Fort Laramie started out in 1834 as a fur-trading post, then became an important government outpost on the Oregon Trail. Settlers traveling west would stop there for supplies or to seek protection during hostilities with Native Americans during the Plains Indian Wars. Although the fort was abandoned in 1890, it has since been restored. Begin at the visitors center, then make a tour of the many buildings, including the cavalry barracks, the post trader's store and Old Bedlam—the post headquarters and social center. With the staff outfitted in period costumes (June to mid-August), Fort Laramie re-creates much of the bustle and excitement of the Old West.
Guernsey State Park (northwest of Fort Laramie), one of Wyoming's most popular state parks, is known for the bluffs that surround the park's waters. It also has some classic Great Depression-era Conservation Corps buildings made of log and rock, one of which houses a history museum. Look for wagon-wheel ruts left behind by Oregon Trail travelers, some of whom "signed" Registration Rock. Fort Laramie is 90 mi/145 km north of Cheyenne.
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