Bradshaw Trail | |
|---|---|
| Gold Road | |
 Bradshaw Trail highlighted in red | |
| Route information | |
| Length | 70 mi (110 km) Originally 180 miles (289.68 km) |
| Existed | 1862–present |
| Major junctions | |
| West end | San Bernardino, CA |
| East end | La Paz, AZ |
| Location | |
| Country | United States |
| Highway system | |
Today's Bradshaw Trail is a historic overland stage route in the western Colorado Desert of Southern California. It is a remnant of the much longer Bradshaw Road, also known as the Road to La Paz,[1] or Gold Road,[2] established in 1862 by William D. Bradshaw. It was the first overland route to connect the gold fields near La Paz in the U.S. New Mexico Territory, later the Arizona Territory, to Southern California's more populated west coast. Once in La Paz, additional roads provided access to the mining districts of the central New Mexico/Arizona Territory, near Wickenburg and Prescott.
The route ran from San Bernardino, California, through the San Gorgonio Pass and Coachella Valley, past the Salton Sink (now filled by the Salton Sea), and east to the Colorado River where Bradshaw's Ferry was available to transport travelers across the river. The gold fields were then some 5 miles northeast of current-day Ehrenberg, Arizona. The trail that remains today is a graded dirt road, that traverses southeastern Riverside County, and a part of Imperial County, beginning roughly 12 miles (19 km) east of North Shore and terminating about 14 miles (23 km) southwest of Blythe for a total of 70 miles (110 km).
| Location | Distance between stations |
Distance from San Bernardino, California |
|---|---|---|
| St. Clair Ranche, California | 18 mi (29 km) | 18 mi (29 km) |
| Gilman's, California | 12.7 mi (20.4 km) | 30.7 mi (49.4 km) |
| White River Station, California | 13.5 mi (21.7 km) | 44.2 mi (71.1 km) |
| Agua Caliente, California | 10.2 mi (16.4 km) | 54.4 mi (87.5 km) |
| Indian Wells, California | 18.5 mi (29.8 km) | 72.9 mi (117.3 km) |
| Los Toros, California | 12.0 mi (19.3 km) | 84.9 mi (136.6 km) |
| Martinez, California | 4.1 mi (6.6 km) | 89 mi (143 km) |
| Bitter Spring, California | 14.1 mi (22.7 km) | 103.1 mi (165.9 km) |
| Dos Palmas Station, California | 3.0 mi (4.8 km) | 106.1 mi (170.8 km) |
| Canyon Spring, California | 11.4 mi (18.3 km) | 117.5 mi (189.1 km) |
| Chuckawalla Well, California | 29.6 mi (47.6 km) | 147.1 mi (236.7 km) |
| Mule Spring, California | 21.0 mi (33.8 km) | 168.1 mi (270.5 km) |
| Laguna, California | 14.3 mi (23.0 km) | 182.4 mi (293.5 km) |
| Willow Spring Station, California | 6.8 mi (10.9 km) | 189.2 mi (304.5 km) |
| Bradshaw's Ferry, California | 9.2 mi (14.8 km) | 198.4 mi (319.3 km) |
| Mineral City, Arizona Territory[4] ferry 1864–1866 |
0.5 mi (0.80 km) | 198.9 mi (320.1 km) |
| Ehrenberg, Arizona Territory[4] ferry from 1866 |
0.5 mi (0.80 km) | 199.4 mi (320.9 km) |
| Olive City, Arizona Territory[4] ferry 1862–1864 |
0.5 mi (0.80 km) | 199.9 mi (321.7 km) |
| La Paz, Arizona Territory[4] 1862–1869 |
4.5 mi (7.2 km) | 204.4 mi (328.9 km) |