Great Platte River Road

The Great Platte River Road was a major overland travel corridor approximately following the course of the Platte River in present-day Nebraska and Wyoming that was shared by several popular emigrant trails during the 19th century, including the Trapper's Trail, the Oregon Trail, the Mormon Trail, the California Trail, the Pony Express route, and the military road connecting Fort Leavenworth and Fort Laramie. The road, which extended nearly 800 miles (1,300 km) from the Second Fort Kearny to Fort Laramie, was utilized primarily from 1841 to 1866. In modern times it is often regarded as a sort of superhighway of its era, and has been referred to as "the grand corridor of America's westward expansion".

The route that would become the Great Platte River Road began in any of several places along the Missouri River, including Omaha, Council Bluffs, Nebraska City, St. Joseph and Kansas City. Each of these separate trails eventually converged near Fort Kearny in the middle of the Nebraska Territory. For those coming from Omaha and Council Bluffs, the trail traversed the north side of the Platte River; those coming from St. Joseph and Kansas City generally used the south side of the river. At some point along the Platte, the travelers would cross to the north side, frequently at great hazard, in order to continue following the road to Fort Laramie. The main stem of the Platte River is formed by the confluence of two smaller branches in western Nebraska; beyond this confluence, some of the emigrant trails continued northwest along the North Platte River, including the Oregon, California, and Mormon Trails, while others turned southwest to follow the South Platte River, including the Overland Trail.

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