“The best organized mass migration in American history” began in 1846 as the first group of Mormons, led by Brigham Young, traveled from Nauvoo, Illinois to Great Salt Lake in Utah. Through 1869, more than 70,000 Mormons headed west along the 1,300-mile Mormon Pioneer Trail.
The Mormons followed existing trails and used maps and accounts from previous explorers to plan their route west. Traveling in military-style “companies,” they made improvements to the trail and built support facilities to aid those following. They also developed the use of handcarts, fashioned a basic odometer and built the first commercial ferry (a replica of which can be seen at the Fort Casper Museum, on the site of a Wyoming crossing that proved critical to the trail).
Acclaimed among America's most scenic byways by Teddy Roosevelt, the road known locally as the North Fork Highway parallels the North Fork of the Shoshone River, with the Absaroka Mountains rising to the southwest. read more
From museums of wildlife art to museums dedicated to Wyoming's Western heritage, the inquisitive vistor will have plenty to see and do in Wyoming's museums. read more
