America's Best Road Trip Is Along A National Historic Trail

The two of us have spent a substantial portion of our 56 years of marriage on road trips.

We’ve followed the trail of Lewis and Clark from St. Louis to the Corps of Discovery’s winter quarters in Oregon. We’ve driven the Pacific Coast from San Diego to Washington state, and the Atlantic Coast from Key West to the Canadian border. We’ve driven nearly all of Route 66 and the Lincoln Highway. In 1983 we drove from our home in south Georgia to Alaska and back. Traveling on the highways and byways of America has been a big part of our lives.

Road trips gift travelers with new vistas, new towns, new foods, and new friends. For us, they have done all this while allowing us to grow closer as a couple.  How much closer? Consider for nearly 35 years we devoted 3 months of most summers sleeping nights in a series of four Volkswagen buses. You can’t get much closer than that. And we’re still married.

Most of us have dreamed of a special road trip — most likely, Route 66 — but haven’t gotten off the dime. The result is putting off the trip until next year when it will most likely meet the same fate.  A friend once told us her husband had long wanted to drive west and visit the Grand Canyon but kept putting it on hold due to work. Unfortunately, he had recently encountered health issues that made it unlikely his dream would be fulfilled.

Light traffic, small towns, local restaurants, historic locations, special events and scenic vistas all make for an enjoyable road trip. Journeys can be particularly interesting when a theme is incorporated.

For example, following the historic route of Pony Express riders from St. Joseph, Missouri, to Sacramento, California, or a journey around the Great Lakes devoted to visiting lighthouses. Trips can also be fun without a goal other than to enjoy a good time. On several occasions we set out from home without any plan other than a general direction.

If you are considering a road trip but haven’t decided where or when, we have a personal favorite to recommend.  A couple of weeks are required to do it right, but it will be well worth your time. We consider it the best road trip in America. 

Following The Pioneers To Oregon

Thousands of pioneer families in the mid-1800s left behind their homes and friends for a new life in the Pacific Northwest. They would be joined in 1847 by Mormons seeking religious freedom in the Great Salt Lake Valley and in 1849 by gold-seekers headed to California. Today’s travelers can follow the pioneers’ path on a journey lined with small towns, historic landmarks, breathtaking vistas, first-rate interpretive centers and few if any crowds.

Early pioneers assembled at Courthouse Square in Independence, Missouri, (jumping-off points soon moved northward along the east bank of the Missouri River) where they acquired goods and livestock, waited for the prairie grass to mature, and formed wagon trains for a grueling 4½ to 6-month trip through Kansas, Nebraska, Wyoming and Idaho to Oregon’s Willamette Valley.

Today’s travelers can’t drive directly on the historic trail, much of which is now on private property, but rather on paved and gravel roads roughly paralleling the route of the pioneers. Ruts and depressions made by the pioneers (many of whom mostly walked), wagons and livestock are visible in numerous locations along the way.   

Likewise, the trail’s famous landmarks noted in history books come to life for today’s travelers who can park their vehicle and explore the real thing.  A morning strolling through the historic western outpost of Fort Laramie allows a traveler to sense what pioneers must have experienced when they entered a small island of civilization on the High Plains. Enjoy a scenic drive along the mighty Columbia River where early pioneers had to board rafts for a dangerous river trip.   

Excellent interpretive centers along the trail are in Independence (MO), Bayard (NE), Scotts Bluff (NE), Casper (WY), Montpelier (ID) and Oregon City (OR).  Especially noteworthy is the National Historic Oregon Trail Interpretive Center that sits atop Flagstaff Hill outside Baker City, Oregon. 

Experiences And Landmarks Along The Oregon Trail

Today’s travelers following the route of the pioneers are able to explore numerous Oregon Trail landmarks. This is an overview of the trip that identifies some of the places we especially enjoyed.

Missouri  — The Independence/Kansas City area is filled with Oregon Trail history and worth two days exploration.  In addition to Courthouse Square in Independence where pioneers gathered in preparation for the journey, the area is home to the National Frontier Trails Museum, Upper Independence Landing where pioneers initially landed via steamships, Westport Landing that overtook Upper Independence Landing as a jumping-off point and Mount Washington Cemetery where famed mountain man Jim Bridger is buried.

The 1884 Rice-Tremonti Home in Raytown, 8 miles south of Independence, served as a popular campground for departing pioneers. There is more, so don’t hurry out of the Kansas City area. Pioneers who departed early often lived to regret it.

Kansas —  Pioneers set off from Missouri heading southwest along the Santa Fe Trail before veering northwest to meet the Platte River. With about 160 miles of trail in Kansas, the state offers several impressive landmarks.  A gravel road leading northwest from the small town of Saint Marys overlays the old trail and passes a small family cemetery where Louis Vieux is buried. Vieux acquired a homestead here where he sold grain to passing pioneers and constructed a toll bridge over the nearby Vermillion River.

Further northwest, Alcove Spring, one of the most pleasant stops along the trail, served as a pioneer campground near a major river crossing where the unfortunate Donner Party was delayed in 1846. Shortly before the trail enters Nebraska is Hollenberg Station (1858) that functioned as a Pony Express Station and a combination home, mercantile store, tavern catering to pioneers. 

