article explores the Wyoming portion of the Oregon-California Trail, a corridor of dreams, hardship, and enduring legacy.
Forging a Western Path
In the spring of 1841, the first emigrant wagon train bound for California, the Bidwell-Bartleson Party, departed from Independence, Missouri. John Bidwell, a young schoolteacher leading the company, candidly admitted, "Our ignorance of the route was complete… We knew that California lay west, and that was the extent of our knowledge." This sentiment reflected the reality for many early pioneers; the trail was little more than a rough track carved by fur traders along the Platte River. These early travelers lacked maps, road signs, bridges, ferries, and reliable sources for replenishing supplies or replacing exhausted livestock. Despite the risks, these bold, if perhaps naive, individuals ventured into the unknown.
Their fortunes turned when they encountered Thomas "Broken Hand" Fitzpatrick, a seasoned mountain man guiding a group of missionaries to the Pacific Northwest. Fitzpatrick agreed to lead the emigrants along the Platte River, navigating through the Rocky Mountains to Fort Hall in present-day Idaho. From there, the emigrants would be on their own. Miraculously, they persevered.
The route Fitzpatrick charted, following the North Platte River into central Wyoming, ascending the Sweetwater River, and traversing South Pass, became the established corridor for the combined Oregon, California, Mormon, and Pony Express Trails. Government maps published in the 1840s instilled confidence in prospective emigrants, transforming the old fur trade route into a recognizable and relatively accessible wagon road. The story of the Oregon-California Trail is one of adaptation, resilience, and the gradual taming of the wilderness.
Approaching the Rockies: Wyoming’s Gateway
The initial 500-mile stretch along the Platte River across Nebraska was considered the easiest segment of the journey. However, as travelers approached Wyoming, the terrain became more challenging and the scenery more dramatic. Wagons rumbled alongside the North Platte River, passing iconic landmarks such as Chimney Rock and Scotts Bluff before entering Wyoming near present-day Lingle. Here, the trail crossed a flat, grassy area, the site of the Grattan Fight of 1854, a clash between Sioux warriors and U.S. soldiers that ignited the bloody Plains Wars. The continuing emigration passed a somber reminder of the dangers of the frontier in the form of a shallow mass grave and scattered artifacts.
By this point, emigrants had endured six to eight weeks of relentless travel. The monotonous routine – rising before dawn, cooking, cleaning, packing, yoking oxen, and plodding through dust – often dulled their appreciation for the surrounding landscapes. Fort Laramie, situated 50 miles west of Scotts Bluff, offered a welcome respite from the drudgery.
Initially a simple adobe trading post bustling with fur traders, trappers, Plains Indians, and adventurers, Fort Laramie (originally Fort John) underwent a transformation in 1849 when the U.S. Army acquired it. The fort became a military post tasked with protecting and resupplying the ever-increasing number of overland travelers. It soon evolved into a vibrant community comprising soldiers, army wives, laundresses, children, servants, and quartermaster employees. Teepee encampments sprung up around the fort, creating a multi-ethnic "travel plaza" along the Oregon-California Trail. Emigrants could mail letters, repair wagons, shoe livestock, purchase necessities (and liquor) at the post sutler’s store, and interact with the fort’s Native American residents.
Most travelers approached Fort Laramie along the south bank of the North Platte River, which required fording the Laramie River just east of the fort. In the mid-1800s, the Laramie River’s spring currents posed a significant hazard, sometimes capsizing wagons and drowning emigrants and livestock. Seeking the safest fording points, travelers utilized at least nine different crossings, and eventually, bridges and ferries were established at some locations.
In the early years, the terrain north of Fort Laramie was deemed impassable for wagons. Mormon emigrants and others traveling on the north bank were forced to ford the deep, swift North Platte River near the fort. Around 1850, a ramshackle flatboat began offering passage across the river for the exorbitant price of $1 per wagon. Outraged by the cost, some emigrants pioneered Child’s Cutoff (also known as Chiles’s Route), which continued west on the north side of the river, bypassing the North Platte crossing altogether. Those on the south bank, however, had to cross the river upstream, near present-day Casper. By 1852, Child’s Cutoff became the preferred route for many, although some still crossed to visit Fort Laramie. An elegant iron military bridge, constructed in 1875, still stands over one of the four emigrant crossings of the North Platte River near the fort, the river now a placid scene compared to its turbulent past.
