register cliffs

A lot of the names you see inscribed into the cliffs are from the last 50-60 years. You can find some from long ago in the 1800's but I guess to me it just seemed like a bunch of grafitti with all the new names written on the walls. The sad part is that this place used to contain indian petroglyphs but as mentioned in the plaquard....they have all been long lost and covered up with "white grafitti".

Register Cliff gives you an appreciation for the individuals who made the journey. The area isn't much developed, so it's easy to imagine what it must have been like for the Oregon Trail emigrants camping here along the Platte River. As you read the names, you wonder why each person made the difficult journey and if they made it to their destination. Recommend a visit to Ft Laramie and its museum first, then Register Cliffs, and finally the Guernsey Ruts to fully appreciate the journey of the emigrants.

History carved into the rocks. Thousands of families hoping for a better life left their names on the rocks here. Hard to imagine them walking/on the move for 4 months day after day.

This is the second of two Oregon Trail interpretive locations in Guernsey and is also further away from the town than the wheel ruts. Register Cliff is one of many sites where Oregon Trail pioneers would camp for the night. While camping, some chose to carve their names into the soft stone of the nearby cliff, and many are still visible today. The site has suffered from some vandalism or perhaps to state it more kindly, other more modern visitors have felt the need to also carve their names into the cliff, in some cases obliterating the historic names. There are still enough historic names that the area is worth a look.Once you have visited the trail ruts nearby, there are easy to follow signs bringing you to this location. You'll travel on a gravel road most of the way so be prepared to experience dust much like the early pioneers. Of course, you can put your car windows up to keep it out but imagine being a pioneer following other wagons and having dust on top of everything in thick layers, choking you as well.There are pit toilets near the parking area, and it's a short walk to the signatures. There is also what appears to be a cemetery but was completely overgrown behind a fence with no gate. We couldn't read the name on even one stone which was very disappointing to us.In conclusion, if you have time for only one of the two areas, I recommend you go to the wheel ruts, but if you have time, come to Register Cliff where you can see history and imagine someone lonely and far from home traveling the dusty plains choosing to spend the evening carving their name in the stone. Today, that impulsive action might be the only record of their passing through life. Maybe they made it to Oregon or California, or maybe they are buried in one of the hundreds of trail side graves.Recommended.

We visited here during our trip along the Oregon Trail with our 2 boys. This site had a lot of names, and the area where the pioneers would have camped is obvious. The Platte River is adjacent, and the route of the trail is easy to imagine. The roads are gravel but well maintained, and there are pit toilets. One can feel the history at this site.

Seeing the names engraved into the rock was like stepping back into time. Too bad some have been lost due to the elements and people writing over them. At one time, Indian petroglyphs were there, as well as a 1797 and an 1829 name which were confirmed as genuine.

As the Pioneers were traveling the Oregon Trail, they passed through this area, where there was grass, water (North Platte River) and they would stop here to rest and allow their animals to eat and drink. The sandstone cliffs beside the river, were a place they carved their names, dates, and sometimes where they were from. People have continued to carve their names in the cliffs, and some of the area is completely covered, every square inch. A fence has been erected around part of the area to preserve the historical names. It is quite an interesting piece of history and would be an exciting find if one of your ancestors traveled that way. The historic names range from about 1830 to 1905. Worth seeing.

It is a shame, that so many people, long after the pioneers carved names on the wall. However it is definitely worth a stop, especially if you are interested in learning about the Oregon Trail. You will here about Cliff Registry at several different Oregon Trial museums, across the country.

Being from the East, I didn't even know anyplace like this existed. Reading the old dated names chiseled into the rocks is amazing and thought provoking to say the least. It's a shame that people that have come along since those pioneers went through this area, thought they had to carve their own names and dates over many of the old ones. I guess true history doesn't mean as much as having their own name on a rock. I would highly suggest anyone going to this area to check this out as well as the wagon trails nearby.

this is a bit of a drive, but fun to see all the names and dates! Fun to wonder about the monotony of the trip - broken up by register cliffs/rocks - along the way! Would love to see if names appear on more than one along the trail!!

I loved reading many of the still legible names and dates. I searched for surnames from my family history and saw some possibilities. Were they my kin?

Long drive out to the cliff. Good size cliff to see, but it appears that every moron from all over has left thier mark in the soft stone.Impossible to tell the old from the new, as many folks have tried to duplicate old signatures.

Easy access to see a bit of history. Wyoming has done a nice job putting in a pathway with occassional benches to rest, so current travelers can have fun looking for old signatures and dates. You can imagine what it was like leaving a message of "I was here" to fellow travelers of the Oregon Trail.

While taking a cross-country motorcycle trip several years back, I pulled off the main road in Wyoming to go to the town of Guernsey, west of Ft. Laramie, to see the Oregon Trail Ruts. Now seeing the trail ruts carved out of the hard rock was amazing enough, but while there I started talking to a guy in an Army Uniform and he persuaded me to travel down the road a couple of miles to Register Cliff. There is saw a tall long block of soft sandstone, with names and dates written on it. Not the usual "Johnny Loves Sally 1967", but instead signature of the people who were traveling on the Oregon Trail in the mid 1850"s.This is history at its best. Some of these signatures were being left for family traveling behind, or simply a "hey I made it this far" cry out to anyone passing by.If you ever find your self within 100miles of Guernsey, go there and see this. How often do you get to share space with the past.Take a close look at the picture I enclosed, It was written by Tex Serpa...to be really honest with you, I always thought TEx was a Hollywood, made up name. But here he is "Tex Serpa, WagonMaster, Oregon Wagon Trail, 1859."

Beautiful location so take your camera! It is really fun reading all the names and dates on the cliff. There is a small trail to walk and lots of birds here. The birds live in the cliff and I found them as interesting as the names. This is a family friendly place rich in history. A nice place to stop on your way through this area.