This was one of the better places like this we stopped at on a recent tour of the Oregon Trail. The volunteers and staff were all knowledgeable and helpful. The exhibits are really interesting, interactive and fun to go around. It helps a lot to understand what the trail was really like and gave a good context as we traveled by at 70 mph what took our ancestors days to cross.
Tours are led by volunteer guides with a vested interest. There is a variety of hands on artifacts and learning for all ages. We are not of the Morman faith, but still found it very interesting. Well worth the time to visit.
We have been very interested in learning about the various trails through out the west and have seen many monuments and displays over the years. This by far is the worst. It's not worth the price of admission (and its free). We stopped on a weekday afternoon in the summer and were the only ones there - we now know why. While some of the displays are just OK, the 12 minute video is just awful. You think you are watching a high school freshman project where the student maybe got a C-. It has to be about 15 years old and I just don't get the point of showing a family in a mini camper crossing the great west. Very disappointing. If you want to learn about the various wagon trails go somewhere else.
Well put together. Nicely done displays. Lots of history in a small place. Will only take you an hour to get through the whole place but if you want to know about the westward migration this is a pretty good place to visit
Stopping by was worthwhile since we were already in Council Bluffs on an extended road trip. The place is not very big. The exhibits describe trails west starting with Lewis and Clark. There was also a bunch of metal sculptures which left me cold. I guess it is technically art. The actual historical content was good. There was a large collection of vintage post cards which we found interesting. They also had a movie which was fun to watch. One item which I found different and rather cool was a granite sculpture outside which depicted the topography of the land starting in St. Louis and going straight west to the Pacific Ocean.
My in laws live in CB and took us to see the museum and we wondered why they'd kept it from us for so long! If you enjoy history you really need to come to this place. Neat!
This is probably a nice little museum, however, the folks at the welcome desk didn't act like they liked their job very much and really didn't want to be there….at least that was our opinion. We had to really pry to get any info out of them as to where to start (and it isn't that big) but she finally told us the movie would be a good beginning. I think we just hit a day when the volunteers (both were reading books when we arrived) would have rather been somewhere else and that reflected on how we perceived the place. The displays were interesting and an hour is probably enough to see everything.
we just stopped in to check out the Western Trails Center - small museum w/gift shop in a neat building. There's lots of info to be found here about the area and what to do. Restrooms also. Outside there are miles of trails to bike or walk.
Everyone should go there. Just off 24th south of I-80.
This museum gives the history of many trails leading west, such as the Lewis and Clark trail and the Oregon trail. Some nice exhibits on why they left their homes, what they went through while traveling, and how they settled into their new territory. Nice place to learn a little U.S. History.