Last updated: March 5, 2026
Place
Alcove Spring Swales
NPS Photos
Quick Facts
Location:
Near Marysville and Blue Rapids, Kansas. Trail ruts are accessed across the road from the Alcove Spring parking lot.
Significance:
Visible trail ruts near Alcove Spring
Designation:
National Register of Historic Places
MANAGED BY:
Amenities
2 listed
Historical/Interpretive Information/Exhibits, Trailhead
Interested in seeing trail ruts? On the other side of the road from the parking lot at Alcove Spring, a path crosses several noticeable swales then up a short bank with irregular stone steps. Further down the path, a few yards to the left of the interpretive signs are two more, clearly visible swales, going down the slope to the left to be lost to sight in the trees.
The hilly area around Alcove Springs made travel difficult for emigrants. Heavy wagons being pulled forward by livestock dug into the ground, creating ruts. These ruts were deepened and lengthen by wagons wet from river crossings, which made the ground muddy. The ruts were maintained, and grew, by the thousands of wagons that traveled through this area.
When the Oregon Trail stopped being used, grasses and other plants slowly covered over the ruts, turning them into smooth depressions in the ground called swales.
Site Information
Location (Near Marysville and Blue Rapids, Kansas. Swales are located across the road from the Alcove Spring parking lot.)