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    Recommended Reviews - Oregon Trail Ruts

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    Jessica S.

    I spent a lot of years hunched over a computer playing Oregon Trail so anytime I can see something related to the actual thing I make a stop. This is truly a wonderful little treasure, easy to find, free, great bit of history! Located very near to the Oregon Trail Wagon Ruts is Register Cliff, which is one of the most prominent of the many places along the Oregon Trail where emigrants would carve their names into the soft rock; more than 700 names can still be seen on this cliff and on other rock outcroppings nearby. But the rock has a history to tell beyond the words inscribed in it. It is, of course, a memorial to the emigrants who felt a need to leave their mark on this significant journey of their lives in which they left behind the world they were born into and traveled for months to a new ones. But it is also a record to others. At one time the names included dates as early as 1829 and one reportedly from 1797. Both of which were judged authentic. If those dates were accurate, they represented the first white people to pass by here, mountain men involved in the fur trade. Many dates, too, were placed on the rocks after the decline of the Oregon Trail. Soldiers from Fort Laramie occasionally inscribed their names. Ranchers and cowboys also scratched their names into the rocks in the years of Wyoming Territory and early statehood. Others since then have occasionally tried to join their historic predecessors by adding their names to the list. But there is more. To Native Americans the marks on this cliff represent a different legacy. One of loss rather than achievement. They also used this rock for inscribing their own marks and at one time some of the Indian pictographs and petroglyphs on the rocks were still visible, but like the land surrounding us that was once the hunting grounds of several Indian nations, those images have been lost in the flood of the white names on the rocks. While leaving the historic area, we also saw several monuments that represent where the Pony Express went through. Make sure to check all this out! Very cool.

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    11 months ago

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    9 years ago

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    12 years ago

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    8 years ago

    What a great thing to see something that was once a pathway to the West, the stories it could tell

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    Fort Laramie National Historic Site - Barack's ruin at the edge of the site.

    Fort Laramie National Historic Site

    4.6(20 reviews)
    17.7 km

    We spent about three hours walking around this site and it was clearly apparent how much time has…read morebeen taking to restore the buildings. Be sure to walk through the officers quarters to see the furnished rooms. Such a cool glimpse of days gone by! It was fascinating to use the informational signs to try and imagine what the fort looked like as a bustling community. It was especially interesting to me because I had an ancestor who came through and spent time here back in the 1850s. The people in the museum/gift shop were friendly and informative, and even offered a list of all the Bugle calls that played periodically while we were there. I loved that! This would be a great place to visit for adult adults and children alike.

    Fur trading post turned military outpost [Laramie WY]…read more We arrived at 4:32p and, luckily, the Visitors Center was still open and I was able to get my National Park passport stamped. The museum showcased items from eras past. When we visited Fort Laramie we learned that this was another iconic landmark and a major outpost stop because it served the needs to thousands of emigrants on the historic Oregon, Mormon, and California trails. Other historic routes that passed through Fort Laramie were the Transcontinental telegraph route, the Deadwood and Cheyenne stage routes and even the Pony Express Route between St Joseph Missouri and Sacramento California! whoa wow! Yes, a small monument stood at the park with a plaque that mentioned the Pony Express route and SacTown! I then enjoyed poking my head inside the structures. Uniforms, weapons and other artifacts were on display. Seeing the exhibit at the restored Cavalry Barracks was pretty cool too. There are clean restrooms inside. One of the structures, the Old Bedlam, is the oldest standing building in the State of Wyoming. Imagine that, and I got a chance to see it. Question: Who was the Army defending the emigrants against? Not foreigners but the American Indians which ended upon the death of Sitting Bull in 1890. The Army abandoned the fort that same year. The park is open everyday from dawn until dusk but the Museum and Visitors Center from 8:00a to 4:30p Learning history as we go. Happy travels! Review #3478

    Photos
    Fort Laramie National Historic Site
    Fort Laramie National Historic Site - Sign

    Sign

    Fort Laramie National Historic Site - Park Entrance

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    Park Entrance

    Scotts Bluff National Monument - 07.07.24

    Scotts Bluff National Monument

    4.5(51 reviews)
    98.4 km

    Call Your Bluff…read more Protected National Monument site that's over 3k-acres and is situated west of Gering, Nebraska. We visited here almost eight years ago on our epic road trip across the US, and I can't believe I forgot to review this place. The Good: *The bluff is an important landmark on the Oregon Trail and there's an Oregon Trail Museum at the base of the bluff. *There's a windy 1.6-mile drive up the Summit Rd to get to the top of Scotts Bluff. There were quite a few cars (the park draws in 100k visitors a year) in front of us, if I remember correctly. But I don't think it took that long to get to the top, because even if it did there some superb views along the way up. *Leashed pets are OK on trails *Free! The Meh: *Only four miles of hikable trails The Ugly: *I wish we had more time to explore and hike the trails, but we had a schedule to keep. Next time, Gadget! Conclusion: Great park that's worth a 1hr detour if you're headed along on this stretch of 80.

