Location
c/o Guernsey State Park
Box 429
Guernsey, WY 82214
(307) 864-2176 (Office)
Todd Stevenson, Park Superintendent
Site Facilities
US Highway 26; Interstate 25 (exit 92).
Brief History
Also referred to as Register Cliff and Sand Point Station. The cliff is sandstone precipice rising one hundred feet from the valley floor of the North Platte River. Despite erosion by wind and water it remains very much as travelers on the Oregon Trail saw it more than 100 years ago. One of three main sites along the Oregon Trail where emigrants left inscriptions, Register Cliff is the closet to civilization. Only one night away from the safety of Fort Laramie, emigrants camped here along the banks of the North Platte River and etched their names into the soft sandstone cliff. Many of the inscriptions were made during the peak years of travel on the trail in the 1840s and 1850s. Even earlier, however, as far back as 1829, trappers and traders passing through carved their names into the rock. A small trading post was located near the cliff. In 1861, it was turned into a Pony Express stop, and later a stage station. A walkway and informative sign at the base of the cliff enable the visitor to learn more about this historic site.
Traveling around Wyoming today isn't the quickest – the state is the country's 9th largest in terms of area with just over 97,000 square miles (more than Ohio, South Carolina, Maryland and New Hampshire combined!) and getting from one side to the other is a full day of driving. It is easy compared to what travelers had to endure a mere 100 years ago: Indians controlling major thoroughfares and outlaws running amuck. read more
In 1849 and 1850, many Cherokees left their reservation in Oklahoma and headed west to seek their fortunes in the California gold fields. read more
