Fort Laramie got it’s in start in 1834 as a fur trading post, dealing mainly in buffalo hides that the Indians brought to trade for manufactured goods. In 1849, as travelers along the Oregon Trail increased, the post was bought by the US Army who used it until 1890. The emigrants along the trail eagerly awaited their arrival at the fort because it gave them a chance to buy supplies and the pastures had plenty of room for their draft animals to graze and rest.
The site consists of a visitor center, 11 restored buildings, 9 ruins or foundations, and walking paths with interpretive signs. All of the buildings and ruins on the grounds are from the time the Army occupied the fort.
A paved path leads from the parking lot to the visitor center. The center is accessible but the entry door is very heavy. The walking paths are either gravel surfaced or across the grass so pushing is difficult. Several of the buildings have ramps at the rear entrances but do not have hard surfaced paths to access them. The rooms are partitioned off at the doorways with plexiglass so it may be hard to see the contents due to glare.
The parking lot has long RV spaces.
We spent the night in the little city park in the town of Fort Laramie. It’s a nice park with picnic tables, restrooms, water and a dumpster but very close to the train tracks and a crossing.
Fort 42.20427, -104.55868 Park 42.21076, -104.51904
Nice photo display. Did you "hear the whistle blowing" in the night while you were trying to sleep? :-)
ReplyDeleteThanks! We've been to many forts. This is one of the more interesting ones.
DeleteWe can sleep through almost anything so they may have been blowing all night. :-D They did wake us up about a little earlier than normal.
There is a special needs tour you can ask for at the Visitor Center front desk. If staff is available a golf cart tour around the site is given. It's best to call ahead and arrange it so staff knows ahead of time. 307.837.2221
ReplyDeleteThanks for the comment! I saw the golf cart tour when I was browsing the Fort Laramie site to get the correct facts for this post. The golf cart did not look to be wheelchair accessible. Do you know any more about the tour or the golf cart? Thanks!
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