Places To Go

A memorial plaque to the namesake of Scotts Bluff.

Mitchell Pass marks the route of the Oregon/California Trails around Scotts Bluff starting in 1851. The Pony Express and Transcontinental Telegraph also traveled through Mitchell Pass.

A monument erected by the Pony Express Centennial Association. The monument celebrates the riders and owners of the famous mail delivery system.

Swales mark the route of the emigrant trails through Scotts Bluff National Monument.

A visit to the replica Conestoga wagon will give an idea about how freight was hauled to forts and scattered supply centers in the 1850s through the 1890s.

Handcarts were a cost effective way for poor Mormon emigrants to move their belongings to the Salt Lake Valley.

The Murphy Wagon was used first by traders on the Santa Fe Trail. Later, emigrants adapted the Murphy wagon to haul their belongings to Oregon and California.

The Studebaker Wagon was a common family wagon for hauling goods west.

The final resting place of Mormon emigrant Rebecca Winters. Rebecca died of cholera on August 15, 1852. Her grave site was marked with a metal wagon wheel rim that was engraved “Rebecca Winters, Age 50.” The grave had been forgotten for years until 1899 when surveyors for the Burlington Northern Railroad rediscovered it. 

Chimney Rock was more than a wonder of nature. It was also a significant landmark in measuring the emigrants' progress west. This natural feature was a "grand and splendid object" to emigrants who had never seen the geology of the American West.

Courthouse and Jail Rocks are massive monoliths made of Brule clay and Gering sandstone. Over time, wind and water erosion slowly sculpted the rocks into their current courthouse or castle appearance. The rocks were first noted by Robert Stuart in 1812 and quickly became guiding landmarks for fur traders and emigrants.