For the outdoors family a handcart trek can be a fun family adventure. During the 1800’s thousands of people traveled west in wagon trains and handcart companies. Your family can have the chance to reenact the handcart experience.
In Wyoming, between Casper and Rawlings and near Independence Rock, is the Mormon Handcart Visitors Center. It lies along part of the original Oregon Trail. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has handcarts that the public can use at no cost. Families can take a handcart and pull it along the trail, getting a taste of what the handcart pioneers experienced. Last summer I had a chance to visit the Handcart Visitors Center and had an incredible time.
The handcart trek can be a day experience or you can camp over. There are two campsites, one 3.5 miles and the other 7 miles from the Visitor’s Center that families can stay in. If you do decide to camp over it is a good idea to drop your supplies off at the campsite then drive to the Visitor’s Center and take your handcart to the campsite. Pulling a handcart loaded with equipment is a lot harder than you would think. (I had the blisters to prove it.)
Some families like to dress in pioneer clothes, with the women in dresses and bonnets, and the men in cloth pants and brimmed hats. Whatever your dress it is important that you wear comfortable well-worn shoes. Make sure that you bring plenty of water the Wyoming sun gets really hot, and drink even if you don’t feel thirsty. Also bring snacks to eat while pulling you don’t want anybody getting to hungry. There are outhouses in a few spots along the way, but not much shade. Plan plenty of time for breaks and don’t start out to fast.
There are LDS couples stationed along the trail that will be happy to answer any questions that you have about the handcart companies as well as tell stories about their experiences.
A few miles from the Visitor’s Center is Martin’s Cove. It was at this site that the Martin Handcart Company stopped for shelter. They had left late in the year and arrived at Martin’s Cove on November 4th. Heavy snow had already fallen and the Mormon pioneers were starving. Many of them died at this site and visitors can see a memorial in their names. Members from Salt Lake City sent out to rescue the Martin and Willie Handcart Companies and many of the company survived to see the Salt Lake Valley. You can park your handcart and walk up the path through the cove. They do ask that visitors are silent as they walk through the site where members of the Martin Handcart Company were buried.
At the Mormon Handcart Visitors Center are replicas of a pioneer fort and buildings with artifacts and information about the handcart pioneers, especially the Martin and Willie Handcart Companies.
While there you can take the path up to Devil’s Gate, where the Sweetwater River flows through a narrow canyon. Nearby is Independence Rock that marked the point that early pioneers should reach by July 4th. Many pioneers carved their name into the stone and are still visible today.
The Handcart Visitors Center is located at 47600 W. Hwy. 220 Alcova, Wyoming 82620. It is open Sunday through Saturday 8:00 A.M. to 7:00 P.M. in the summer and Sunday through Saturday 9:00 A.M. to 4:00 P.M. during the winter. The campgrounds do fill up quickly so to reserve a handcart and/or a campsite call 1-307-328-2953 (9:00 A.M. to 4:00 P.M.) or fax 1-307-324-5218.