The history of the Indigenous people and the pioneers who pushed them out, risking it all for a new life out West, is as much a part of the state of Wyoming as its mountains, rivers, and plains. The stories of covered wagons, saloons, gold mines, and tragic wars are endless, much like the trails that weave through these historic sites.
In Wyoming, you can find places that bring the past back to life, places where you can follow in the footsteps of all those who came before. From short interpretive walks to full-day adventure hikes, the trails and the landscape tell the story of the Old West.
From petroglyphs to wagon ruts, sacred geological features to outlaw hideouts, there is so much history you can see on your own two feet. These are our picks for the trails that will take you there.
Joyner Ridge, Red Beds, and Devils Tower Trail, Devils Tower
Sacred to many Northern Plains Tribes, Devils Tower (pictured above) was a ceremonial site long before the Old West era. This 7-mile loop circles the monument and traverses through pine forests and red sandstone ridges, offering spectacular views of the Belle Fourche River valley.
The route starts on the prairie, passes through iron-rich red Spearfish Formation rocks that date back 190 million years, and then circles the base of the tower, the world’s largest example of columnar jointing (columns formed by molten rock). Prayer cloths near the trailhead honor ongoing Native American ceremonies, a reminder that this is a living sacred site.
Martin’s Cove Trail, Casper
Martin’s Cove Trail, on the Mormon Trail about an hour southwest of Casper, is a 4.8-mile out-and-back that passes through the historic site where members of the Martin Handcart Company — roughly 575 Latter Day Saint emigrants heading to Salt Lake City — found shelter during severe early winter conditions in November of 1856. Though many more were rescued, roughly 145 people died, and Martin’s Cove is now a site that many people visit to remember the human cost of Westward expansion.
Visitors can even borrow a handcart, similar to the ones pioneers used, from the visitor center to test their endurance along the actual route they took. Don’t miss the nearby diversion of Independence Rock, a landmark bearing carvings from pioneers who passed by it, and Devil’s Gate, a deep 370-foot gorge carved through granite by the Sweetwater River.
White Mountain Petroglyphs Trail, Rock Springs
Just 27 miles north of Rock Springs, the White Mountain Petroglyphs Trail passes through an indigenous sacred site featuring hundreds of petroglyphs carved into the sandstone cliffs. The panels depict bison and elk hunts, horses, geometric patterns, and animal designs. The site, sacred to the Shoshone, Arapaho, and Ute, illustrates Wyoming’s deep backstory that existed for millennia before the frontier era.
The trail is a mellow 0.7-mile stroll, but it’s well worth the drive to witness this sacred, protected place. A high-clearance vehicle is recommended to get to the trailhead.
Colter’s Hell Trail, Old Trail Town
Old Trail Town was the site of the original Cody City, founded by Buffalo Bill Cody in 1895. Then, in 1967, a historian, archaeologist, and preservationist by the name of Bob Edgar transformed it into what is now Old Trail Town and dedicated his life to preserving historical structures there.
Now, it’s a living history museum with authentic frontier buildings, including Butch Cassidy’s cabin, relocated from Hole-in-the-Wall country in the Big Horn Mountains of northern Wyoming. The short 0.5-mile loop, named after the legendary Yellowstone explorer John Colter, winds adjacent to the town through geothermal features like steaming vents and sulphur deposits, with informative signs that explain the fur trade that spurred exploration of the area.
Outlaw Cave Trail, Middle Fork Canyon
This trail, a remote 1.2-mile out-and-back near Kaycee, drops steeply into Middle Fork Canyon and leads to the actual cave where Butch Cassidy, the Sundance Kid, and the Wild Bunch hid their loot and planned the infamous 1899 Wilcox train robbery. The landscape is unforgiving, with steep hills, red cliffs, and deep canyons, which is precisely why it was the ideal place for outlaws. The trailhead is accessible only with a high-clearance vehicle.
Flood and Hindle Trail, South Pass City
South Pass City near Lander is one of Wyoming’s most intact ghost towns from the gold rush, with more than 20 historic structures all built during the boom of 1867. An easy 1.4-mile trail offers interpretive signs and passes an ore-grinding wheel, a gold mine entrance, and homestead ruins.
This place is also notable for being where Esther Hobart Morris became the first woman in the U.S. to hold judicial office in 1870. The town is located on the Oregon Trail at the Continental Divide.
North Slope Trail, Sinks Canyon
Sinks Canyon is most notable for being a travel corridor for the Shoshone and Crow people, who walked this land for thousands of years before it became a gateway for fur traders and emigrants heading into the southern Wind Rivers. (Don’t miss the incredible Native American rock art on the canyon walls.)
One of the first known white settlers who passed through is Colonel Frederick W. Lander (after whom Lander is named), who led an expedition in 1859 with artist Albert Bierstadt to record images of their exploration.
The North Slope Trail is a 3.3-mile trail that climbs the north slope of Sinks Canyon, where the Popo Agie River mysteriously disappears underground before reemerging a quarter mile downstream. The trail offers excellent views of the canyon and the geological phenomenon that mystified 19th-century emigrants and fur traders.
Oregon Trail Ruts Loop and Register Cliff Historic Site Trail, Guernsey State Park
The combined trails of the Oregon Trail Ruts Loop and Register Cliff Historic Site Trail offer perhaps the most iconic and tangible evidence of Westward expansion. Start with the Oregon Trail Ruts Loop, where you can walk inside 5-foot–deep ruts worked into the sandstone by thousands of wagon wheels between 1843 and 1869.
They’re the best-preserved wagon ruts along the Oregon Trail and are now designated a National Historic Landmark. The Ruts Loop is only about a half mile, so you can continue on 6 miles down the road to Register Cliff.
Register Cliff State Historic Site is one of the best-preserved “trail registers” in the West, where emigrants “signed” their names and messages into the soft sandstone. The hike to the cliff is only about 0.4 miles round-trip and is accessible for wheelchairs and mobility equipment. There is also a historic cemetery nearby, which contains graves of three unknown emigrants.
Every one of these trails tell stories that are culturally important not only to Wyoming, but also to the entire nation. The Indigenous people who carved their stories into canyon walls, the pioneers who dragged handcarts through Wyoming snowstorms, the outlaws who disappeared into the red-rock badlands — they all left marks. Some are carved in stone. Some are built on the ground. Some are just the landscape itself, shaped by people who passed through and never looked back. Wyoming hasn’t changed enough to forget any of them. Get out on these trails, and neither will you.
This article is sponsored by the Wyoming Office of Tourism.
