Emigrant Gap

The wagons were let down a cliff on ropes. In the spring of 1845 the first covered wagons to cross the Sierra Nevada left this valley, climbed to the ridge, turned west to Old Emigrant Gap and were lowered by rope to the floor of Bear Valley. Hundreds of wagons followed, before, during and after the gold rush. The bronze files the whole business under a hazardous portion of the Overland Emigrant Trail and leaves it there.

What the plaque says

EMIGRANT GAP THE SPRING OF 1845 SAW THE FIRST COVERED WAGONS TO SURMOUNT THE SIERRA NEVADA MOUNTAINS. THEY LEFT THIS VALLEY, ASCENDED TO THE RIDGE AND TURNED WESTWARD TO OLD EMIGRANT GAP. THE WAGONS WERE LOWERED BY ROPES TO THE FLOOR OF BEAR VALLEY. HUNDREDS FOLLOWED, BEFORE, DURING AND AFTER THE GOLD RUSH. THIS WAS A HAZARDOUS PORTION OF THE OVERLAND EMIGRANT TRAIL. STATE REGISTERED LANDMARK NO. 403 TABLET PLACED BY CALIFORNIA CENTENNIALS COMMISSION. BASE FURNISHED BY PLACER COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY DEDICATED JUNE 25, 1950.

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Malakoff Diggins State Historic Park — 14 mi
  A canyon washed out of a mountain by water cannon, and the lawsuit that ended hydraulic mining.
• Donner Summit Tunnels — 19 mi
  Granite bored by hand at fourteen inches a day, by Chinese crews the country spent a century forgetting.
• Nevada City — 19 mi
  Gaslamps, brick storefronts, and the Nisenan who are still fighting to be recognized on their own ground.
• Empire Mine State Historic Park — 21 mi
  The oldest, deepest, richest hard-rock gold mine in California, with 367 miles of flooded tunnels underneath.

More markers nearby

• Alpha and Omega Hydraulic Diggings — 4.4 mi
• Overland Emigrant Trail — 8.3 mi
• Dutch Flat — 11 mi
• Gold Run — 13 mi