Routes of the California Trail

The Humboldt River is fed by melting snow flowing from the Ruby and other mountains in north central Nevada and runs over 300 miles (480 km) mostly westward across the Great Basin to the Humboldt Sink in western Nevada where it evaporates. The Great Basin covers essentially all of Nevada and parts of Utah, Idaho, Oregon and California and has no outlet to the sea. The Great Basin lies in the rain shadow of the Sierra Nevada Mountains, and what little rainfall occurs there—stays there. The Humboldt, headed nearly straight west, provided an easily followed pathway with feed and water across the Great Basin desert. The Humboldt was praised for having water, fishing and feed along its banks and also cursed for its barely adequate grass, meandering and often muddy channel, and hot weather. Its water quality became progressively worse the further the river went west. The fire 'wood' needed for cooking and making coffee consisted of occasional junipers and ever present sagebrush and willows.

As found by about 1844, the trail at "parting of the ways" (Idaho) from the Snake River leads along the Raft River about 60 miles (97 km) southwest to the head of the Raft River and the City of Rocks (now called: City of Rocks National Reserve). The Hudspeth Cutoff and the Salt Lake Cutoff all rejoined the California Trail near the City of Rocks (For maps see NPS map California Trail:^[43]). The trail then continued west over 7,100 feet (2,200 m) Granite Pass, which involved a steep, treacherous descent. West of Granite Pass, the trail was in the Great Basin drainage. Rainfall in the Great Basin either flowed to the Humboldt River, sank into the ground or evaporated. The trail then jogged northwest until it reached Goose Creek where it headed southwest, nicking the far northwest corner of Utah and on into the future state of Nevada. The trail then headed southwest, down Goose Creek for about 34 miles (55 km) until it hit Thousand Springs Valley's creeks and springs. The trail followed Thousand Springs Valley until it intercepted West Brush Creek and Willow Creek, which run into the Humboldt River. This about 160 miles (260 km) trail through Idaho and Nevada connecting the Snake River to the Humboldt River passed enough springs and creeks to provide the necessary feed and water for the California bound emigrants. The trail hit the Humboldt River in northeastern Nevada near present-day Wells, Nevada. Another branch of the trail went through Bishops Canyon and intercepted the trail about 10 miles (16 km) west of Wells.(^[44]) Humboldt Wells had good water and grass. The distance from City of Rocks to Wells was about 100 miles (160 km).^[45]

The trail followed the north banks of the Humboldt west for about 65 miles (105 km) until it encountered the narrow 5 miles (8.0 km) long Carlin Canyon on the Humboldt. Here the meandering river passed through a steep section of mountains, and its river valley became very narrow or only the width of the stream bed. Various trail guides said you would have to ford the Humboldt from four to nine times to get through the canyon.^[46] Carlin Canyon became nearly impassable during periods of high water and a cutoff, the Greenhorn Cutoff, was developed to bypass the canyon when flooded. West of Carlin Canyon, the trail climbed through Emigrant Pass and then descended again to rejoin the Humboldt at Gravelly Ford (near today's Beowawe, Nevada). At Gravelly Ford the often muddy Humboldt had a good gravel bottom and was easily forded. There was usually plenty of grass and fresh water springs nearby. Many stayed here a while to rest and recuperate their livestock and themselves. After the ford, the trail divided into two branches, following the north and south banks of the river. The trail on the north side of the river was much better, allowing an easy miss of the Reese River sink. Those who took the south side would have to travel around a big bend in the Humboldt and then cross the usually dry alkali-laden Reese River sink. The two branches of the Trail rejoined at Humboldt Bar (sink).

At the Humboldt Sink (about 100 miles (160 km) northeast of present-day Reno, Nevada) the Humboldt River disappeared into a marshy alkali laden lake that late in some years was a dry lake bed. Near the end of the Humboldt, one of the worst sections of the California Trail showed up, the Forty Mile Desert.^[47][48]

The Truckee River, which drains the Lake Tahoe basin and Donner Lake, and the Carson River, which drains Hope Valley and adjacent mountains, are two major rivers that flow eastward out of the Sierra Nevada into the Great Basin and are only about 40 miles (64 km) from the end of the Humboldt. The Truckee River terminates in Pyramid Lake with a salinity approximately 1/6 that of sea water and supports several species of fish. The Carson River disappears into another alkali-laden marsh called the Carson Sink.^[49] All California Trail emigrants would have to cross the Forty Mile Desert to get to either river. Before crossing the Forty Mile Desert, the California main trail splits with one branch going towards the Truckee River Route (or Truckee Trail) (est. 1844) going roughly almost due west where Interstate 80 goes today towards the site of modern-day Wadsworth, Nevada. The Truckee was called the Salmon-Trout River on Fremont's 1848 map of the area. The Carson Trail branch (est. 1848) went roughly from today's I-80 and U.S. Highway 95 junction to modern day Fallon, Nevada, (near Rag Town) southwest across Forty Mile Desert to the Carson River.

The Forty Mile Desert was a barren stretch of waterless alkali wasteland that stretched from Humboldt Bar to both the Carson and Truckee rivers and beyond. The desert covered an area of over 70 by 150 miles (110 by 240 km), forming a fire box: its loose, white, salt-covered sands and baked alkali clay wastes reflected the sun's heat onto the stumbling travelers and animals. What few plants there are typically covered with thorns and live low to the ground.

The annual rainfall in the Forty mile desert is only 5 inches (13 cm)^[50] It was one of the most dreaded sections of the California Trail, as emigrants reached it just when they were often weak, tired, and nearly out of food. They were also often suffering from scurvy, and their animals and equipment were often worn out. They were about 150 miles (240 km) from the end of the 2,000 miles (3,200 km) trail and had been traveling on the trail from four to six months. For many emigrants, Forty Mile Desert was the end of their trail. Most emigrants got there in late August through early October—one of the hottest, driest times of the year. If possible, they traveled the desert by night because of the great heat, but it often took over a day and a night to traverse. About halfway across the desert on the Truckee Trail, they came to a foul tasting hot springs (now a thermal power plant^[51]), but its water was usually too hot for even very thirsty animals to consume. Many dead animals were concentrated at and in these "bad" water springs—often preventing access to them. Water had to be pooled off and allowed to cool before it could be used by man or beast.^[52] The trail on the last 8 miles (13 km) the alkali flats gave way to soft alkali laden sand, six to ten inches (15–25 cm) deep and very hard for the animals to pull the wagons through. The ground was littered with the debris of goods, abandoned wagons and dead and dying animals that had all been discarded in a desperate attempt by the pioneers to make it all the way across. Often a wagon would be abandoned and the team would be unhooked and taken on alone to get water. After drinking their fill of fresh water and recuperating on the other side, many would go back and retrieve their wagon—others simply abandoned them there. Many animals (and people) died on this crossing. A count made in 1850 showed these appalling statistics for Forty Mile Desert: 1,061 dead mules, about 5,000 dead horses, 3,750 dead cattle and oxen, and 953 emigrant graves.^[53][54]

