One of the most famous of these trails was the Oregon trail, which led from the state of Missouri in the center of the country to the state of Oregon in its northwestern corner.

I was hiking along a trail in the Silver Falls State Park in Oregon with my soon to be boyfriend and as we rounded a curve, a breathtaking vista complete with a roaring waterfall came into view.

A number of families even went as far as the Pacific coast, taking the Oregon Trail to areas in the Pacific Northwest.