Category Archives: On the Trail

On the Trail: Farewell Bend, Huntington, Oregon

On the Trail, Photos

America is full of history and the Oregon Trail is one large part of that history. Over the next several weeks, we’ll be highlighting a site, park or visitor center dedicated to helping us learn more about the Oregon Trail.

Farewell Bend Park

Farewell Bend Scenery

23751 U.S. 30 Business, Huntington, OR 97907

A friend, fellow blogger and great photographer, of my husband Douglas, Mike McBride was driving across America this summer and posted these shots along the Oregon Trail. You can find more scenic photographs by Mike using the links below. Just one of the many scenes along the 2,000 mile Oregon Trail.

Farewell Bend and the Oregon Trail

After following the Snake River for 330 miles, Oregon Trail pioneers rested above the bend in the river here, then bid farewell to the Snake River and continued their trek. Look for a small iron cross, visible from U.S. 30, that marks the location where the Snake River Shoshone Indians battled with pioneer travelers in 1860.  Restored covered wagons rest at the park entrance and next to the Oregon Trail kiosk.  You can also visit the National Historic Oregon Trail Interpretive Center on Flagstaff Hill just east of Baker City, no more than an hour’s drive away.

Farewell Bend State Recreation Area web site

Previously on On the Trail:

On the Trail: The National Oregon/California Trail Center

On the Trail, Resources

America is full of history and the Oregon Trail is one large part of that history. Over the next several weeks, we’ll be highlighting a site, park or visitor center dedicated to helping us learn more about the Oregon Trail.

The National Oregon/California Trail Center

On the Trail: The National Oregon/California Trail Center

The National Oregon/California Trail Center is located within the beautiful Bear Lake Valley of Southeastern Idaho and situated on the historic site of the original Oregon Trail.

The Trail Center was built to preserve, perpetuate and promote the pioneer history and heritage of the Oregon/California Trail and the Bear Lake Valley.

The Center interprets the story of the pioneers who braved the arduous, six-month, 2,000 mile journey across the unsettled American West from Missouri to the Oregon Territory. The interpretation of this epoch migration is told using live actors within historically accurate interpretive areas located in the center. Vistitors join a simulated wagon train headed west and experience what it was like to prepare for the journey.

The Center also includes the Peg Leg Smith Trading Post gift shop, two sets of large and spacious public restrooms, the beautiful Allinger Community Theatre for viewing films and experiencing cultural/musical events, the Simplot art exhibit featuring the Oregon Trail paintings of Idaho artist Gary Stone, and the Rails and Trails Museum that highlights the heritage of the Bear Lake Valley as well as exhibits from the Bear Lake County Historical Society, Union Pacific and Daughters of Utah Pioneers. — NOCTC Web Site

320 North 4th Street, P.O. Box 323 | Montpelier, Idaho 83254

Previously on On the Trail:

On the Trail: Names Hill, Wyoming

On the Trail

America is full of history and the Oregon Trail is one large part of that history. Over the next several weeks, we’ll be highlighting a site, park or visitor center dedicated to helping us learn more about the Oregon Trail.

Names Hills, Wyoming

On the Trail: Names Hill, Wyoming

“Names Hill is a bluff located on the bank of the Green River in the U.S. state of Wyoming, where travelers on the Oregon and California trails carved their names into the rock. It one of three notable “recording areas” along the emigrant trails in Wyoming along with Register Cliff and Independence Rock.

Names Hill was located near a heavily used crossing of the Green River. The earliest human recordings at the site are Native American pictographs.[3] European American names began appearing as early as 1822 as mountain men crossed the river on their way to the beaver streams of the Western Rocky Mountains. In 1844,Caleb Greenwood and Isaac Hitchcock lead the first wagon train over what would later be called the Sublette-Greenwood Cutoff, along the way crossing the Green River at Names Hill. The wagon trails would rest at the Green River following a 40 miles (64 km) waterless trek across the prairie, providing an opportunity for travelers to add their names to the hill.[4]

Among the more famous names inscribed on the rock is famed mountain man Jim Bridger. Some have disputed the authenticity of the signature as Bridger was thought have been illiterate.[3]

— Wikipedia

More information on Names Hill, Wyoming:

Previously on On the Trail:

On the Trail: End of the Oregon Trail – Historic Oregon City

On the Trail

America is full of history and the Oregon Trail is one large part of that history. Over the next several weeks, we’ll be highlighting a site, park or visitor center dedicated to helping us learn more about the Oregon Trail.

End of the Oregon Trail – Historic Oregon City

End of the Oregon Trail - Historic Oregon City

The End of the Oregon Trail Interpretive Center reopened in July 2013 with a “Bound for Oregon” featured film, interactive learning programs, exciting exhibits with a focus on free play and “please touch” spaces, group programs and 24/7 outdoor signage implementing smart phone technology. Plan your group or school tour today with our online form.

On the Trail: End of the Oregon Trail - Historic Oregon City Map

Contact Information

End of the Oregon Trail Interpretive & Visitor Information Center

1726 Washington Street, Oregon City, OR 97045  |  (503) 657-9336  |  Open: Monday – Saturday 9:30am – 5pm, Sunday 10:30am – 5pm

 

Previously on On the Trail:

On the Trail: National Historic Oregon Trail Interpretive Center, Baker City, OR

On the Trail, Resources

America is full of history and the Oregon Trail is one large part of that history. Over the next several weeks, we’ll be highlighting a site, park or visitor center dedicated to helping us learn more about the Oregon Trail.

National Historic Oregon Trail Interpretive Center

National Historic Oregon Trail Interpretive Center

The National Historic Oregon Trail Interpretive Center offers living history demonstrations, interpretive programs, exhibits, multi-media presentations, special events, and more than four miles of interpretive trails.

They offer a variety of interpretive programs year-round—please visit their Events page to view the calendar of programs of or see what special exhibits are in the Flagstaff Gallery.

From the National Historic Oregon Trail Interpretive Center web site…

The National Historic Oregon Trail Interpretive Center is managed by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), a Department of the Interior agency. The BLM is assisted by the Trail Tenders, Inc., a local non-profit, volunteer organization dedicated to the Oregon Trail Interpretive Center. You can view our brochure here (PDF).

The Oregon Trail Interpretive Center tells the story of the emigrant experience through exhibits, programs, films and special events. The Center focuses on six themes related to westward migration and settlement.

  • Pioneer Life on the Oregon Trail
  • Mountain Men and early Trail Travelers
  • Native Americans along the Oregon Trail
  • Natural History along the Trail and in Eastern Oregon
  • Mining and Early Settlement
  • History of the General Land Office – Grazing Service – Bureau of Land Management

Mission Statement

The National Historic Oregon Trail Interpretive Center at Flagstaff Hill portrays and interprets the Oregon Trail experience and its related themes, while preserving and protecting its historic, cultural heritage, natural, and visual features. The Center serves as a focal point for the cultural heritage traveler, contributes a viable tourism industry for the area, and is committed to maintaining strong community partnerships.

Education Resource Guides for Teachers | Lesson Plans

If you would like information on fees, please click here, and for groups visits, click here. A digital brochure is available here

The National Historic Oregon Trail Interpretive Center is located five miles east of Baker City, Oregon, on Highway 86. Take Exit 302 from Interstate 84: 125 miles northwest of Boise, 95 miles southeast of Pendleton. For directions, click here.

NHOTIC map1

Contact Information

National Historic Oregon Trail Interpretive Center

22267 Oregon Hwy 86 • PO Box 987 • Baker City, OR • 541-523-1843 • BLM_OR_NH_Mail@blm.gov