Government Camp - Formerly a camp on the old Barlow Rd. Built in 1846 by pioneers Samuel Barlow and Philip Foster, the Historic Barlow Road once served as the final overland leg of the Oregon Trail for settlers to the Willamette Valley—an alternative to rafting one’s belongings down the wild and deadly Columbia Cascade rapids. Sam Barlow used to charge pioneers $5 a wagon to cross, about $183 today. Government Camp was named in 1845 when US cavalry troops were forced to abandon wagons and supplies here due to heavy snows.

Highlights near here:
Between mileposts 44 and 45, near Rhododendron, on Highway 26, find the Barlow Road Tollgate, which was the last toll stop operated on the old Barlow Road—where Sam Barlow charged pioneers $5 a wagon to cross. A replica of the old tollgate stands here.

Between mileposts 50 and 51, take a short trail down to Laurel Hill Chute. Here the settlers used to lower their wagons down an almost vertical slope using ropes and the brawn of their own backs.

Alongside the paved highway, portions of the intact original road can still be seen; witness the actual wagon ruts carved by covered wagon wheels and the hooves of the oxen that pulled them.

Barlow Pass is located 2 miles from the junction of Highways 35 and 26. Here a short one-mile trail can be hiked or biked to the Pioneer Woman’s Grave (a tribute to all the women who lost their lives on the Oregon Trail).

More pioneer graves can be viewed in Summit Meadow, just south of Government Camp.