This famous trail was used by men on horseback to send mail from Missouri to California in an unprecedented ten days. This relay system became the nations’ most practical means of sending information from the east to the newly settled west. The route was only in operation for 18 months, between April 1860 and October 1861. Time and human activities have decimated most of the original trail, 120 historic sites and 50 Pony Express stations remain. This trail was designated in 1992 and is managed in part by the National Park Service and the Bureau of Land Management.