Montpelier & the Trails

This is the story of the passage through the Rocky Mountains and over the Continental Divide.  The great westward migration of the Oregon and California Trails stopped at Montpelier to rest and repair their wagons having just completed crossing the point on this American Continent where the creeks and rivers begin to flow westward to the Pacific Ocean. Today's traveler will notice by the number of big interstate trucks and the large railroad stop it's still the same. 

Montpelier continues to be the central city in the Bear Lake valley. With a population nearing 3,000 and the home for the majority of valley businesses, the city continues to remember its roots with an eye to the future. The largest employers in Montpelier are Bear Lake Memorial Hospital and Bear Lake County School District.

Montpelier is proud of The National Oregon/California Trail Center, a living history interpretive center dedicated to the memory of our western pioneer heritage. Step into the days of the Old West and the Oregon Trail by taking a one hour 2,000 mile journey on the Oregon Trail-all within the comfort of our spacious trail center.  You and your family will become members of a simulated wagon train headed west and be guided by our Wagon Master and live cast of pioneers whose dialogue and stories will make the adventure come alive!  It's the most fun you'll ever have learning history!  For more information please call 1-866-847-3800 or visit our website.

A new trail, the Oregon Trail-Bear Lake Scenic byway is a picture taking delight.  North to Wyoming or south to Bear Lake. Tourism has flourished thanks to the city's location between Salt Lake City, Utah and Jackson Hole/Yellowstone on U.S. Hwy 89. Also, beautiful Bear Lake and its surrounding mountains and wildlife continue to draw visitors to the area. South ten miles are swimming, boating, and fishing at Bear Lake State Park and sightseeing, especially bird watching, a the 17 thousand acre Bear Lake Wildlife Refuge. Enjoy the beautiful scenery while at the Montpelier Golf Course.

Butch Cassidy and his gang robbed the Bank of Montpelier at 3:13 pm on August 13, 1896 after the 13th deposit in the amount of $13.00, then raced out of town.  For a week the posse followed but gave up the chase near Snyder Basin. No one really knows what happened to the money or for that matter exactly where the men went. After his arrest later, Meeks swore that he never got a penny of the loot. . . Meeks was the only one ever arrested. Cassidy and Lay were never brought to trial.