    WOW - if you have a change to visit, GO! Such beauty!…read more - - - May, 2025 Visit - - - My wonderful wife and I were able to enjoy a getaway weekend, with a visit to Devils Tower, WY; we flew through Denver and drove to NE Wyoming. We stayed in Torrington, WY; as we woke up we looked at the map and realized how close we were to Scott's Bluff National Monument, so we decided to make a visit, and we're glad we did. - - - One of the signs at the Park / Monument shares that the Indians / the Native Americans called Scotts Bluff "Me-a-pa-te", or "hill that is hard to go around." Scotts Bluff is along the Oregon Trail, which runs through the Monument / Park. Given how flat the Nebraska plains are, and that this is 800 feet tall, you can see Scotts Bluff from about 100 miles away, and giben that the wagon trains made ~ 10-12 miles per day (or less), you could surely see it for 7-10 days before and after passing it. So... "hill the is hard to go around" is appropriate and accurate! - - - The Visitor's Center is nice and the NPS staff friendly and helpful. - - - There is a trail that you can walk up to wonderful views from the Bluff; along the way you may (or may not) be surprised to see some plants that could also be seen further west, in Joshua Tree and other National Parks - agave and yucca. The Monument is near a highway, so you may occasionally hear a little road noise, but it is infrequent and you're able to readily hear birds and bugs as you enjoy the hike. As we drove in, along Highway 26 we could see the Monument off in the distance. We then turned down a road to capture some photos; a few minutes later a farmer drove by and slowed and offered to show us the way to the Monument by driving us in "the back way" where we drove the Oregon Trail into the parking lot - wonderful! So, driving-wise, we recommend coming in via Hw 92... from Torrington... Hw 26 E to Mitchell to Hw 29 S to Hw 92 E to the "Old Oregon Trail Road" - - - The Monument towers so tall... Beautiful! And tall. There is an audio tour you can listen to your phone... the sings have the phone number to call and listen... this is a wonderful listen - thank you, National Park Service (NPS) for creating / providing this audio tour. - - - We followed the trail up to the top, to where it passes through the hand-made tunnel to the other side. We rose 400 feet in elevation and were blessed with a nice breeze and an amazing view. - - - When the US Mint made the state quarters, Nebraska selected Chimney Rock for their quarter; Chimney Rock is 20-23 miles from Scotts Bluff, AND is visible from the trail... so nice! - - - Thank you, National Park Service for maintaining Scotts Bluff National Monument, for us and for future generations! If you have a chance to visit, GO! ----- ----- -----

    Photos
    Scotts Bluff National Monument
    Scotts Bluff National Monument
    Scotts Bluff National Monument - 07.07.24

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    07.07.24

    Chuck Wagon Rv Park

    Chuck Wagon Rv Park

    2.0(2 reviews)
    19.1 km

    WiFi connection was very weak…read more WiFi connection was very weak The train track which ran at least 10-12 times commercial cargo trains ( over 200 cars ) during our stay, day and ALL NIGHT LOOOONG. Rail is about 15 feet away from Rv site . Each time they passed, they blew the whistles super loud and shook the ground .got hardly any sleep at all. We found next day there were much better better Rv park 4 miles away from there. High voltage tower is right next park . Right Next site 11,12 , trashed houses with broken fence, tools are everywhere, On-site there was cafe and breakfast place looks so shitty and haunted . Perfect for Halloween night. Dog poos are every where , weeds are pretty bad. It's a very small park, definitely need TLC. Booked 2 nights but Stayed 1 night . Not recommended , Don't want to come back . Very hard to communicate with owner on the phone due to her hearing problem. If you stay, recommend use surge protector ,

    Not to many choices in this town. There really aren't any services available. We stayed here…read morebecause it was the closest to the Ft. Laramie National Historic Site. The town is pretty depressed. But, there are several towns within 20-40 minutes away with retail and restaurants. Scott's Bluff, Neb is about an hour away if your following historical locations on the Oregon, California, Mormon and Pony Express trails. The RV park is ........we'll, if your just looking for a place to camp for the night......it's got full hookups. Not sure if I could go so far as to say it's better than a rest area or a Walmart parking lot. It is pretty run down. There is a restaurant on the property, but it smelled bad, so we didn't go there for breakfast. There are train tracks adjacent to the property and yes the trains activate their horns while going by. But, that's because they are traversing a road crossing and are mandated by Federal Transportation rules to do so. The woman at the front desk was very friendly and helpful. The rv park is only about thee miles from Ft. Laramie National Historic Landmark. The park was relatively quiet, and the hookups were welcomed in the heat of the day.

    Photos
    Chuck Wagon Rv Park - Breakfast  place on - site

    Breakfast place on - site

    Chuck Wagon Rv Park - Cafe

    Cafe

    Chuck Wagon Rv Park - Right next to park , cargo train goes night and day .

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    Right next to park , cargo train goes night and day .

    Oregon Trail Ruts - landmarks - Updated May 2026

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