The main route of the California Trail until 1848 is approximated by modern Nevada State Route 233 in eastern Nevada and Interstate 80 in central and western Nevada. The section of the trail from Wells, Nevada, to City of Rocks in Idaho can be approximated by starting at Wells, going north on US Route 93 to Wilkins, Nevada, and then turning onto a gravel county road 765 (Wilkins Montello Rd), that goes from Wilkins to the Goose Creek Road that goes through Nevada and back into Idaho—not advised for winter or spring use.

The high, rugged Carson Range and Sierra Nevada mountains on the eastern California border were the final obstacles that had to be overcome before westbound travelers could proceed. The Sierra Nevada comprise a large block of weather-worn granite tilted towards the west. They extend about 400 miles (640 km) from near the Fandango Pass in the north to the Tehachapi Pass in the south. The western slopes are scarred by glacier and river carved canyons but slope much more gradually west taking about 70 miles (110 km) to fall from their rugged over 7,000 feet (2,100 m) crests to the about 25 feet (7.6 m) elevation of the Central Valley. The even more rugged glacier and river scarred eastern slopes are typically much more precipitous, rising to the rugged Sierra crest from their about 4,000 feet (1,200 m) base in the Great Basin in many places in less than 10 miles (16 km).

Precipitation in the Sierra Nevada flows to the Pacific Ocean if it falls on the western slope of the range. If precipitation falls on the eastern side of the Sierra crest it flows into the Great Basin where it evaporates, sinks underground or flows into lakes or sinks (mostly saline). These sinks are often dry alkali laden flats late in the year. The eastern side lies in a rain shadow getting much less rain than the western side. Creeks, streams, or rivers originating east of the Sierra crest find no outlet to either the Gulf of Mexico or the Pacific Ocean. (The water piped over the Sierra to Los Angeles is the only exception.)

A second smaller but yet significant block of weather worn granite formed the Carson Range of mountains located east of today's Lake Tahoe, between the two ranges. From the Humboldt River Route, first the Carson Range and then the Sierra would have to be passed to get to western California. Even today there are only about nine roads that go over the Sierra^[55] and about half of these may be closed in winter.

The Truckee Trail (established 1844 by the Stephens–Townsend–Murphy Party) over the Sierra Nevada took about 50 miles (80 km) to cross Forty Mile Desert but it did have a hot springs in about the middle that could be consumed if given time to cool. After hitting the Truckee River just as it turned almost due north towards Pyramid Lake near today's Wadsworth, Nevada, the emigrants had crossed the dreaded Forty Mile Desert. The emigrants blessed the Truckee's cool and sweet tasting water, fresh grass and the cool shade from the first trees (cottonwoods) the emigrants had seen in hundreds of miles. The travelers often rested themselves and their animals for a few days before proceeding. Real shade, grass for their animals and no more bitter, soapy-tasting Humboldt River water were much appreciated. The Truckee Trail followed the Truckee River past present day Reno, Nevada (then called Big Meadows) and went west until they encountered Truckee River Canyon near the present Nevada-California border. This canyon was one of the paths across the Carson Range of mountains. This steep, narrow, rock and cold water filled canyon could be traversed by wagons but required about 27 crossings of the cold Truckee River and much prying and shoving to get wagons and teams over the rocks to proceed up the canyon.

In 1845, Caleb Greenwood and his three sons developed a new route that by-passed the rough and rugged trail up the Truckee River Canyon by leaving the river near the present town of Verdi, Nevada and following a ravine northwest over a 6,200 feet (1,900 m) pass across the Carson Range (followed today by the Henness Pass Road) and down to Dog Valley and from there southwest down through the present Stampede and Prosser Creek Reservoirs before rejoining the Truckee trail near today's Truckee, California.^[56] This was about ten miles (16 km) longer route but it avoided most of the continual crossings of the rock filled Truckee River and became the main route for the Truckee Trail. Initially, the trail passed to the north of Lake Tahoe and then followed Donner Creek to the north side of Donner Lake before ascending the precipitous climb north of the lake to Donner Pass.

There were several Truckee routes over the Sierra here over time but nearly all required the wagons to be disassembled and hoisted straight up various cliffs using multiple teams to get the wagon parts and goods to the top. Some cliffs were ascended by tilting tall fallen trees against the cliffs and using multiple teams to pull the wagons up the improvised steep ramps. All routes required using multiple teams to get the wagons to the top and differing amounts of wagon dis-assembly. The trail initially crossed the Sierra crest through 7,000 feet (2,100 m) Donner Pass.

From Donner summit, the trail then proceeded on a rugged cliff and rock-strewn path down the South Fork of the Yuba River—fed by an alpine lake. The first resting spot after the pass for many was beautiful Summit Valley (now mostly covered by Lake Van Norden reservoir) a few miles from the summit.

The trail down the western slope of the Sierra from Donner pass had enormous granite boulders and numerous rocky outcrops and steep slopes before passing through Emigrant Gap (California). Here a Historical marker on Interstate 80 reads: "The spring of 1845 saw the first covered wagons surmount the Sierra Nevada. They left the valley, ascended to the ridge, and turned westward to old Emigrant Gap, where they were lowered their wagons by ropes to the floor of Bear River (Feather River tributary) Valley. Hundreds of wagons followed before, during, and after the gold rush. This was a hazardous portion of the overland emigrant trail." After getting down off the ridge most emigrants stayed at Bear Valley to rest themselves and their teams and recover before traveling the approximate 70 miles (110 km) remaining to Sutter's Fort. This combination of a very steep and difficult ascent and a sharp difficult descent into Bear Valley on a route that terminated far from the gold strike regions all combined to make the Truckee Trail little used after about 1849 when the Carson Trail was developed. The main route quickly became variations of the Carson Trail which was rough but not as difficult as the Truckee Trail and terminated in the main gold digging regions around Placerville, California.

