Scotts Bluff National Monument, the Oregon Trail
in Nebraska
The bluffs of Scotts Bluff National Monument rise directly from the North Platte River, blocking wagon travel along the river's south bank. At first, emigrants had to take a detour south and use Robidoux Pass, a natural gateway, to get through the bluffs. This mostly stopped in 1850 when a new route was opened at Mitchell Pass.
Located close to the North Platte River, this route saved emigrants nearly 15 miles of travel. The route, though, was narrow, due to the land's geography. As such, more than 300,000 emigrants, and their wagons and livestock, had to travel on the same strip of land.
Eventually, deep ruts formed as a result of this traffic. These ruts are still visible today and are now a part of Scotts Bluff National Monument. A section of them has been developed into a walking trail with interpretive waysides.
- States
- Nebraska
- Trail type
- National Monument trail
- Centroid nearest city
- Denver, CO · 159 mi · ~5 hr drive
- Centroid coords
- 41.8286°, -103.7082°
About Scotts Bluff National Monument
This trail is inside Scotts Bluff National Monument, a national monument managed by the U.S. National Park Service. Conditions, road status, trail closures, and reservation requirements are published on the park's NPS page — check it before driving in, especially in winter or during major weather events.
Official NPS trail page: https://www.nps.gov/places/000/scotts-bluff-nat-monument-the-oregon-trail.htm
Park homepage: https://www.nps.gov/scbl/index.htm
Plan your hike
Maps + permits: long-distance trails like this often require permits for through-hiking, backcountry camping, or specific sections (especially in National Parks). Check with the maintaining organisation listed above and the relevant land manager before booking travel.
Water + supplies: water sources vary seasonally on most U.S. trails. Carry a filter and consult current trail-condition reports — through-hiker journals (PCT-L, AT Reddit, etc.) and the maintaining organisation publish regular updates.
When to go: hiking seasons vary widely with elevation, latitude, and snowpack. Through-hikers traditionally start the AT in March-April (Springer northbound) and the PCT in late April (Campo northbound). High-elevation western trails (CDT, JMT, Wonderland) generally aren't passable until July.
If you've hiked Scotts Bluff National Monument, the Oregon Trail and have current notes (water sources, trail closures, permit changes), tell us at /contact — we update pages as we learn.
Other trails within 50 miles
Sources
Trail data on this page is compiled from OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL), the maintaining organisation's public-facing materials, and Wikipedia (CC BY-SA where excerpts are quoted). Distance, terminus, and descriptive text for nationally-designated trails are hand-curated from federal land-manager websites and trail-association sources. We do not modify the underlying data; this page presents what is already publicly recorded. To suggest corrections, see our methodology page.