California National Historic Trail
Follow in the footsteps of over 250,000 emigrants who traveled to the gold fields and rich farmlands of California during the 1840s and 1850s: the greatest mass migration in American history. The California National Historic Trail is over 5,000 miles long and covers portions of 10 states. Step into history along more than 1,000 miles of ruts and traces from travelers and their overland wagons.
Those portions of the California National Historic Trail authorized by Congress include nearly 2,000 miles of historic trail that was once the primary "road" taken by farmers, enterprising business managers, gold-seekers, and fortune hunters who chose to make a new life on the California frontier. The route passes through ten states from Missouri to California.
- Auto and ATV
- Scenic Driving
- Guided Tours
- Self-Guided Tours - Auto
- Hiking
- Horse Trekking
- Horseback Riding
- Museum Exhibits
- African American Heritage
- Archeology
- Arts
- Photography
- Poetry and Literature
- Burial, Cemetery and Gravesite
- Colonization and Settlement
- Explorers and Expeditions
- Forts
- Monuments and Memorials
- Native American Heritage
- Wars and Conflicts
- Westward Expansion
- The Gold Rush
- Rock Landscapes and Features
- Trails
Wagon at Register Rock in City of Rocks National Reserve
Wagon at Register Rock in City of Rocks National Reserve
A creek in Carlin Canyon, Nevada on the California Trail
A creek in Carlin Canyon, Nevada on the California Trail
Trail ruts on through Humboldt Wells in Nevada
Trail ruts on through Humboldt Wells in Nevada
Devil's Gate, Wyoming
Devil's Gate was an important emigrant landmark in Wyoming.
View of West Pass on Carson Route
View of West Pass on the Carson Route of the California NHT.