After being nearly abandoned, several branches of the Truckee Trail were eventually developed in the early 1860s for freight wagons and emigrants going both ways on the California trail. To be more useful the Truckee Trail needed extensive and expensive work spent on it. The route of the Truckee trail was chosen as the "best" way to get a railroad over the Sierra. In 1863 the Central Pacific Railroad put about 300 men to work on the trail and spent over $300,000 (~$5.98 million in 2024) working on a new toll road roughly following the original Truckee route with several new upgrades. In 1864, the CPRR opened the Dutch Flat Donner Lake Toll Wagon Road (DFDLWR) to earn money hauling freight to Nevada while also supplying their railroad workers building the First transcontinental railroad from Dutch Flat California over the Donner summit and on to what today is Verdi, Nevada. The freight going to the gold and silver strikes in Nevada at the Comstock Lode were calculated to pay about $13,000,000 per year in wagon tolls—a fraction of this was well worth pursuing.^[57] One branch of the original Lincoln Highway over Donner summit built in about 1925 climbed the eastern Sierra to Donner Pass with multiple steep switchbacks. Today, the part of Interstate 80 in California and Nevada from 40 Mile Desert, Truckee River, Donner Pass, Sacramento very roughly approximates the original Truckee Trail route.

Starting in about 1846, the Joseph Aram party found an alternate route on the south side of Donner Lake. Their route ran past the future town of Truckee, California up Coldstream Canyon south of Donner Lake to a 7,800 feet (2,400 m) saddle between Mt. Judah and Mt. Lincoln, about two miles (3.2 km) south of Donner's pass.^[58] Here the final climb was up over the somewhat higher but less precipitous Roller Pass. The oxen were taken to the top where they could pull on more or less level ground and about 400 feet (120 m) of chain was let down to a wagon and twelve or more yoke of oxen then pulled the wagon up the final steep (about 30 degree) slope. To minimize friction on the chain it ran over round logs (rollers) put at the top.(Roller Pass Truckee Trail Map^[59]) By not requiring dis-assembly and allowing the wagon to stay packed this was a much faster way to the top but was still tortuously slow taking two to three days or longer to get to the top with wagon, people, animals and goods.^[60] In about 1848 or 1849 a large group of pioneers cut a switchback trail over the final steep section of Roller Pass, eliminating the need for rollers and chains to get over Roller Pass. From the top of the pass all the pioneers could see was a rugged mountain slope headed west that would require almost 80 miles (130 km) more of strenuous and dangerous effort to get to their goals.

Branching off the Truckee Trail was the Nevada City Road (est 1850) to Nevada City. This 25 miles (40 km) cutoff is closely followed today by California State Route 20 from Emigrant Gap on Interstate 80 to Nevada City, California. Portions of the Nevada City Trail are evident at the top of Coyote Street, and North Bloomfield Road, just north of Nevada City. Plaques can be found where these roads meet the top of Harmony Ridge, as this was the ridge used to descend from the High Sierra, to the foothills of California.

The Auburn Emigrant Road (1852) from the Truckee trail to Auburn was established to bring emigrants to the new gold diggings at Auburn, California. Its thought to have extended from roughly present day Nevada City, California, roughly the end of the Truckee Trail, to Auburn. California State Route 49 from Auburn to Nevada City approximates this path. Later toll roads would be built along the rough pack trail from Auburn to Emigrant Gap (California) where Interstate 80 and the Central Pacific Railroad would later go. In 1852 Auburn was reachable by wagons from Sacramento.

The Henness Pass Road (est. 1850)^[61] was an 80-mile (130 km) trail over the Sierra from today's Verdi, Nevada (Dog Valley) to Camptonville and Marysville, California. The route was developed as a wagon toll route by Patrick Henness starting in about 1850. The Henness Pass Road was located about 15 miles (24 km) north of the Truckee trail. The route went from The Truckee Trail in Dog Valley (near today's Verdi, Nevada) up the Little Truckee River to Webber Lake^[62] to the summit, through 6,920-foot (2,110 m) Henness Pass, along the ridge dividing the North and Middle Yuba Rivers and into Camptonville and Marysville. After extensive road work, paid for in part by Marysville, California commercial interests, freight could be shipped by steamboat to Marysville and picked up there for shipment over the Sierra. After 1860, extensions went southward to Carson City, Nevada, and on to the Comstock Lode in Virginia City, Nevada. Beginning in 1860 and continuing for some nine years, the road underwent major improvements, becoming one of the busiest trans-Sierra trails being favored by teamsters and stage drivers over the Placerville Route (Johnson Cutoff) because of its lower elevations, easier grades, and access to ship cargo. Many summer camps and relay stations were created along the route at roughly seven to ten-mile (16 km) intervals to accommodate oxen, horse and mule-powered wagons. In busy times the wagons traveled all day, filling the road, and the six or so stages traveled at night. The route was given up by most teamsters when the Central Pacific Railroad and Virginia and Truckee Railroad^[63] were completed in 1869, and it became cheaper and easier to ship freight by the railroad(s). People in Virginia City reported a 20–50% lower cost for supplies when the railroads were put in. Today the Henness wagon road is a mostly gravel U.S. Forest Service road called the Henness Pass Road from Verdi Nevada to Camptonville, California.

The Beckwourth Trail (est. 1850 by James Beckwourth)^[64] left the Truckee River Route at Truckee Meadows (now the site of Sparks, Nevada) and proceeded north along roughly the route of Stanford Way to Wedekind Road to U.S. Route 395 before crossing the Sierra on what is now California State Route 70 at 5,221 feet (1,591 m) Beckwourth Pass. After crossing the pass, the trail passed west along the ridge tops (avoiding Feather River Canyon) through present day Plumas, Butte and Yuba counties into California's Central Valley, finally terminating at Marysville. The Oroville-Quincy Highway (California State Route 162)^[65] and California State Route 70 from Quincy to Highway 395 in general follow the path of the original Beckwourth Trail.

