Wyoming is a leader in preserving historic trails.  In this historical state, the trails are preserved as they were in the 1800s, with visitors invited to explore the Oregon, Mormon Pioneer, California and Pony Express Trails.

In Casper, The National Historic Trails Interpretive Center is the place to begin your tour.  At Wyoming's best museum, visitors explore pioneer life.  Tourists particularly like movies of crossing the North Platte River.  Under the leadership of the Bureau of Land Management, the National Historic Trails Center Foundation and the City of Casper, the pioneer story is being told.  The BLM also has developed monuments along the trails to tell the story.

Many significant sites line the Oregon Trail.  A favorite stop is the Grattan Fight monument, commemorating a fight started after a Sioux Indian killed a wagon train cow.  The incident, which was bungled by a bad interpreter, resulted in the death of the Indian and the Army soldiers, and started years of Indian/settler attacks.

Tourists may drive the dirt road of the Oregon Trail for more than 41 miles, learning about Emigrant Gap, Avenue of Rock, Willow Spring and Prospect Hill.   A tour of Fort Laramie, which the National Park Service runs, is a must.  Built in 1841, Fort Laramie was a major hub for the Pony Express, stage transportation and the telegraph.  Several programs and exhibits are close by.

Dozens of well maintained sites educate tourists.  Children are particularly fascinated by stops at Ayres Natural Bridge, Fort Caspar, Independence Rock, Devil's Gate and South Pass Overlook.  Visitors gain a real appreciation for the hardships of the pioneers from this period of history.  Living history highlights the physical and cultural struggles of the American Indian, mountain man, and fur trade.