• Stone Ruins at the Sand Springs Pony Express Station in Nevada

    Pony Express

    National Historic Trail CA,CO,KS,MO,NE,NV,UT,WY

Park Planning

A range of management and implementation plans are used to administer the Pony Express National Historic Trail. These documents provide overall guidance for National Park Service administrators and their partners in trail protection, development, and interpretation.

Management and Implemention Plans

Comprehensive Management and Use Plan (19.4mb pdf file)

The Comprehensive Management and Use Plan/Final Environmental Impact Statement (finalized in 1999) is shaped, in part, by the planning requirements found in section 5(f) of the National Trails System Act (see appendix A). It focuses on the trails’ purpose and significance, resource protection, visitor experience and use, and long-term administrative objectives.

Elements of the proposed plan have been developed in cooperation with federal, state, and local agencies, as well as various nonprofit trail organizations—the entities that form the core of any partnership for national historic trails.

This plan serves as a coordinating document that provides broadbased policies, guidelines, and standards for administering the four trails in such a manner as to ensure the protection of trail resources, their interpretation, and their appropriate public use.

The plan includes not only the Pony Express NHT, but also the California, Oregon, and the Mormon Pioneer trails as well.

Long-Range Interpretive Plan (2.81mb pdf file)

The long-range interpretive plan (LRIP), finalized in 2010, provides an overall vision and basis for decision-making relating to interpretation and educational media.

Did You Know?

Pony Express riders carried official mail in a mochila that fit over the saddle.

To carry the U.S. Mail across 1800 miles of wilderness, Pony Express riders changed horses about every 12-15 miles. At each station, the rider would quickly take the mochila with mail pouches from his saddle and throw it onto the saddle of the fresh horse - and off he went. More...