Stations

The Rigid Pony Express Schedule Required 150+ Stations

Each station was located between 15 to 20 miles apart. The terrain determined the number and the distance between home stations and relay stations. Locations were governed by necessity, not convenience. At each relay station, riders would exchange their tired horse for a fresh one. While, home stations housed the riders between trips. This arrangement allowed the mail to speed across the country in record time. Each rider rode about 75 miles per day.

The Pony Express route varied. Not all the stations listed were used all of the time. Stations on the Pony Express route changed with time and/or because of various circumstances. Some were either substituted or added at various times. Stations are listed below, west to east with present state boundaries. View a map of places to visit along the historic trail.

Home Station Keepers and Stock Tenders

We often hear about the bravery and admiration of the Pony Express riders. However, their success would have been impossible without the station keepers and stock tenders. These were the unsung heroes without whom no rider could have operated very far or for very long. The success of the Pony Express is evidence that they did their work well.

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View a list of each state’s Pony Express Stations: California, Nevada, Utah, Wyoming, Nebraska, Colorado, Kansas, and Missouri.

CALIFORNIA

Water Route: San Francisco to Sacramento via American River or Overland from San Francisco

  1. Oakland
  2. Martinez
  3. Benecia
  4. Sacramento
  5. Sacramento – Western Terminus
  6. Five Mile House
  7. Fifteen Mile House
  8. Mormon Tavern
  9. El Dorado
  10. Diamond Springs
  11. Folsom
  12. Pleasant Grove
  13. Placerville
  14. Sportsman’s Hall
  15. Moore’s
  16. Webster’s
  17. Split Rock
  18. Strawberry
  19. Phillips
  20. Hope Valley
  21. Woodford’s
  22. Yank’s

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NEVADA

  1. Friday’s
  2. Genoa
  3. Carson
  4. Dayton
  5. Nevada
  6. Reed’s
  7. Desert Wells
  8. Ft. Churchill
  9. Buckland’s
  10. Hooten Wells
  11. William’s
  12. Carson Sink
  13. Sand Springs
  14. West Gate
  15. Middle Gate
  16. Cold Springs
  17. Edward’s Creek
  18. Smith’s Creek
  19. Jacob’s Spring
  20. Simpson Park
  21. Dry Creek
  22. Grub Well’s
  23. Robert’s Creek
  24. Sulphur Springs
  25. Diamond Springs
  26. Jacob’s Well
  27. Ruby Valley
  28. Mountain Spring
  29. Butte
  30. Egan Canyon
  31. Schell Creek
  32. Spring Valley
  33. Antelope Springs
  34. Prairie Gate

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UTAH

  1. Deep Creek
  2. Willow Springs
  3. Boyd’s
  4. Fish Springs
  5. Blackrock
  6. Dugway
  7. Riverbed
  8. Simpson Springs
  9. Lookout Pass or Point Lookout
  10. Rush Valley / Meadow Creek / Faust
  11. Pass or East Rush
  12. Camp Floyd
  13. Joe’s Dugout
  14. Rockwell’s
  15. Traveler’s Rest
  16. Salt Lake House
  17. Mountain Dell or Hank’s
  18. Bauchmann’s
  19. Dixie Hollow or East Canyon
  20. Weber Station or Bromley’s
  21. Halfway / Hanging Rock
  22. Castle Rock / Head of Echo
  23. Needle Rock / The Needles

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WYOMING

  1. Bear River
  2. Quaking Asp Spring
  3. Muddy
  4. Fort Bridger
  5. Millersville
  6. Church Buttes
  7. Ham’s Fork
  8. Green River
  9. Big Timbers
  10. Big Sandy
  11. Little Sandy
  12. Dry Sandy
  13. Pacific Springs
  14. Sweetwater / South Pass
  15. Strawberry / Rock Creek
  16. Rocky Ridge / St. Mary’s
  17. Warm Springs
  18. Ice Springs
  19. Three Crossings
  20. Split Rock
  21. Plante’s
  22. Sweetwater Bridge
  23. Horse Creek
  24. Willow Springs
  25. Red Butte’s
  26. Platte Bridge / North Platte
  27. Platte / Bridger
  28. Deer Creek
  29. Box Elder
  30. La Prelle
  31. Clute’s Ranch / Bed Tick
  32. La Bonte
  33. Elk Horn
  34. Horseshoe
  35. Bitter Cottonwood
  36. Centre Star / Nine Mile House
  37. Ft. Laramie
  38. Laramie City / Bordeaux’s or verdling Ranch
  39. Cold Springs / Spring Ranch

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NEBRASKA

  1. Horse Creek
  2. Scottsbluff
  3. Ficklin’s Springs
  4. Chimney Rock
  5. Court House Rock / Pumpkin Creek
  6. Mud Springs
  7. Midway
  8. Pole Creek #3
  9. Pole Creek #2
  10. Nine Mile

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COLORADO

  1. Julesburg

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NEBRASKA cont.

  1. South Platte / Frontz
  2. Diamond Springs / Beauvais Ranch
  3. Gill’s / Sand Hill
  4. Alkali Lake
  5. O’Fallon’s Bluff / Elkhorn
  6. Fremont Springs
  7. Cold Springs
  8. Cottonwood Springs
  9. Machette’s
  10. Gilman’s
  11. Midway
  12. Willow Island
  13. Plum Creek
  14. Garden / Craig’s
  15. Platte / Seventeen Mile
  16. Ft. Kearny
  17. Hook’s/ Kearny
  18. Sand Hill / Summit
  19. 32 Mile Creek
  20. Spring Ranch / Lone Tree
  21. Liberty Farm
  22. Oak Grove / Little Blue
  23. Kiowa
  24. Thompson’s
  25. Big Sandy
  26. Virginia City / Whiskey Run
  27. Rock Creek
  28. Rock House

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KANSAS

  1. Cottonwood / Hollenberg
  2. Big Blue / Marysville
  3. Guittard’s
  4. Ash Point
  5. Seneca
  6. Log Chain
  7. Kickapoo / Goteschall
  8. Kennekuk
  9. Cold Springs
  10. Troy / (1861) Lancaster
  11. Elwood / (1861) Atchison

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MISSOURI

  1. Pikes Peak Stables
  2. Patee House – Headquarters

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