The much used Carson Trail (est. 1848) (also called Mormon Emigrant Trail)^[66] crossed Forty Mile Desert by leaving the Humboldt Sink and skirting the western edge of the Carson Sink and hit the Carson River near modern-day Fallon, Nevada. The Carson Trail was named after the Carson River, which was in turn named after Kit Carson, scout for John Charles Fremont who had guided the Fremont party over the Sierra through what was subsequently called Carson Pass in February 1844. The trail across the Forty Mile Desert had the usual 6–12 inches (15–30 centimetres) of loose sand that made traversing the desert very hard for the often tired and worn out draft animals. The Forty Mile Desert had water in about the middle, Salt Creek, but it was poisonous to drink. The trail through the desert was soon cluttered with discarded supplies, thousands of dead and dying animals, abandoned wagons, and hundreds of emigrant graves. Some estimated that only about half the wagons that started the trip across Forty Mile Desert got to the other side.^[67]

The Carson Trail was initially developed by about 45 discharged members of the Mormon Battalion. They, together with one woman, were driving 17 wagons and about 300 head of horse and cattle east to Salt Lake City in 1848. The wagons were veterans of the 1846 or 1847 emigration as California had at that time no facilities for building anything besides simple solid wheeled ox carts.^[68] They followed Iron Mountain Ridge southeast of what is now Placerville, California (there were essentially no settlements east of Sutter's Fort in 1848) before hitting Tragedy Spring near Silver Lake. Here they found three of their scouts murdered. The unknown culprits were believed to have been Native Americans.^[69] From there the Mormon group ascended to 9,400 feet (2,900 m) at West Pass and then dropped down to Caples Lake. From there they went through Carson Pass, elevation 8,574 feet (2,613 m). The only way down to the valley below was very steep ridge requiring many changes in direction with ropes and chains before they reached Red Lake at the head of Hope Valley.^[70] To get across the Carson Range of mountains the trail then followed the Carson River, traveling about six miles (9.7 km) in a very rough stretch of the Carson River canyon. The canyon was filled with boulders and rocks that had often fallen over a thousand feet into the canyon carved by the river through the Carson Range. In some places the canyon had to be widened enough for wagons to pass and impassable boulders removed by the Mormons headed east. They found that if they started a fire (driftwood was easily available) on boulders or impassably narrow canyon walls the hot rocks became easily breakable when doused with cold water and hit by picks and shovels. After several applications of fire, water and industrious pick use, the parts of the trail that were formerly impassable were opened up.^[71] In about 1853, the road through the canyon was converted intermittently to a toll road and made much easier to use when even more large boulders were removed and two permanent bridges were constructed.

Travelers heading west in 1848 and later, crossed Forty Mile Desert, then followed the trail blazed by the Mormons in 1848 up the Carson River valley from what is now Fallon, Nevada, in 1850 the town was called "Ragtown". Then, to get over the Carson Range, it was a very rough road through Carson River Canyon where the wagons had to be wrestled over the boulders by ropes, pry bars, levers and a few improvised bridges before the wagon trains finally entered beautiful 7,100 feet (2,200 m) Hope Valley.^[72] Westward travelers from Hope Valley had to climb a steep, rocky and tortuous path over the back wall of a glacier carved cirque to reach Carson Pass. The section of trail at the end of Hope Valley near Red Lake is called "The Devil's Ladder" where the trail has to climb over 700 feet (210 m) of very steep mountain in the final half mile (1 km). Today, a hiker's careful eye can still find notches, grooves and rust marks left by iron rimmed wagon wheels. Nearby, trees scarred by ropes, chains and pulleys used to haul the heavy wagons up the precipitous slope, can be seen. Travelers could get to the top of the pass in about one day of hard work, an acceptable trade-off for many emigrants. The trail crossed the Sierra Crest through 8,574 feet (2,613 m) Carson Pass.^[73]

At that time, the trail forward was blocked by the Carson Spur, a sharp ridge not passable by wagons. To proceed, the Carson Trail had to follow the path blazed by the Mormons and make a sharp turn south at what is now Caples Lake (reservoir) and ascend 9,400 feet (2,900 m) West Pass before finally making it over the Sierra Crest. The half day path up over West Pass was easy compared to the climb to Carson Pass and was used by thousands of wagons from 1848 to 1863. The Carson Trail was a straightforward push to Placerville and the heart of the gold country and was a main route for emigrants for many years. A better route variation was finally blasted out of the face of the cliffs at Carson Spur in 1863 by the Amador and Nevada Wagon Road—a toll road around Carson Spur.^[74] Over time the Carson Trail developed many branches and toll roads for freight wagons, emigrants and miners going both ways over the Sierra.

One of the major drawbacks of the Carson Trail was its elevation, with substantial sections of the trail over 8,000 feet (2,400 m), where snow often covered it from late fall well into the spring season. The Placerville route (Johnson Cutoff) became the preferred trail, as it was lower and extensively improved. It could be used much of the winter season for at least horse travel.

The present highway route—California State Route 88 follows much of the original Carson Trail route from the California/Nevada border for 38 miles to Mormon-Emigrant Trail/Iron Mountain Road, which goes to Pollock Pines, California, and from there on to Placerville, California. The current road avoids the highest section over West Pass by crossing the Carson Spur. Kirkwood Mountain Resort and ski area now occupies some of the higher parts of the original Carson Trail.

The Johnson Cutoff (1850–51) road (also called Placerville Route, Lake Tahoe Route and Day Route) from Carson City, Nevada, to Placerville (then called Hangtown) used part of the Carson Trail to about present day Carson City. This cutoff was developed by John Calhoun Johnson of Placerville in about 1850–51. Leaving the future site of Carson City, the cutoff passed over the Carson Range by following Cold Creek (via Kings Canyon Road) and passing over 7,150 feet (2,180 m) Spooner Summit (now used by U.S. Route 50). Once near Lake Tahoe it was forced to climb some further steep ridges by rocky spurs jutting into the lake and swampy ground (modern U.S. Highway 50 corrects both these problems). After getting to the southern end of the lake, the trail veered west near Echo Lake and climbing steeply made it over the Sierra on 7,400 feet (2,300 m) Echo Summit (Johnson's Pass). The steep descent from Johnson's Pass brought the trail down to Slippery Ford on the South Fork American River. From there, Johnson's Cutoff headed westward following the river from Strawberry to today's Kyburz, California, before crossing to its north side and ascending about 1,400 feet (430 m) to Peavine Ridge and following its crest to get around a rocky stretch of the river. After descending Peavine ridge the trail forded the South Fork of the American River near Pacific House. From about today's Pollock Pines, California it followed the ridge line on the south side of the river to Placerville. Johnson's route became a serious competitor as the main route over the Sierra. This route, with considerable up grades and modifications, eventually became one of the main all-season routes over the Sierra since it could be kept open at least intermittently in the winter.

