Carson Trail

This segment of the California Trail starts just east of the Humboldt Bar in Nevada and heads southwest over the 40-mile desert to the Carson River. It follows the river into the Sierra Nevada, crosses over what we now call Carson Pass (on Highway 88), and ends in Pleasant Valley near Placerville (old "Hangtown") in California. It is named for Christopher “Kit” Carson, explorer and scout for John C. Fremont.

Gallery

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Carson Pass Trail	From Carson Pass looking toward Hope Valley along the Carson Pass Trail.	The Carson Pass Trail is named for Christopher “Kit” Carson, explorer and scout for John C. Fremont.
The Carson Pass Trail at Carson Pass.	From Carson Pass looking toward Hope Valley along the Carson Pass Trail.	From Carson Pass at Silver Lake
Credits: SNVM staff; Collections of the Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley; Online Archive of California; Oregon-California Trails Association