Oregon Trail
will take you by actual ruts left behind by the
thousands of wagons traveling the trail.
This historic trail passed a few miles north of Wamego. Wagon ruts from that time can still be seen in places. Other remnants of the trail include the Louis Vieux Cemetery. Vieux, a member of the Potawatomie Tribe, operated a ferry across the Vermillion River for travelers on the trail. Vieux and members of his family are buried at the cemetery. The Cholera Cemetery consists of several stones marking the graves of travelers who succumbed to cholera. Just across the Vermillion River, the world’s largest elm once stood and no doubt provided shade for weary travelers moving along the trail. What is left of the tree has been preserved for future generations.
A few miles east of the cemeteries, along Oregon Trail Road, is the Oregon Trail Nature Park, which offers hiking trails, picnic tables, a shelter house and panoramic views of the Kansas River Valley. The Jeffery Energy Center Lake sits just over the hill to the north and provides a year-round home for water fowl.
Location
The Louis Vieux Cemetery is located four miles east on Highway 24, then three miles north on Onaga Road. Turn left on Oregon Trail Road and the cemeteries are about a half mile up the road.
The Cholera Cemetery is just west of the Louis Vieux Cemetery, on the eastern bank of the Vermillion River, and the Louis Vieux Elm is on the west side of the river.
The Oregon Trail Nature Park is five miles east of Onaga Road on Oregon Trail Road.