In 1855, the California Legislature passed An Act to Construct a Wagon Road over the Sierra Nevada Mountains^[75] and appropriated $100,005 (equivalent to approximately $2.66 million in 2024 dollars) for its implementation. Sherman Day, a part-time California State Senator was appointed to survey the possible routes. After extensive searches, he recommended the Placerville route (Johnson's Cutoff) as the best prospect and surveyed an improved route. The California Supreme Court ruled in 1856 that the law was unconstitutional since it violated the state Constitution's allowable $300,000 (~$8.15 million in 2024) debt limit without public vote. Discouraged but not defeated, road proponents got El-Dorado, Sacramento and Yolo counties to kick in $50,000 for road construction. Contracts were let and they got a new bridge across the South Fork American River ($11,300); a new sidehill road along Peavine ridge that was only 100 to 500 feet (30 to 152 m) above the river and avoided the sharp ascents and descents there and extensive work on a new road up to Johnson's Summit (Echo Summit) and another less precipitous road down to Lake Valley. This was the first route over the Sierra on which extensive, public financed, improvements were made. The new route was christened the Day Route. Winter and its attendant runoffs raised havoc with the road and in spring 1860, when the mobs were trying to get to Virginia City, Nevada, and the new Comstock Lode strike, it was reported as a barely passably trail in places (April 1860). To get supplies to Virginia City, Nevada, and the Comstock area after 1860, the road was extensively improved as a toll road to the mines in Virginia City, Nevada. It is now followed roughly by U.S. Highway 50.^[76]

In 1860–61, the Pony Express used Daggetts Pass and Johnson's cutoff route to deliver their mail—even in the winter.

The Luther Pass Trail (1854) was established to connect the Carson River Canyon road with the Johnson Cutoff (Placerville Road or Lake Tahoe Road). Luther Pass (present CA SR 89) joined the older emigrant route northeast of Carson Pass through Carson River Canyon rather than following the trails along Lake Tahoe.^[77] Going East after descending from Echo Summit and getting to the south end of Lake Valley, it headed southeast over 7,740 feet (2.36 km) Luther Pass into Hope Valley where it connected with the main Carson Trail through Carson River canyon to get over the Carson Range.

Branching off the Johnson's Cutoff (Placerville Road) was about 10 miles (16 km) Daggett Pass toll road (Georgetown Pack Trail) (est. abt 1850). This route was developed as a toll road to get across the Carson Range of mountains. Going east it leaves The Placerville Route near what is now Stateline, Nevada (near South Lake Tahoe) and progresses up Kingsbury Grade to 7,330 feet (2.23 km) Daggett Pass and on down the Kingsbury Grade to Carson Valley. After 1859 and the discovery of gold and silver in the Comstock Lode, this road was extensively improved and used by teamsters going to Virginia City, Nevada, as it cut about 15 miles (24 km) off the usual road through Carson River Canyon. Today Nevada State Route 207 closely approximates this road.

The Grizzly Flat Road (1852) to Grizzly Flat & Placerville was an extension of the Carson trail that went down the middle fork of the Consumes River to what was then a busy gold diggings at Grizzly Flat—located about 35 miles (56 km) east of Placerville.

The Volcano Road (1852) off the Carson Trail was made in 1852 when Amador County and Stockton merchants paid a contractor to construct a road from Corral Flat on what is now the Carson Trail (California State Route 88) to Volcano, California. Today the cutoff is approximately followed off SR 88 by the Fiddletown Silver Lake Road, Shake Ridge Road And Ram's Horn Grade.

Big Tree Road & Ebbetts Pass Road (est. about 1851–1862) from the gold mining towns of Murphys, California & Stockton, California to gold and silver mining towns/mines near Markleeville in eastern California and western Nevada. It approximates the present California State Route 4 route over 8,730 feet (2,660 m) Ebbetts Pass. Descriptions of the pass match those used by Jedediah Smith in the late spring of 1827 when leaving California, as well as the pass used by John Bidwell and the Bartleson–Bidwell Party on their emigration to California in 1841.

Originally a free pack trail route when first used in about 1851 by "Major" John Ebbetts, it was improved to a wagon road and became a toll road to silver mining towns in eastern California and western Nevada from 1864 through 1910, and then a free county road in 1911. It was used by very few emigrants to California.

The road reverted to a free county road in 1911 and was accepted into the California State Highway system in 1926 as California State Route 4. It was not until the early 1950s that the road over Monitor Pass to U.S. Route 395 was completed, connecting the eastern terminus of State Route 4 to U.S. Route 395 via California State Route 89 near the community of Topaz, California.^[78] Today's Ebbetts Pass National Scenic Byway is a very scenic drive but one of the least traveled highways across the Sierra Nevada Mountains. It is anchored at either end by two state parks—Calaveras Big Trees State Park and Grover Hot Springs State Park. It passes through the Stanislaus and Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forests. Today's Ebbetts Pass road, SR 4, has an extensive section of highway that is less than two lanes wide with no dividing line. It also has some very steep sections, particularly on the eastern Sierra slopes, with several sharp hairpin corners.^[79]

Both the Carson River and Truckee River trails eventually ended up at Sutter's Fort in Sacramento, California. In 1848 most emigrants developed and used this route. In 1849 about one-third of all emigrants used the Carson Trail with later years many more using it. Starting in 1848, many left the main trail to stay in a mining district(s) or town(s) that developed along or off the trail(s).

In 1852, the Sonora Road was opened from the Carson Trail to Sonora, California, by the Clark-Skidmore Company. From the Humboldt Sink it crossed Forty Mile Desert to the Carson River and then went almost due south to the Walker River, which it followed to the Sierra before making the very steep (about 26 degrees in parts) and rugged ascent to 9,625 feet (2,934 m) Sonora Pass.

From there the road drops down twisting forested mountain ridges to Sonora. This was the highest road developed across the Sierra—and still a very scenic drive. (modern Tioga Pass out of Yosemite National Park is slightly higher) California State Route 108 between Sonora and U.S. Highway 395 roughly approximates the route of the Sonora Road over the Sierra. This route was little used after about 1854.