Whether traveling north or south of the river, Fort Laramie represented a significant milestone, marking the transition from the plains to the foothills of the Rocky Mountains. Laramie Peak, a prominent landmark to the west, served as a constant reminder of the challenges ahead. Travelers often lightened their wagons at Fort Laramie, selling unnecessary items – tools, books, clothing, furniture, and even food – but buyers were scarce. Disappointed sellers often discarded their possessions along the trail. Forty-niner J. Goldsborough Bruff noted "bacon in great piles" and a "diving bell and all the apparatus" among the abandoned items.
Ten miles northwest of the fort, travelers on the south side reached Sand Point (near present-day Guernsey), a common campsite. Here, some carved their names into the soft rock face of Register Cliff. A few miles further, the wagons were forced into a single file to navigate a steep, rocky ridge, avoiding the boggy ground closer to the river. Over time, thousands of iron-shod hooves and wagon wheels carved a deep channel into the stone, creating the Guernsey Ruts or Deep Hill Ruts.
The Oregon-California Trail followed the North Platte River deep into central Wyoming. As Child’s Cutoff gained popularity, entrepreneurs established toll bridges and ferries at various locations between Fort Laramie and present-day Casper, enabling wagons to zigzag across the river to avoid challenging terrain. At Casper, the river curved southwest, forcing those on the south side to make a final crossing there or further west near Red Buttes (now Bessemer Bend). This marked the end of the Platte River lifeline, and the need for water and grass became a constant worry.
Beyond the last crossing of the North Platte River at Red Buttes, all the trails converged for the arduous trek over Devil’s Backbone (also known as Avenue of Rocks) to Willow Spring. Here, travelers on all the trail variants and cutoffs merged onto the same road, facing a difficult ascent up Prospect Hill, where wagon wheels left behind multiple ruts and swales that are still visible today.
The next watering hole, Clayton’s Slough, an odorous alkali marsh, was named after a Mormon pioneer who had expressed his displeasure with the place. Livestock that drank too much of the alkaline water often suffered and died. Better water was available about four miles west at Horse Creek, the site of a Pony Express station in the 1860s. However, the road stretched another ten dry miles to the Sweetwater River, with scarce grass along the way.
This leg of the journey, Emigrant Gap (sometimes called the Poison Spider Route), provided a harsh preview of what lay ahead: long stretches of hot, hilly terrain with limited feed for animals and toxic alkali waterholes. The poisonous 30-mile stretch between the North Platte River and the Sweetwater Valley proved fatal for many oxen and emigrants.
Sweetwater to South Pass: Ascending the Divide
The vast granite expanse of Independence Rock signaled a temporary reprieve from the arid barrens, as it marked the point where the Oregon-California Trail met the Sweetwater River. Reaching this landmark by July 4th was considered a good omen, suggesting the emigrants would arrive safely in Oregon or California before the onset of winter blizzards. Travelers often paused to rest their livestock and explore the formation, the most famous landmark on the combined Oregon, California, Mormon, and Pony Express routes. Many chiseled or painted their names on the rock, transforming it into a lasting memorial to the westward migration.
Independence Rock also marked the beginning of South Pass, which, in the minds of emigrants, encompassed the entire 100-mile climb up the Sweetwater River to the Continental Divide. This uphill stretch offered good water, as travelers crossed the Sweetwater nine times. However, even here, grass was often scarce, and livestock went hungry.
Along this stretch, many travelers fell ill with a mysterious ailment known as "mountain fever," attributed to mosquitoes, altitude, and alkali dust. Modern doctors believe it was likely a tick-borne disease, such as Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever.
As they ascended toward the pass, emigrants often regretted discarding warm bedding and clothing. The high elevations brought chilly winds, freezing nighttime temperatures, and the threat of snowstorms, even in July. The weather in this region was notoriously unpredictable and unforgiving. In 1856, an October blizzard trapped four late-departing Mormon handcart and wagon companies in the Sweetwater Valley, resulting in the deaths of hundreds of emigrants.
Despite the challenges, the Sweetwater Valley possessed a stark and captivating beauty. Some travelers, awestruck by the scenery, penned poetic descriptions of this section of the Oregon-California Trail.
Travelers passed several notable landmarks as they traversed the Sweetwater Valley. Devil’s Gate, a natural gorge carved by the Sweetwater River through a ridge, intrigued many. Split Rock, a distinctive notch in the Rattlesnake Range, served as a visual guide, pointing travelers directly toward South Pass, some 75 miles distant. At Ice Slough, emigrants were astonished to find clear, sweet ice beneath the turf in mid-summer. Rocky Ridge, a 700-foot climb through broken rock, presented a grueling challenge, particularly for Mormon emigrants pulling loaded handcarts. Finally, the trail passed between Twin Mounds, two low hills marking the final approach to the Continental Divide. Over the years, this stretch became dotted with trading posts, Native American and army encampments, and Pony Express, stage, and telegraph stations.
