From the early to mid-1830's the Oregon Trail was used by about 400,000 people including settlers, ranchers, farmers, miners, and businessmen and their families. The continuous traffic of heavily laden wagons wore down certain parts of the trail so much that nothing has ever grown there again to this very day!
There are places where the wagon ruts are still clearly visible, like at Three Island Crossing (also known as Snake River Crossing). The National Parks Service, Bureau of Land Management and other groups want to preserve the wagon ruts and have taken steps in that direction. Many of these spots have been marked with white, pole-like markers.
There is a preserved site of wagon ruts of the Oregon Trail on the North Platte River, about half a mile south of Guernsey, Wyoming. At this site wagon wheels, animals and people wore down the trail about two to six feet into a sandstone ridge!
