Basic Information

GIS Data and Information

For Geographic Information System data regarding the Pony Express National Historic Trail, please visit the Resource Information Management page of the National Trails office website.

 

Physical Address

Trail sites are located across 1,800 miles and 8 states. The Trail is administered by the NPS office located at:

National Trails Regions Office, Regions 6, 7, & 8
Pony Express National Historic Trail
1100 Old Santa Fe Trail
Santa Fe, NM 87505

Directions

You can visit many sites of the Pony Express National Historic Trail over the 1,800-mile historic route that crosses 8 states.

Directions Details

Operating Hours & Seasons

All Park Hours

• Every Day:Open 24 hours

The Pony Express National Historic Trail is not a clearly marked hiking trail. Instead it is a route that passes through communities, urban areas, public lands, and Wilderness. The route travels across a variety of land ownerships and management, including private land. Each location varies as to the hours of operations and access. Please contact individual trail sites before your visit for more information.

Weather

Due to the length of the Pony Express National Historic Trail, be sure to consult local weather sources for the region you'll be visiting. Check out the forecast with the National Weather Service and search for the area you'd like to visit: weather.gov

National Weather Service

Fees & Passes

Entrance Fee-free

This site is fee-free year-round. No entrance fee or pass is required.

Internet & Cellular Access

Public WiFi is not available.

The Pony Express National Historic Trail is a mixture of private, municipal, tribal, federal, and state lands that stretches for hundreds of miles across several states. Services, including public WiFi and Cellular access, vary from location to location. Contact the individual Trail sites you are planning to visit to find out if internet and/or cell phone service is available.

Internet & Cellular Access Details

 

National Pony Express Association riders greet visitors at a reconstructed Pony Express station at This is the Place Heritage Park in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Trail Administration

The Pony Express National Historic Trail (NHT) was designated by Congress in 1992 and is administered by the National Park Service as a component of the National Trails System. Despite the name, the Pony Express NHT is not a continuous traditional trail from end to end, but consists of many trail traces, structures, graves, landmarks, and markers left on the landscape to remind us that the trail still lives on.Trail sites are in private, municipal, tribal, federal, or state ownership. Please ask for permission before visiting any trail sites on private lands and check with public sites for visiting hours and regulations.

Protect the Trail

To foster trail preservation, do not use metal detectors, dig at sites, collect artifacts, or remove anything. Please respect these historic places.

 

More Trip Planning Information:

• 

  Read all about it

  Trail Brochures

  Find brochures, maps, guides, and other literature about the Trail.

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  Find Trail Sites to Visit

  Places To Go

  Where can you visit the trail? Use the interactive map to find places to visit.