South Pass is marked by two...
South Pass is marked by two historic markers: one for the first white women to cross the pass on July 4, 1836, and the other marking the Old Oregon Trail used primarily between 1843 and 1857.
Lone Writer continued his journey to Fort Bridger. Today, it is difficult to follow the historic trails. The cities, mining activities, and private property lines have chopped the trail into many small pieces. A lot of those pieces are still remote but most of them have become well maintained county roads and some of them are paved. By carefully following the navigation logs in this story, anyone can find the same pieces that Lone Writer visited. It is an experience that allows a traveler to sample a small taste of the pioneer experience. It requires a good imagination but while in the wilderness with nothing manmade within view, it's not difficult to simply stop and ask, "What if I was walking a thousand miles pulling a two-wheeled cart with 300 pounds of odds and ends and I stopped at this point? I would be tired and hungry and just wishing the trip was over. But from this point, I see nothing different than I have seen for many months. Nothing but wide open country."
Navigation
These directions follow the trail from South Pass to Fort Bridger. Any time you
see a zero in the odometer column, reset your trip meter to zero. |
Trip
meter | Longitude
North | Latitude West | Comments |
| 0 | N42 28.1014 | W108 48.1837 | South Pass City. Follow signs to Hwy 28. |
| 2.2 | N42 29.5773 | W108 48.6088 | Left on Hwy 28. |
| 11.0 | N42 22.9370 | W108 53.8453 | Rest Area. |
| 11.8 | N42 22.3288 | W108 54.5246 | Left on oregon Buttes rd. reset trip meter. |
| 2.6 | N42 20.7464 | W108 52.2696 | Historic Trails cross oregon Buttes road here. go
left first; then come back. |
| 0.2 | N42 20.8166 | W108 51.9792 | Right fork. |
| 4.6 | N42 20.7162 | W108 46.6285 | Left fork. |
| 7.6 | N42 22.2151 | W108 43.6250 | Burnt ranch private property from here to Ninth
Crossing at Sweetwater river. go back 7.6 miles to
oregon Buttes road. |
| 0 | N42 20.7464 | W108 52.2696 | Back at oregon Buttes rd. Continue straight
across. The oregon Buttes landmark was used as
the boundary for the oregon Territory boundary. |
| 0.2 | N42 20.6752 | W108 52.5055 | right fork goes to South Pass. |
| 0.8 | N42 20.5864 | W108 53.2056 | This is South Pass. |
| 3.2 | N42 20.2803 | W108 56.0095 | Stay left. right goes back to the highway. |
| 3.5 | N42 20.1020 | W108 56.2848 | Trail is straight. Site of Pacific Springs Stage and
Pony Express Station is on right. |