Editing Oregon Trail (section)

===Oregon===
[[File:OregonTrailBakerCityOR.jpg|thumb|right|Present-day footpaths following ruts of the Oregon Trail near the [[National Historic Oregon Trail Interpretive Center]] east of [[Baker City, Oregon]]]]

Once across the Snake River ford near Old Fort Boise the weary travelers traveled across what would become the state of Oregon. The trail then went to the [[Malheur River]] and then past [[Farewell Bend State Recreation Area|Farewell Bend]] on the Snake River, up the [[Burnt River (Oregon)|Burnt River]] canyon and northwest to the Grande Ronde Valley near present-day [[La Grande, Oregon|La Grande]] before coming to the Blue Mountains. In 1843 settlers cut a wagon road over these mountains making them passable for the first time to wagons. The trail went to the [[Whitman Mission]] near Fort Nez Perces in Washington until 1847 when the [[Whitman massacre|Whitmans were killed by Native Americans]]. At Fort Nez Perce some built rafts or hired boats and started down the Columbia; others continued west in their wagons until they reached The Dalles. After 1847 the trail bypassed the closed mission and headed almost due west to present-day [[Pendleton, Oregon|Pendleton]], Oregon, crossing the [[Umatilla River]], John Day River, and Deschutes River before arriving at The Dalles. Interstate 84 in Oregon roughly follows the original Oregon Trail from Idaho to The Dalles.

Arriving at the Columbia at The Dalles and stopped by the [[Cascade Mountains]] and Mount Hood, some gave up their wagons or disassembled them and put them on boats or rafts for a trip down the Columbia River. Once they transited the Cascade's [[Columbia River Gorge]] with its multiple rapids and treacherous winds they would have to make the {{convert|1.6|mi|km|adj=on}} portage around the [[Cascade Rapids]] before coming out near the [[Willamette River]] where Oregon City was located. The pioneer's livestock could be driven around Mount Hood on the narrow, crooked, and rough Lolo Pass.

Several Oregon Trail branches and route variations led to the Willamette Valley. The most popular was the [[Barlow Road]], which was carved through the forest around Mount Hood from The Dalles in 1846 as a toll road at $5 per wagon and 10 cents per head of livestock. It was rough and steep with poor grass but still cheaper and safer than floating goods, wagons, and family down the dangerous Columbia River.

In Central Oregon, there was the [[Santiam Wagon Road]] (established 1861), which roughly parallels Oregon Highway 20 to the Willamette Valley. The [[Applegate Trail]] (established 1846), cutting off the California Trail from the Humboldt River in Nevada, crossed part of California before cutting north to the south end of the Willamette Valley. [[U.S. Route 99]] and [[Interstate 5]] through Oregon roughly follow the original Applegate Trail.