Lassen Trail

Through this draw passed many covered wagons and gold seekers en route to California over the Lassen Trail during 1848-1851. Approaching this location from the north, the trail passed what is now Bogard Ranger Station. Proceeding southward to Big Springs and Big Meadows (now Lake Almanor), it then turned westward to Deer Creek, which the trail followed to Vina in the Sacramento Valley.

Peter Lassen opened the Lassen Emigrant Trail in 1848 when he led a 12-wagon emigrant train from Missouri to California. The route was extensively traveled during the years 1848-1853 by emigrants seeking gold, adventure, and a new life in the west - but because of the hardships of the route and occasional troubles with Indians, the trail was little used after 1853.

Gallery

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A drawing by emigrant James Goldsborough Bruff of life along the Lassen Trail. Peter Lassen in asleep under the tree.	The Lassen Trail	The Lassen Trail
A portrait of Peter Lassen	The Lassen Trail	A drawing by emigrant James Goldsborough Bruff of life along the Lassen Trail. Here, Bruff depicts the final destination, Peter Lassen’s rancho.
Credits: James Goldsborough Bruff; Collections of the Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley; National Archives, Washington D.C.; National Park Service, Washington, D.C.; Online Archive of California; Oregon-California Trails Association.