The Applegate–Lassen Cutoff or Applegate Trail (est. 1846–48) left the California Trail at Lassen Meadows, near the present-day Rye Patch Reservoir on the Humboldt River in Nevada.^[80] The trail headed northwest until it could pass north of the worst of the California Sierra Nevada mountains.^[81] The trail passed through Rabbithole Springs, crossed the Black Rock Desert and High Rock Canyon before finally (after nearly 100 miles (160 km) of desert travel) arriving at Surprise Valley and climbing steeply to go over 6,300 feet (1,900 m) Fandango Pass. From there, travelers faced a descent down a very steep hill to Fandango Valley on the shores of Goose Lake on the Oregon-California border. Just south of Goose Lake the combined Oregon-California trail split at Davis Creek. The Applegate Trail branch proceeded northwest into southeastern Oregon along the Lost River before turning almost due north roughly along the route of today's Interstate 5 to go the Willamette Valley in Oregon.^[82]

The California branch, the Lassen Cutoff (established in 1848 with a help from eager Oregon gold seekers), proceeded southwest through the Devil's Garden along the Pit River and passed east of Lassen Peak until it eventually swung west at present day Lake Almanor (reservoir) and arrived at Lassen's rancho near the Sacramento River. From there it followed the river south in the Central Valley (California) about 110 miles (180 km) to Sutter's Fort and the gold fields. This road was so rough that today in many places it can only be traveled by the occasional forest trail and hiking paths.^{[citation needed]}

The Applegate–Lassen Cutoff was almost 150 miles (240 km) further than other routes and took roughly fifteen to thirty days of additional travel to get to Sutter's Fort, which was unknown to nearly all who initially took it. It avoided Forty Mile Desert and many of the high passes and difficult climbs of other routes, but it introduced some difficult desert crossings and had very limited grass and water. For most it was a very bad choice of routes. Much of the traffic on this alternate route in the early days was due to confusion, as enough travelers turned off on this route to make many of those following think wrongly that it was the main route. Most had dispensed with hiring guides who actually knew the trail by then and almost none had any written guides about the Applegate-Lassen Trail. Most did not realize for several days or even weeks they had made a wrong turn. It is estimated that in 1849 about 7,000 to 8,000 (about one-third of California trail travelers that year) inadvertently took this much longer trail and found that the earlier travelers and their animals had stripped the desert bare and set fires that had burned most available grass. There was almost no forage left for their animals, and they lost many hundreds of animals and suffered severe hardships and several deaths, as many ran out of supplies before rescue parties sent out from Sutter's Fort could reach them. By 1853, other faster, easier, and shorter routes had been worked out, and traffic on the Applegate-Lassen cutoff declined to a trickle.^{[citation needed]}

In 1851, William Nobles surveyed a shorter variation of the Applegate–Lassen trail. It was developed to make it easier to get to Shasta, California (which paid him $2,000) in the Central Valley and was first used in 1852. The route, called Noble's Road, left the main trail near Lasson's meadow (now Rye Patch Reservoir) in Nevada, and bypassed most of the large Applegate-Lassen loop north almost to Goose Lake (Oregon-California) on the Oregon-California border. This reasonably easy wagon route followed the Applegate-Lassen Trail to the Boiling Spring at Black Rock in Black Rock Desert and then went almost due west from there to Shasta, California, in the Central Valley via Smoke Creek Desert to present-day Honey Lake and present-day Susanville before passing North of Mt. Lassen and on to Shasta (near present-day Redding). The route today can be approximated by taking Nevada State Route 49 (Jungo Road) from Winnemucca, Nevada, to Gerlach, Nevada, and from there to Susanville via Smoke Creek Road. From there, California State Route 44 through Lassen Volcanic National Park to Redding approximates the rest of the trail. It depended upon springs for water, as there were no dependable creeks along most of the route. East of Mt. Lassen, it used part of Lassen's road in reverse over a distance of about 20 miles (32 km). In that section of trail, a traveler going to Shasta City might travel north passing another traveler going south to Sutter's Fort California.

In 1857, Congress appropriated $300,000 (~$7.94 million in 2024) for building a wagon road to California and to establish the Fort Kearny, South Pass and Honey Lake Wagon Road. Exactly why the road was to terminate at Honey Lake near Susanville is a legislative mystery, since very few went that way in 1857 or later. The road was built in response to pressure from California Congressmen who wanted a good road to California, preferably one that bypassed Forty Mile Desert. The first part of the route was surveyed by Frederick W. Lander working under William Magraw. In 1858, Lander guided several hundred workers who built the Landers Cutoff passing the Green River well north of the established ferries, over Thompson Pass into Star Valley Wyoming, and from there up Stump Creek and on to Fort Hall in Idaho. In 1860, Landers was instructed to find a new route north of the Humboldt. To help the emigrants leaving the main trail at Lassen's meadow and going to Honey Lake, Lander had two large reservoir tanks built at Rabbit Hole and Antelope Springs.^[83] These reservoirs helped Nobles Road keep its status as an emigrant trail, but only the few emigrants interested in going to Northern California used it.

Initially, the trails across the Sierra were improved only enough to make them barely passable. The main initial attraction for improved toll roads across the Sierra was Virginia City, Nevada and the Comstock Lode strike in the Washoe district of Nevada in 1859. This strike rapidly developed after about 1860 when they found out how potentially massive the gold and silver deposits there were. A good, easily traversed road was needed to haul in miners, other workers, supplies, etc., and road improvements and maintenance could be financed by the road tolls. The Comstock Lode mines would require millions of dollars of investment to buy and ship in thousands of tons of mining supplies, food and firewood to supply the mines. Almost no cities existed in Nevada then, and Virginia City would be Nevada's first major city^{[citation needed]}. In addition, until the mills could be built, high grade ore was shipped to California for processing. The gold and silver ore there required developing a new massive industrial scale mining operation by multiple mines to get it out. New techniques would have to be developed to get the silver out, the Washoe process. New techniques were required to support the mines, which were often in weak ground. The square-set timber process ultimately used millions of board feet of lumber. Millions of gallons of water per day had to be pumped out of the mines usually by massive steam powered Cornish pumps, which ultimately had over 3,000 feet (910 m) long pumping rods that weighed over 1,500,000 pounds (680,000 kg) and used over 33 cords of wood fuel per day, each. In addition, the mine hoists and up to 75 mills were all run with steam engines, all using copious amounts of wood. Winter heating consumed more thousands of cords of wood. All these thousands of cords of firewood had to be freighted in. The heavy firewood and timber needs of the Comstock Lode strike lead to much of the Carson Range and part of the Sierra Nevada being extensively denuded of timber. As the mines developed they went into progressively hotter regions until they were mining in up to 130 degree Fahrenheit (55 degree Celsius) temperatures. To survive in these temperatures the miners used up tons of ice (frozen in the winter and hauled in) each day. The gold and silver found more than paid for the wages, development, lumbering and shipping costs. In the next twenty years, over $300,000,000 (in 1880 dollars) worth of gold (at about $20/oz.) and silver (at about $1.00/oz.) were extracted.

