There are many pioneer trail sites to visit when traveling to Louis Lake Lodge. One stop along the trail is the Pilot Butte overlook. This monument is located on Wyoming highway 28 west of Farson at mile marker 16. Or just a few miles east of where highway 28 crosses the Green River at Lombard 's Ferry. This monument has several interpretations plaques depicting pioneer history. Looking off to the south you will see Pilot Butte which the pioneers used for many days as a reference point while traveling this stretch of trail.
One of the highlights at this site is an interpretive pioneer grave that was placed there in August 1999 during a reenactment and dedication of this site. Historians have said there is an un-marked and forgotten pioneer grave every 1,000 feet from Omaha Nebraska to the Pacific Ocean . This interpretive monument is dedicated to all of these unknown and forgotten pioneer graves along the trail.
The actual Mormon (LDS) pioneer trail is directly in front of the heart shaped walkway at this Pilot Butte monument site. Stepping onto the trail and looking both east and west you will experience just what the pioneers saw in the 1800's as they walked, rode, and pushed handcarts on their way to a new life in the west. Not much has changed in this area during the past 175 years.
*Click on map for larger image
In 2006 it has been 150 years since the Willie & Martin Mormon Handcart pioneer companies were rescued during an early fall blizzard in central Wyoming near Lander.Contact Us to request more pioneer trail information. We will send you a packet in the mail for free. Included are the BLM Pioneer Trail map, locations of sites along the highways and back trails.
Operated under special use permit in the Shoshone National Forest
