Backcountry Scenic Drives: Pony Express Trail

Pony Express riders raced across the Wild West for the first time in April 1860, covering 1,900 miles in a record 10 days. The ambitious system became the fastest means of communication between East and West. In those days, stagecoaches took three weeks to deliver mail. The new service was also the most expensive. A one-ounce letter cost $10 to send from St. Joseph, Missouri, to Sacramento, California.

Flipping through the trail guidebook, Backcountry Adventures: Utah, I found a mapped out section of the old Pony Express route. I wanted to see and experience it for myself. Of course I would be driving instead of horseback riding, but this remote road in the Utah desert remains largely undisturbed. It looks much as it did when riders rushed East and West with their precious parcels.

Because the trail is so remote, I am glad the book has extensive directions and GPS coordinates. Making a wrong turn and getting lost out here would be disastrous. These waypoints also mark locations of old Pony Express stations and other sites.

The Pony Express trail starts at the mostly abandoned Gold Hill, an old Utah mining town. From Salt Lake City, take I-80 west to Wendover. Get plenty of gas and supplies here; there are no services anywhere along the 139-mile trail. Turn south onto Alt US 93 and travel about 24 miles, briefly crossing into Nevada. Turn left at the intersection with the paved road to Ibapah. After about 15 miles, drive toward Gold Hill on an unpaved road.

Leaving the dilapidated town, barren desert sprawls to the horizon. Soon I come upon an unimproved section of the actual Pony Express route. The Overland Stage also used this trail after the Pony Express went out of business. It feels like this track has been abandoned since the last horse and coach. I can easily imagine a lone horseman battling sweltering summer heat to stay on schedule.

Passing several more old Pony Express stations and markers, I start to see how the system worked. Approximately 190 stations spanned the untamed Western frontier at 10- to 15-mile intervals. Wasting no time, riders stopped for water and a fresh horse at each outpost. This ambitious operation used a total of 400 of only the hardiest of horse breeds.

Sparsely outfitted, each mail carrier (weighing less than 120 pounds) rode a grueling 100 to 125 miles daily or nightly. The company wanted skilled riders that were “young, skinny, wiry fellows, not over 18 … Orphans preferred….” Racing the clock, they drove over harsh terrain in extreme weather and faced constant danger of Indian attacks. About 10 miles from Gold Hill is the site of Canyon Station. Indians attacked this Pony Express station, killing a stage driver and four soldiers. They then burned the structure, now a pile of rubble, to the ground.

Continuing through the town of Callao, where a number of Overland Stage era buildings still stand, you'll reach Simpson Springs Station just beyond the halfway point. Here stands a restored Pony Express station. Fresh water is available here and you can camp if you want to make this a two-day trip.

Beyond Simpson Springs are the sites of several more stations before the trail’s end. Although a success, the Pony Express was too expensive to maintain. The overland telegraph, completed in October 1861, ended the Pony Express. In total, it operated for just less than 19 months. Incredibly, only one mail pouch was lost and one rider killed during its operation.

Other notable sites have sprung up along the old Pony Express and Overland Stage route. This trail passes through Fish Springs National Wildlife Refuge. Fish Springs, once used by the Pony Express horses and riders, are now a bird watcher's oasis. Late September is the height of the fall waterfowl migration. Beyond the refuge is Black Rock Station and a geode field, a rockhounder's refuge. Broken open, geodes are hollow with intricate crystal formations. You'll also pass Dugway Proving Grounds, the site of past military chemical and biological weapons testing. The trail ends at Camp Floyd, home to 3,000 soldiers in 1857 during a rumored Mormon uprising.