Like the beginning, the Oregon Trail had various endpoints.  For most, the overland passage ended at The Dalles.  From here, emigrants with enough cash used barges to float their wagons down the river to the confluence of the Sandy River where they disembarked (Sandy Boulevard is the old route they took to finish the journey).  In 1846, an alternative to the river journey arose – the Barlow Road.

The river route was expensive – $50 or more – and dangerous.  By the time emigrants reached The Dalles, the season was fall.  Water levels in the Columbia River were low meaning rocks in the Cascades Rapids – now submerged in the waters of Lake Bonneville at Cascade Locks – making the passage more perilous.  Rafts and barges could easily flip causing loss of life and household goods.