Big Hill

The climb existed because the Bear River's cut through the hills was impassable to wagons, so the trail went over the top. In July 1850 Margaret Frink wrote that the seven miles took five hours, and that on the way down the wheels were tied fast and men held the wagon back with ropes. A re-enactment in 2008 confirmed how hard it was. When this panel was photographed in 2015 it had been knocked from its frame and lay against the posts, beside McAuley's Road, the bypass that replaced the hill.

What the plaque says

Big Hill On their way west to Oregon and California, emigrant wagons often crossed high ridges in order to avoid gullies and canyons. When he came here in 1843, Theodore Talbot noted that he "had to cross a very high hill, which is said to be the greatest impediment on the whole route from the United States (over 200 miles east of here) to Fort Hall (over 120 miles farther west). The ascent is very long and tedious, but the descent is still more abrupt and difficult." Many wagons had to be let down by ropes tied to trees that have disappeared long ago. 335

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Bear Lake National Wildlife Refuge — 5.7 mi
  The Bear River crosses this marsh twice: once in a canal into Bear Lake, and once in another canal on its way back out.
• National Oregon/California Trail Center — 6.8 mi
  Emigrants came down off Big Hill and camped in the clover here. Brigham Young renamed the town; the trail center brings the camp back in costume.
• Minnetonka Cave — 18 mi
  Found by a grouse hunter, named first for a porcupine and then in a language from the far side of the Rockies. Five kinds of bats winter inside.
• Bear Lake — 20 mi
  The Caribbean of the Rockies — a turquoise lake straddling the Utah-Idaho border

More markers nearby

• McAuley's Road — steps away
• Smith's Trading Post — 1.6 mi
• Bank Robbers — 6.8 mi
• Paris Tabernacle — 8.6 mi