California Trail Days, May 18-19

Visit the California Trail Interpretive Center, and learn the stories of the pioneers who endured the 2,000-mile trek to California; some seeking land, some gold, others seeking adventure, and some for reasons we may never know.

California Trail Days is a free annual event at the California Trail Interpretive Center that celebrates the people whose lives were impacted by the westward movement. Trail Days will take place May 18-19. The theme of this year’s event is music. Los Californios will be performing, and there will be period music, a hurdy gurdy player, a Saturday night dance, a 19th-century doctor, historic firearm demonstrations, Dutch oven cooking, and gold panning.

Experience life-size dioramas, original murals, exhibits on the native peoples, and multimedia productions. Hike accessible trails, walk through a wagon encampment, and see a Shoshone Village. Hear the words of the pioneers, and learn of the successes of the Bidwell-Bartleson party and the events that led to the Donner Party disaster. Come see the Elephant at the California Trail Interpretive Center, where History Comes Alive.

The California Trail Interpretive Center, operated by the Bureau of Land Management, is located at the junction of the infamous Hastings Cutoff and the California Trail, eight miles west of Elko on I-80 at Hunter Exit 292. Visit californiatrailcenter.org and www.blm.gov/cv5c or call 775-738-1849 for more information.

Learn more about the history of the California Trail in this story from Nevada Magazine's September/October 2010 issue.