Feasibility Study

Trail ruts at South Pass, near Lander Wyoming.

Photo/NPS

4-Trails Feasibility Study - The Oregon Trail Study Routes

The National Park Service (NPS) has prepared a feasibility study to evaluate some 64 routes for possible addition to the Oregon, California, Mormon Pioneer, and Pony Express National Historic Trails. This study was authorized by Congress — in response to years of sustained public interest — under the Omnibus Public Land Management Act of 2009.

The 10 Oregon Trail study routes listed in the Act are:

• Naches Pass Trail in Washington
• Cowlitz River Route in Washington
• Whitman Mission Route in Oregon and Washington
• Upper Columbia River Route in Oregon and Washington
• Meek Cutoff in Oregon
• Free Emigrant Road in Oregon
• Cutoff to Barlow Road in Oregon
• North Alternate Oregon Trail in Idaho
• Goodale’s Cutoff in Idaho
• North Side Alternate in Idaho

Also listed in the act are seven routes that are already designated segments of the California National Historic Trail. The study will determine whether they should be designated as Oregon National Historic Trail as well. They are:

• St. Joe Road in Missouri and Kansas
• Council Bluffs Road in Iowa and Nebraska
• Old Fort Kearny Road (Oxbow Trail) in Nebraska
• Raft River to Applegate in Idaho, Utah and Nevada
• Sublette Cutoff in Wyoming
• Applegate Route in Nevada, California, and Oregon
• Childs Cutoff in Wyoming

Other trails in the feasibility study include California National Historic Trail, Pony Express National Historic Trail, and Mormon Pioneer National Historic Trail.

GIS Data

GIS data is now available to the public for the Feasibility Study Revision for Additional Routes to the Oregon, California, Mormon Pioneer, and Pony Express National Historic Trails.

The data is public facing at two locations:

• Within ArcGIS online

• To view additional metadata and to download the shapefile, please visit: Integrated Resource Management Applications (IRMA) website

Current Status

The Feasibility Study Revision for Additional Routes to the Oregon, California, Mormon Pioneer, and Pony Express National Historic Trails is complete! The study was transmitted to congress and released to the public in January 2020. For more information and to download your own copies of the study,

Visit the National Park Service planning page (PEPC)

There you can find scoping meetings dates and locations, add your name on the project contact list, review scoping reports and other documents, enter comments, and generally follow the progress of the study.

 

Map of 4-Trails Feasibility Study Trail Routes (162 KB pdf)