Places to Visit Along the Trail
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Rising more than 300 feet above the surrounding landscape, Chimney Rock is visible for miles. Its grand spire served as a marker for trail travelers on the Oregon, California, Mormon Pioneer, and Pony Express national historic trails. Inspiring awe in those who saw it, Chimney Rock was mentioned in more emigrant diaries than any other feature along the Oregon Trail. Visit go.nps.gov/ChimneyRock to learn more.
- Duration:
- 1 minute, 52 seconds
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The Rock Creek Station was once a popular stage stop for trail travelers and also served as a Pony Express station. Today, the state historical park welcomes visitors to enjoy 350 acres of prairie hilltops, timber-studded creek bottoms, and rugged ravines. The park’s visitor center displays numerous artifacts that piece together more than a century of visitors, from trail travelers to the notorious gunfighter “Wild Bill” Hickock.
Managed by the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission, outdoornebraska.gov.
- Duration:
- 2 minutes, 17 seconds
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This 223-acre park is home to tallgrass prairie, hardwood forest, scenic views and a 5-mile network of trails. The area was a favorite camp for emigrants traveling the Oregon and California Trails as they waited to cross the Big Blue River. Many trail travelers carved their names in the stone around the spring. Today, Alcove Spring is a popular recreation area to take a trail run, let the kids explore nature, and to photograph sunsets and wildlife.
- Duration:
- 1 minute, 16 seconds
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Revel in the beauty and sweeping vistas of western Nebraska while exploring the area’s history and archeology. What was once a popular camp spot for Oregon and California trail travelers, today is a one-thousand-acre park encompassing two historic sites, Ash Hollow and Windlass Hill.
Visit go.nps.gov/AshHollow to learn more.
- Duration:
- 1 minute, 20 seconds
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Situated at the Kansas-Nebraska border is the Hollenberg Pony Express Station. It is a rare example of a Pony Express station that still stands unaltered in its original location. A new visitor center with interpretive exhibits has been erected near the historic building.
A trip here provides the chance to step back in time by visiting the original station house where Pony Express riders and thousands of emigrants stopped to rest, eat, and purchase supplies along their journey.
- Duration:
- 1 minute, 6 seconds
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Guernsey, Wyoming, is a small town situated along the North Platte River and the Great Platte River Road, a significant historic route followed by travelers on the Oregon, California, Pony Express, and Mormon Pioneer national historic trails. Visitors have the opportunity to explore several notable trail related sites in the area, including Oregon Trail Ruts State Park, Register Cliff State Park, and Guernsey State Park, each showcasing the remnants and legacy of westward expansion.
- Duration:
- 4 minutes, 25 seconds
Oglala Lakota - Early Encounters with the Westward Migration
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What started as a gentle flow soon turned into a river of Euro-American emigrants traveling through Lakota lands to Oregon and California country. The great northern plains of South Dakota were the traditional homeland of the Oglala Lakota people. In the mid 1800’s, thousands of settlers traveled west on the California, Mormon, and Oregon trails. Prospecting for gold in the Black Hills led to a flood of encroachment and settlement of traditional Lakota homeland. Oglala Lakota tribal elders tell of their traditional nomadic lifestyle and social structure, how that was challenged and influenced by American westward migration, and how their people and beliefs endure.
- Duration:
- 6 minutes, 48 seconds
National Trails Videos
Check out other great videos about national historic trails available on YouTube.
Watch more on YouTube!
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