Starting in 1860, many emigrant trails over difficult terrain and streams were improved and replaced by toll roads and bridges built and financed by private entrepreneurs and some cities.^[84][85] Later, other strikes in western Nevada and eastern California would give impetus to new toll roads to a new mining town.

Initially, the two main toll roads over the Sierra that were improved and developed were the Henness Pass Route from Nevada City, California, to Virginia City, Nevada, and the Placerville Route, (also called Johnsons's Cutoff and the Tahoe Wagon Road) from Placerville, California, to Lake Tahoe and over the Carson range to Virginia City. The Placerville route would be the first route that could be kept at least partially open even in winter. The Henness Pass route was partially built by a $25,000 grant from Marysville and Nevada City. The Placerville route was somewhat shorter at about 100 miles (160 km) and had the additional advantage that freight could be shipped to Folsom, California, about 23 miles (37 km) out of Sacramento on the Sacramento Valley Railroad—built in 1856. This freight could then be transferred onto wagons that had good roads to Placerville and later clear to Virginia City. In their heyday from about 1861–1866, these roads had major improvements made at many thousands of dollars per road and paid the salaries of a small army of employees that worked on building and maintaining different sections of the road and the service centers located roughly every ten miles. A typical wage then was from $1.00 to $2.00/day for laborers, teamsters etc., with higher wages when men were scarce. The miners in Virginia City were paid the very high wage of $4.00/day. A team could be hired for a few dollars/day. The storm-induced and spring runoff gullies and ruts in the roads would have to be filled in, culverts installed, streams and canyons bridged, gravel hauled in to fill the soft spots in the road, rough spots evened out and road cuts made in the side hills to get around the hills. The only tools available to build and maintain roads then were hand tools: picks, shovels, crow bars, hoes, axes, wheelbarrows, hand saws, etc. This was aided by judicious use of black powder to eliminate really bad spots. The only power available was human, ox or mule pulled plows, wagons and mule powered dump carts. The railroads would be built with essentially the same tools. Every spring, extensive repairs costing additional thousands would be needed to repair the ravages of winter and the gully washing spring thaws.

During summer daylight hours, the roads were often packed for miles in busy spots with heavily laden wagons headed east and west usually pulled by up to ten mules. Wagons headed west were mostly empty, but some carried the literally tons of silver mined in the Washoe district (Virginia City) back to San Francisco. Passing spots were located frequently along the roads to allow two way traffic. The roughly 200 miles (320 km) round trip over the Henness Pass road or the Placerville Route could be done by freight wagons in about 16–18 days.

Mail and passenger stages usually went at night to avoid most of the slower (≈3 mph) wagon traffic. As counted in 1862, the average number of passengers carried each day on the Placerville Route's Pioneer Stage Company line with 12 coaches and 600 horses averaged about 37 passengers/day. Horses were changed at roughly every 10–20 mile intervals and the drivers often vied to make the fastest time. A typical stage trip took approximately 18 hours from Placerville to Virginia City with an 18-hour return. Holdups, stage wrecks and other accidents were an occasional occurrence on both routes. In 1864, stage receipts were estimated by newspapers of the time to be about $527,000 at $27.00 per passenger on the Placerville route. The Henness Pass road's California Stage Company and Nevada Stage Line carried somewhat fewer passengers. Both stage coach routes together were estimated by newspapers of the day to have gross receipts, including mail subsidies, of over $1,000,000 total in 1864 (~$16.3 million in 2024). The typical freight charges were about $120.00 to $160.00/ton (6–8 cents/pound) with am additional $20.00 to $30.00 toll charges/wagon. A Central Pacific Railroad agent (J. R. Atkins) estimated, after counting all Placerville toll road traffic in August and September 1862, that the freight charges to Virginia City over the Placerville route would have been about $5,000,000, (~$122 million in 2024) which delivered roughly 20,000,000 pounds (9,100,000 kg) of freight in eight weeks. Similar amounts presumable were shipped over the Henness pass route. In a given month during the busy season, over 2,000 wagons (sometimes up to three wagons were pulled by one team) and over 10,000 draft animals (mostly mules) per month were counted on the Placerville road alone in 1862.^[86] The Placerville Route and Henness Pass route even had sprinkler wagons that wetted down the road during daylight hours about every three hours to minimize dust and wear and tear on the road. There were 93 hotels, stage relay stations and lodging stations located along the Placerville Route with similar stations along the Henness Pass route located at roughly ten miles (16 km) intervals. The teamsters stayed at these locations at the end of each day's travel. The Placerville Route tried to stay open in winter to at least horse traffic and was only closed temporarily by winter storms. The Pony Express used this route in the summer and winter of 1860–61. The net profit per year from these toll roads was probably over $100,000/yr in 1862 (~$2.44 million in 2024) and increasing every year.

