Location
c/o Guernsey State Park
Box 429
Guernsey, WY 82214
(307) 864-2176 (Office)
Todd Stevenson, Park Superintendent
Site Facilities
US Highway 26; Interstate 25 (exit 92).
Brief History
Also referred to as Register Cliff and Sand Point Station. The cliff is sandstone precipice rising one hundred feet from the valley floor of the North Platte River. Despite erosion by wind and water it remains very much as travelers on the Oregon Trail saw it more than 100 years ago. One of three main sites along the Oregon Trail where emigrants left inscriptions, Register Cliff is the closet to civilization. Only one night away from the safety of Fort Laramie, emigrants camped here along the banks of the North Platte River and etched their names into the soft sandstone cliff. Many of the inscriptions were made during the peak years of travel on the trail in the 1840s and 1850s. Even earlier, however, as far back as 1829, trappers and traders passing through carved their names into the rock. A small trading post was located near the cliff. In 1861, it was turned into a Pony Express stop, and later a stage station. A walkway and informative sign at the base of the cliff enable the visitor to learn more about this historic site.
Wyoming has many evocative place names. Ten Sleep. Freedom. Chugwater. Then’s there’s Story, where visitors usually want to ask: So, what’s the story behind Story? read more
Established by “Stagecoach King” Ben Holladay on orders from the U.S. Post Office Department, the Overland Trail carried nearly 20,000 emigrants a year west between 1862 and 1868. read more
