Beginning in about 1810 and for the next 30 years, trappers and fur traders traveled by foot and horseback over a trail that connected the Missouri River valley to present-day Oregon. They were followed by farmers, ranchers, miners, and others who were moving westward to seek a better life. Wagon trains joined the migration, and the deep ruts that they made in the ground are still visible in some places along the route.
People who wish to relive those pioneer days can follow sections of the storied Oregon Trail, walking where history was made. Other routes throughout the country where chapters of the past come alive for those who follow them are possibilities, too.
Some may be close to where you live, while others await discovery during trips farther away. Wherever their location, they all offer opportunities to combine a bit of exercise with a stroll down memory lane. Even a short hike can provide an immersion in a part of the past.
In 1803, President Thomas Jefferson dispatched Army Capt. Meriwether Lewis and Lt. William Clark on an expedition to survey land acquired in the Louisiana Purchase and to continue on to the Pacific Northwest. The Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail recalls that journey and invites those who wish to do so to follow in the two men’s footsteps. The route stretches some 4,900 miles from Pittsburgh to the mouth of the Columbia River, near Astoria, Oregon, passing through 16 states along the way.
An earlier American hero, Daniel Boone also helped to pave the way for settlement of largely overlooked areas. In the 1700s, he passed through what’s now the Cumberland Gap National Historical Park, which straddles the borders between Kentucky, Tennessee, and Virginia.
Settlers followed in his path during their trek to those states and beyond. Their stories are recounted at the park, which is perched in the Cumberland Gap, a natural break in the Appalachian Mountains.
Those who prefer to walk where horses once trod can check out the Pony Express National Historic Trail, which traverses five Western states. While men on horseback rode along this route to deliver mail for only two years (1860–61), the Pony Express has earned a leading role in our country’s lore. Museums and interpretive sites along the route add to the experience.
Mules pulled barges loaded with coal, lumber, and agricultural produce along the C&O Canal, which for nearly 100 years (1831–1924) served as a lifeline for communities along the Potomac River from Washington, D.C., to Cumberland, Maryland.
The animals walked on a path beside the canal, and hikers today pass the original locks, aqueducts, and other structures. They also encounter sites from which Union and Confederate troops shot over the water and crossed it in order to raid enemy camps on the opposite side during the Civil War.
Other Civil War locations also await exploration by foot. Part of the nearly 2,200-mile-long Appalachian Trail, which runs from Maine to Georgia, brings aspects of the past to life in West Virginia. It traverses Harpers Ferry, where the abolitionist John Brown led a raid in 1859 that was intended to launch a battle to free all slaves. Ruins of the armory and arsenal at Harpers Ferry serve as reminders of that incident.
Numerous Civil War-related sites are found in Virginia, where more battles took place than in any other U.S. state. A number of battlefields are laced with trails that introduce visitors to the clashes that occurred there.
The initial skirmish between Union and Confederate armies was the Battle of First Manassas, also called the First Battle of Bull Run. A 5.2-mile loop trail passes the original stone bridge, buildings that stood when the fighting occurred, and other reminders of that time.
A 4.3-mile hike in the Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military Park recalls the Battle of Spotsylvania Courthouse. More than 3,000 Confederate troops were captured, the largest apprehension of forces during the entire Civil War.
Another conflict is recalled along the Star-Spangled Banner National Historic Trail, which meanders through and to places where the War of 1812 was waged in Virginia, Maryland, and Washington, D.C. That struggle pitted the young United States against the UK.
One major incident of the war was the invasion of Washington, the U.S. capital, by British troops. After occupying the city, they set fire to a number of buildings, including the U.S. Capitol and presidential mansion. A treaty ratified by Congress in 1815 officially ended the fighting.
Places that delve further back into the past include the Little Bluff Mounds Trail in Wisconsin that leads to a sacred spot where people of the Mississippian culture lived. During their heyday (1000–1550), they constructed large earthen platform mounds, and the interpretive trail tells their story and that of the knolls they built.
Rock art is the big attraction along Hieroglyphic Trail 101 in Arizona’s Superstition Mountains. The images date back more than 1,500 years to when the Hohokam people lived there. The name of the tribe means “those who have vanished.”
Fortunately, evidence of incidents that helped to shape the United States’ past remain. It’s located throughout the country and awaits exploration—on foot.
When You Go
TravelOregon.com
NPS.gov
HarpersFerryWV.us
Virginia.gov
TravelWisconsin.com
Tourism.az.gov
