National Historic Trails - Mormon Pioneer National Historic Trail

Jurisdiction: National Park Service
Established: 1978
Route: 1,300 miles (2,095 km)

Mormon emigration was one of the principal forces of settlement of the West. Departing from Nauvoo, Illinois, in February 1846, thousands of Mormons crossed into Iowa seeking refuge from religious persecution. They spent the next winter in the Council Bluffs, Iowa, and Omaha, Nebraska, area. Early in 1847, Brigham Young led an advance party west along the Platte River, paralleling the Oregon Trail, to Fort Bridger, Wyoming, where they turned southwest and eventually came to the Great Salt Lake. The 1,624-mile auto tour route in five states is generally marked with the trail logo and closely follows the trail's historic route.