The California Trail was an emigrant trail of about 1,600 mi (2,600 km) across the western half of the North American continent from Missouri River towns to what is now the state of California.

Jul 18, 2023 · 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.

Aug 17, 2023 · The California Trail was one of the most important “Overland Trails” connecting the eastern United States to the west coast during the 19th century. It was used by over 250,000 settlers, including gold-seekers and farmers, who journeyed to California in search of …

May 20, 2024 · The National Park Service Geographic Resources Program hosts an interactive trails map viewer. Choose the California National Historic Trail and then zoom in to find the details you need for trip planning.

Jul 9, 2020 · Learn more about trail life, trail impacts on indigenous people, how the trail shaped history, and more!

May 20, 2024 · 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. National Historic Trail. During the 1820s and 1830s, California was a province of Mexico, largely ignored by Americans, and virtually all travel to and from the province was by sea.

In the two decades of the 1840s and 1850s, the California Trail carried over 250,000 gold-seekers and farmers to the state’s goldfields and rich farmlands. It was the greatest mass migration in American history.

Enjoy your photo tour of the California Trail from the Raft River to the Humboldt Sink. Near the base of the flat-top hill in the background, the California Trail left the Oregon Trail and headed south up the Raft River valley. Photo by Bob Black. * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Open from 1841 to 1869, the California Trail brought emigrants from many locations in the East. Starting points varied, but most began somewhere along the Missouri River and ran parallel with the Oregon Trail, heading west.

Feb 8, 2024 · The California Trail was the key route for 1849 Gold Rush emigrants, despite the older Oregon Trail, leading many to California's riches.