Place
Keeney Pass Interpretive Site
Historical/Interpretive Information/Exhibits, Scenic View/Photo Spot, Trailhead
A map of Passport and Places to Go locations for National Historic Trails.
Keeney Pass was named for the early western pioneer, Jonathan Keeney. In 1831, at the age of 19, Keeney left Missouri to explore the Rocky Mountains. He joined Jim Bridger of the American Fur Company and spent his life trapping and trading throughout the west. Thousands of emigrants on the Oregon Trail used this pass to reach the fertile farmlands that laid further west. The countryside of Keeney Pass has largely been unchanged since this time.
Managed by the Bureau of Land Management as an interpretive site, it offers a 2/3-mile round-trip hike along a section of the original Oregon Trail and visible wagon ruts near an interpretive shelter. Wayside exhibits tell the stories of the overland experience and the native peoples of the area. Please stay on the path in order to protect the historic wagon ruts.
Site Information
Location (south of Vale, Oregon)