The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has many historical sites throughout the country that mostly follow the early members migration from the Eastern United States through the Midwest and onto Utah and other Western states. The Mormon Trail Center is located in historic Winter Quarters, Nebraska where the Saints stayed and set up a semi-temporary community as they immigrated from Nauvoo, Illinois to Utah.
How to Get to the Mormon Trail Center:
The Mormon Trail Center is the name of the visitor center located in Omaha, Nebraska in the Historic Winter Quarters section of town, run by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. To get to the center, The center is located at 3215 State Street in Omaha. It is only a 15 minute drive north of the Omaha Zoo.
What to Do at the Mormon Trail Center:
There are three main things to see and visit in Historic Winter Quarters. First is the Mormon Trail Center. This is a visitor’s center run by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Inside you will find displays and exhibits that show what pioneer life was like and explain the Saints’ journey from Nauvoo, Illinois to Utah and why Winter Quarters was such an important settlement for the journey. It is run by missionaries who are there to answer any questions you may have and can take you on a tour. After visiting the Mormon Trail Center, you can go right next door and visit the Mormon Pioneer Cemetery where there are many historical graves of early Saints who had passed away on their exodus to Utah. Next to the cemetery is the Winter Quarters Temple. While you can only go inside if you are a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints with a current temple recommend, the grounds are beautiful and are a nice place to walk around.
Sum Up:
Visitng the Mormon Trail Center at Historic Winter Quarters is a nice quick stop if you’re looking for something to do in the Omaha area, especially if you have finished up at the zoo. It doesn’t take very long, is free, and can give you some interesting facts about members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and why they traveled to Utah.
**Due to Covid-19 the visitor’s center is currently closed for the foreseeable future. For updates on when they will re-open, you can check out the website here.**