To the northwest, the snow-covered peaks of the Wind River Range loomed, causing anxiety for some emigrants. However, the trail passed south of the Wind Rivers, avoiding the most rugged terrain. The ascent over South Pass, at an elevation of approximately 7,550 feet, was so gradual that most travelers were unaware of the precise moment they crossed the Continental Divide. John Bidwell, in his journal entry of July 18, 1841, casually noted, "Crossed the divide which separates the water of the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans."
The long-anticipated crossing of the Great Divide was anticlimactic. Travelers bound for Oregon and California were still less than halfway through their journey, and more significant challenges lay ahead.
Beyond the Divide: Diverging Paths
After sharing a common corridor through Nebraska and Wyoming, the Oregon-California Trail split into multiple routes beyond the Continental Divide. Three main branches, connected by various cutoffs, fanned out across western Wyoming: the Lander Road, the Sublette Cutoff, and the Fort Bridger route.
The Lander Road, the only wagon road in the overland trail system constructed with federal funds, was the last of the three routes to be opened. Frederick W. Lander, a government engineer, surveyed and built the road between 1857 and 1859 to improve transportation to the western states. Recognizing that the dryness and heat of the sagebrush deserts caused many travel problems, Lander routed his cutoff north of South Pass, through cooler, higher areas with more grass and water.
The Lander Road diverged from the main trail at the ninth crossing of the Sweetwater River, east of the Continental Divide, and angled northwest. It crossed the divide north of present-day Highway 28, entered Idaho west of present-day Auburn, Wyoming, and rejoined the main Oregon and California road near Fort Hall, Idaho. This northern route bypassed Utah, where tensions were rising between the federal government and the Mormon followers of Brigham Young. For a time, the Lander Road was plagued by "white Indians" – white men disguised as Native Americans – who lured emigrant families away from the main road and murdered them for their possessions.
The main trail south of South Pass headed toward Pacific Springs, a marshy area just west of the Continental Divide. While providing water and abundant feed, the swampy campsite posed a risk to livestock. From here, travelers entered a desolate landscape of sagebrush, a starvation zone for weary oxen. The next water source was Dry Sandy Crossing, a miserable spot where alkali pools poisoned several oxen belonging to the Donner-Reed Party in 1846, contributing to their later tragedy.
About 20 miles west of the Continental Divide, the main road forked at Parting of the Ways, offering a crucial decision point. Travelers could follow Lander Road, take the Sublette Cutoff heading due west towards Fort Hall, or continue southwest towards Fort Bridger and Utah.
The Sublette Cutoff, blazed in 1844, was favored by most emigrants to California and Oregon until the Lander Road opened. It offered a two-day time savings compared to the Fort Bridger route, but it crossed 45 miles of unforgiving desert between the Big Sandy and Green Rivers. Emigrants filled every container at the Big Sandy River and embarked on the desert crossing in the cool of the evening, often finding themselves still miles from their destination at dawn. After the desert, travelers faced the dangerous Green River crossing and several high ridges. The Sublette Cutoff was shorter but brutal on livestock.
The Fort Bridger road, though also dry and arduous, offered the advantage of watering cattle at the Big Sandy River each day. The original Oregon-California route continued southwest from Parting of the Ways, paralleling the Big Sandy River to the Green River crossings, and then proceeded to the Blacks Fork and Fort Bridger.
Fort Bridger, established by mountain men Jim Bridger and Louis Vasquez in 1843, served as another critical decision point. Emigrants could rest and resupply at the fort before turning northwest to rejoin the Sublette and Lander Road traffic east of Fort Hall. Alternatively, those bound for Utah and California could continue southwest on the Hastings Cutoff, a "shortcut" championed by California promoter Lansford W. Hastings. This route led the Donner-Reed Party through the Wasatch Range, into the Salt Lake Valley, and across the Great Salt Desert, ultimately contributing to their tragic fate.
For others, the Hastings Cutoff proved to be a blessing. The following summer, Brigham Young and his followers followed the same route out of Fort Bridger toward the Valley of the Great Salt Lake.
The Oregon-California Trail across Wyoming stands as a powerful testament to the human spirit’s capacity for endurance, adaptation, and the pursuit of dreams. The ruts etched into the landscape, the names carved into Register Cliff, and the stories passed down through generations serve as reminders of the thousands who traversed this challenging path, shaping the history and character of the American West.