Competition arrived in July 1864 when the Central Pacific railroad entrepreneurs opened Dutch Flat and Donner Lake Wagon Road (DFDLWR)^[87] This route was opened over much of the route the new Central Pacific railroad would use over Donner Summit. This route followed much of the original Truckee Trail route with the major exception that its large work force could smooth and straighten the route and make major side hill cuts that built around many of the steep grades and over or through major obstacles. Below Dutch Flat where the original Truckee Trail diverged from modern roads to descend into a steep canyon and use the Bear River ridge to get around impassable terrain the Dutch Flat and Donner Lake Wagon Road (and the Central Pacific track) was cut around many of the sharp ridges that had prevented a wagon road there. Despite the Dutch Flat and Donner Lake Wagon Road name, the railhead would not actually reach Dutch Flat (about 60 miles (97 km) east of Sacramento) until July 4, 1866, as it was built over difficult terrain and required very heavy construction to reach Dutch Flat. Their toll road was built with a reported $200,000 (1864 dollars) investment and involved about 350 men and many teams of animals working for over ten months. Initially, the road extended from the railhead (then Newcastle, about 30 miles (48 km) east of Sacramento) over Donner summit to Verdi, Nevada, where it joined the road developed by the Henness Pass road to Virginia City, Nevada. After it was opened, this route was advertised by the California Stage Company to reach Virginia City in three hours less time (about 17 hours) than the Sacramento-Placerville Route and have lower grades and wider roads, (20 feet (6.1 m)), than the other routes. This new toll road was developed so the new railroad could earn money even as it was being built as well as supplying their own hefty transportation needs. As the railroad construction progressed over the Sierra, freight could be shipped to near the railhead then transferred to wagons that could use the new toll road to complete their journey. It slowly took over much of the shipping to Virginia City and the Washoe district as the railroad progressed over Donner Summit (December 1868) and into Truckee and beyond. Today's Interstate 80 goes over much of the same route and is the main transportation artery over the Sierra in northern California.

Tolls existed on nearly all Sierra trail crossings as improvements were made; but most other roads after the two (later three) main toll roads were developed, were relatively lightly used. A typical toll from Sacramento to Virginia City Nevada was about $25.00 to $30.00 round trip for a freight wagon carrying at least 2,000 pounds (910 kg) up to 6,000 pounds (2,700 kg) of cargo with additional tolls possible for additional animals over six (usually $1.50/animal) and some additional bridge tolls were also needed. Some teams had up to ten animals pulling up to three wagons trailered behind each other. Some counties and cities did help build some roads but mainly granted franchises so toll road operators could build and maintain good roads and bridges with assurances of minimum competition and compensation. Some resented the toll charges, but the users of the road paid for the improvements and maintenance on the roads, and taxpayers of this era in general were very hesitant to pick up the very hefty cost of building and maintaining good "free" roads.

Nearly all of the heavy wagon freighting and stage use over the Sierra ceased after the completion of the Central Pacific and Virginia Truckee railroads in 1869. The ongoing massive needs for millions of board feet of Sierra timber and thousands of cords of firewood in the Comstock Lode mines and towns would be the single major exception, although they even built narrow gauge railroads to haul much of this. Stages and wagons were still needed and used for the many cities not serviced by the railroads and the stage and freight lines continued in business. The first "highway" established by the counties was the Placerville toll route that was bought by the counties and made a "free" (taxpayer financed) road in 1886.^[88] The first "highway" established by the state government was this same Placerville wagon road over the Sierra after it was bought by the state in 1896. This road eventually became U.S. Route 50.^[89]

Due to lack of use after 1869, most of the wagon roads across the Sierra were allowed to deteriorate until, by the early 20th century, many were again next to impassable to wagons. The railroad served nearly all trans-Sierra passenger and freight needs. The arrival of the automobile in the early 20th century revived the need for good Sierra roads. By 1910, only the Placerville route (now a state highway) was maintained well enough for car and truck traffic to get over the Sierra.^[90] The Truckee Trail that was modified and upgraded to the Dutch Flat and Donner Wagon Road over Donner summit had deteriorated so badly that the road had to be extensively rebuilt and relocated to become passable for cars or trucks.^[90] After extensive upgrades and modifications this road would become U.S. Route 40 and later Interstate 80.

Others besides emigrants were also using parts of the trail(s) for freighting, extensive livestock herding of cows, sheep and horses, stage lines, and briefly in 1860–61 the Pony Express. Traffic in the California-Nevada area was often two ways as the fabulously rich mines like the Comstock Lode (found in 1859) in Nevada and other gold and silver discoveries in eastern California, Nevada, Idaho and Montana needed supplies freighted out of California. The completion of the Panama Railroad in 1855 along with fast steamboats traveling to both the Pacific and Atlantic ports in Panama made shipping people and supplies from Europe and the east coast into California and from there to new gold and silver mining towns reasonably inexpensive. New ranches and settlements located along the trail(s) also needed supplies freighted in. Gold and silver discoveries in Colorado often had their supplies shipped in from the east coast and midwest along parts of the various emigrant trails. Steamboats delivered supplies to Missouri River ports from both sites in the eastern United States but also from Europe as New Orleans, Louisiana and others allowed cheap and reasonably fast ship connections to Europe. Before the railroads came in, horse, mule or oxen pulled freight wagons from either California or the midwest were the only way new supplies from the east, midwest and Europe could get to several states. Gold, silver, livestock etc. were shipped back to Europe and the east coast to pay for these supplies.

Toll bridges and ferries were active at nearly all previously dangerous river crossings as the trail became not only safer but quicker. Stage coaches by changing teams at newly established stage stations about every ten to twenty miles (16 to 32 km) and traveling day and night, could make a transit from the Missouri River to California in 25 to 28 days. After 1861, telegraph relay stations and their crews joined these stage stations along much of the route. Forts and army patrols helped protect these various stations from Indian attacks throughout the U.S. Civil War period and later. Regular wagon trains that only had one team per wagon and stopped at night cut their transit time from about 160 days in 1849 to 120 days in 1860. The tolls on the various bridges, ferries and toll roads typically averaged about $30.00 per wagon by 1860. All these toll bridges, roads and ferries shortened the journey west by about 40 days and made it much safer as bad parts of the trail were improved and dangerous river crossings were done now by ferries and toll bridges that cost money but were much safer and faster. Nearly all improvements were financed by tolls on the various roads, bridges and ferries.

The ultimate competitor to the California Trail showed up in 1869 when the First transcontinental railroad was completed. The combined Central Pacific Railroad and Union Pacific Railroad carried traffic from the East into California, and the Virginia and Truckee Railroad carried traffic from Reno to Virginia City. The trip from Omaha, Nebraska, to California became faster, cheaper, and safer, with a typical trip taking only seven days and a $65 (economy) fare. Even before completion, sections of the railroad were used to haul freight and people around Nebraska, Wyoming, Utah, Nevada and California. The price of many goods imported from the east dropped by 20–50% as the much cheaper transportation costs were mostly passed on to the consumers. The California trail was used after 1869 by a few intrepid travelers, but it mostly reverted to local traffic traveling to towns or locations along the trail.