Rock Creek Station did triple duty on the frontier: an Oregon–California Trail road ranch from 1858, a Pony Express relay station, and an Overland Stage stop. It’s also where James Butler Hickok — not yet “Wild Bill” — killed three men in 1861 in a shootout that made him famous. The reconstructed East and West ranches sit on the original sites.
To the northwest of the station lies one of the finest stretches of untouched trail ruts in the state — 1,600 feet of them, deep and dramatic. The park also holds 350 acres of tallgrass prairie, a modern campground with electric sites, and an equestrian camp.
The visitor center runs seasonally, but the grounds are open year-round. Rock Creek Trail Days in June brings living history, Pony Express relays, and a buffalo stew cookout at the West Ranch. A park entry permit is required.