Nebraska — The mostly flat and treeless Platte River Valley crossing today’s Nebraska served as a thoroughfare for pioneers headed to Oregon, gold-seekers hurrying to reach California and Mormons seeking religious freedom.  Today’s travelers can stroll historic wagon ruts and explore reconstructed buildings at an 1857 road ranch that served pioneers in Rock Creek Station State Historical Park where Wild Bill Hickok earned his reputation as a gunfighter.

Fort Kearney along the Platte River was an important military post constructed in 1848 to offer protection for pioneers heading west. Following the trail across the state passes near landmarks including California Hill, Ash Hollow, Windlass Hill, Courthouse Rock, Chimney Rock, Robidoux Pass and Scotts Bluff.  At California Hill travelers can walk along deeply eroded ruts from pioneer wagons being pulled up a major ascent. Scottsbluff is home to Scottsbluff National Monument with a small museum that includes a collection of Western sketches, paintings and photographs by William Henry Jackson.  A drive to the top of the bluff rewards travelers with an outstanding view. The Scotts Bluff area is worth two days.    

Wyoming — Pioneers continued along the North Platte into Wyoming for a stop at Fort Laramie, an important trading post acquired by the U.S. in 1849 for use as a military fort.  From there followed the river northwest to present-day Casper and veered southwest following the Sweetwater River to cross the Continental Divide. Some trains headed west across the desert to southern Idaho while others continued south to Fort Bridger before looping north into Idaho.

Much of today’s Wyoming landscape is little changed from what pioneers coped with nearly two centuries ago.  Fort Laramie is a national treasure worthy of a half day of exploration.  A 25-minute drive further west is Register Cliff where pioneers etched their names and home states into sandstone.  Nearby are 5-foot-deep ruts cut by thousands of wagons ascending a sandstone hill. In Casper travelers will want to explore National Historic Trails Interpretation Center and the Fort Casper Museum and Historic Site.  The trail southwest from Casper follows the Sweetwater River, passing a number of important landmarks including Independence Rock where pioneers climbed a granite monolith and etched their names.  We found South Pass the most stirring landmark along the entire trail.  Standing at the spot where thousands of pioneer wagons crossed the Continental Divide is a spiritual experience.  The final stop is at Fort Bridger State Park with a replica 1843 trading post once owned by the famed mountain man.

Idaho — Pioneers swung northwest into present-day Idaho’s beautiful Bear Lake Valley that contrasted with the rugged Wyoming desert they left behind. Most stopped at Fort Hall before following the wide sweep of the Snake River’s south bank, crossing to the north bank shortly after the river began veering northwest. The main trail cut through present-day Boise before the wagon trains again crossed the Snake into present-day Oregon

The Oregon Trail though Idaho offers outstanding views of the Snake River, plus numerous places of interest including an excellent interpretive center in Montpelier. Soda Springs geothermal activity fascinated pioneers with water that tasted like beer. As a bonus, travelers can stroll along trail ruts paralleling the 8th fairway of the Soda Springs community golf course. What a pleasant walk this is! 

Following Snake River’s south bank leads to Hagerman Fossil Beds National Monument and Three Island Crossing State Park, both of which offer trail ruts and beautiful views.  At the latter location pioneers utilized the islands as steppingstones for crossing to the north bank of the Snake. Further north the trail climbed to Bonneville Point that offers a panoramic view of the Boise River Valley.  Boise is home to a 77-acre reserve with undisturbed wagon ruts.

Oregon — Pioneers forded or ferried the Snake into present-day Oregon and headed northwest to access the Columbia River. In the early years wagon trains crossed into present-day Washington to visit Whitman Mission. The mission was attacked by Indians in 1847 resulting in pioneers rerouting northwest across the high desert to reach the Columbia just east of The Dalles. Here the pioneers paid to raft their wagons down the Columbia until 1846 when the Barlow Road was completed to offer trail access to Oregon City.

A visit to the National Historic Oregon Trail Interpretive Center atop Flagstaff Hill outside Baker City is worth at least a half day.  Forty-five miles north is La Grand’s Birnie Park where emigrants camped and trail ruts are visible. Another 15 miles and travelers can walk beside impressive swales at Oregon Trail Interpretive Park at Blue Mountain Crossing.

Additional sites with trail ruts can be seen on the way to The Dalles, a stop worth an entire day.  From The Dalles travelers can choose to continue following the Columbia River or turn south to drive overland via Barlow Road that opened in 1846.  End of the Trail Interpretive Center in Oregon City is a good place to conclude your trip.  If time permits, cross the Columbia River into Washington and visit the replica fort at Fort Vancouver Historic Site.  The British fort was a popular stop for pioneers.

Suggestions For A Better Trip

Take time to study Oregon Trail history before leaving home.  Acquire a copy of Gregory Franzwa’s “The Oregon Trail Revisited,” and, if possible, his set of Oregon Trail maps.  “The Great Platte River Road” by Merrill Mattes offers excellent coverage of the trail from Fort Kearny to Fort Laramie.  Follow the pioneer trail from east to west, not the reverse.  Travel in the late summer or early fall when crowds are light and the weather is generally pleasant.  Consider flying to Kansas City, renting a vehicle and dropping it off in Portland.  Fly home and relive one of the best road trips you’ll ever take.

David and Kay Scott live in Valdosta, Georgia, and are authors of “Exploring the Oregon Trail: America’s Historic Road Trip” (Globe Pequot).  Visit them at blog.valdosta.edu/dlscott