The Pony Express National Historic Trail provides a chance to experience a piece of romanticized American history.

BY STACEY McKENNA

From April 1860 to October 1861, hundreds of young men rode relays between Sacramento, Calif., and St. Joseph, Mo., delivering letters for the Pony Express.

Though short-lived, the system was the first truly rapid mail service to cross the Rocky Mountains and connect communities out west with those east of the Missouri River.

Today, tourists can cycle, hike, drive, and ride parts of the more than 1,800-mile route, and intrepid equestrians can replay the adventure on their own mounts by joining the National Pony Express Association’s annual Re-Ride.

THE PONY EXPRESS 

 In 1775, just one year before declaring independence from Great Britain, the Second Continental Congress established the Postal Service. Benjamin Franklin took the helm, serving as the first Postmaster General, and established an impressive mail system that ran from Florida to Maine and connected the colonies to Britain.

The United States Postal Service issued a commemorative stamp for the centennial anniversary of the Pony Express.

NATIONAL POSTAL MUSEUM

NPEA’s annual re-ride has 700 participants riding 2 to 5 miles per leg in matching costumes and historically accurate saddles carrying real mail.

JOHN THUMPHREY /COURTESY NATIONAL PONY EXPRESS ASSOCIATION