‘Wagons Ho!’: This summer camp has families traveling Oregon’s historic trails by mule-drawn wagons

“Wagons Ho!”

The familiar call echoes through the forest as workhorses and mules lean into their harnesses. Wagon wheels creak to life and campers begin another day’s journey along Oregon’s historic Barlow Road.

For one week every summer, those two words signal much more than the beginning of a day’s travel. The Washington County 4-H Wagon Train slows life down to the pace of 1850s Oregon Trail travel, where cell phones stay tucked away, meals are shared around camp and problems are solved together.

And by the week’s end, strangers often leave feeling like family.

The wagon train, organized through Oregon State University Extension Service’s 4-H program, has brought families and volunteers together since 1982 as a tradition focused on education, leadership and community.

Volunteers organize the effort. A June “Tune-Up” at the Oregon Outdoor Education Center in Salem allows participants to test their gear, practice working with animals and prepare for the summer trek.

The official camp begins each July, rotating between the Old Santiam Wagon Road in Sisters, the Ochoco National Forest near Prineville and this year’s route along the Barlow Road in the Mt. Hood National Forest. The crossing was the final overland segment of the Oregon Trail built in 1846 as an alternative to rafting the Columbia River.

Campers include both longtime attendees who now bring their families and newcomers experiencing the wagon train for the first time. They trek roughly seven to 12 miles a day, traveling through the forest by mule-pulled wagons, horseback riding or simply walking the route.

After setting up camp at sites along the route each evening, everyone takes part in campfire songs, chores and bonding activities. Many of the participants choose to sleep on bedrolls under the stars, while others opt for modern canvas tents or laying under the wagons themselves.

After nearly 30 years with the group, wagon train leader Wayne Beckwith has seen the program experience changes while remaining committed to the values that have kept it alive.

“This is a great program,” said Beckwith. “It connects people. It connects families. We’re out in nature. We’re away from our phones. We’re doing all the things that we should be doing.”

Instead of driving his usual four-wheeled wagon, Beckwith chose to travel with a two-wheeled cart, similar to the one used by his great-great-grandmother Lucinda Offield when she crossed the Oregon Trail in 1850.

Offield’s journey was marked by tragedy. After her husband and two in-laws died along the Platte River, she continued west with her five children, eventually reaching Oregon City with a two-wheeled cart and family cow.

“I kind of wanted to go over the same ground she went over 176 years ago,” said Beckwith. “So, that’s my connection with this specific trail.”

That connection to history reflects why Beckwith has stayed with the program for nearly three decades.

As a former teacher, Beckwith said the lessons learned on the trail extend far beyond outdoor skills or understanding Oregon’s history, where mass emigration of an estimated 400,000 settlers traveled west to Oregon in the 1840s and ‘50s.

“Humans need that connection to nature,” he said. “We’re getting it in real life out here. We’re planning together, we’re struggling together, we’re eating together, we’re having fun, we’re singing around the campfire together.”

The wagon train’s focus on community has kept longtime camper Jada Beamon coming back year after year.

“I have done wagon train eight times,” said Beamon. “I love these people, I love this experience so much. I have done this every year since I was old enough to do it.”

Beamon said the atmosphere of the camp makes the experience special.

“I’m not even a hiking person, but I love hanging out with the animals and in these big open camps,” said Beamon. “I’m pretty far away from home right now as it is, but I’ve never had a reason to object. I love this place so much.”

Keeping nearly 70 participants ranging from children as young as 9 to campers in their 80s, multiple wagons, animals and an entire traveling camp moving through Oregon’s backcountry requires strategic planning.

That’s where camp boss Sheldon Paulson comes in.

Paulson serves on the wagon train’s governance committee while overseeing daily operations such as moving camp, hauling supplies and coordinating volunteers.

“The real focus of this is teaching people how to be members of a community because we’ve all become so disconnected,” said Paulson.

Without electronic distractions, campers learn to rely on one another. Whether repairing harnesses or adapting to unexpected problems, Paulson said every challenge becomes a chance to learn.

“We stole from the Marine Corps: adapt and overcome,” said Paulson. “It’s not a problem, it’s an opportunity. We always identify teachable moments. Let’s learn from this so it doesn’t happen again, or maybe there’s a better way of doing this in the future.”

Those lessons are exactly what led Gideon Lerner to stay involved.

Now 26, Lerner first joined the wagon train at age 13 after meeting Beckwith at a Washington County 4-H event.

More than a decade later, he now serves as Beckwith’s swamper, helping care for the camp’s mules, fitting harnesses and preparing the animals each morning.

Working with mules, he said, has taught him far more than just animal care.

“You have to have patience to work with these animals,” said Lerner. “In my own personal life, I’ve learned that sometimes if you want something now and your way or the highway, it doesn’t work.”

Lerner said he has discovered what community truly means.

“Everyone takes care of each other here, you know, we all watch each other’s backs,” said Lerner. “If I’m up unharnessing mules and it’s going pretty late, you know, one of the kiddos might grab a plate of food for me or someone might fill my water bottle for me. Kindness is a huge thing that you learn here on the wagon train, too.”

Lerner credits those relationships, especially with Beckwith, for keeping him involved.

“He’s been a friend of mine now since I was a young man learning about mules,” said Lerner. “He’s seen me graduate high school, he saw me graduate college and he’s been through all the steps.”

That sense of connection is what Oregon State University hopes to foster with 4-H.

Todd Williver, the university’s 4-H Outdoor Education and Recreation Program manager, said programs like the wagon train are about more than teaching outdoor skills.

“We’re using this program to teach all of the life skill developments that kids need to more easily transition into adulthood,” said Williver. “The recordkeeping, realizing that the school bus leaves at 6:30 and I’ve got to be on it, and before I can do that I’ve got to go outside and feed the pig, those are things that I have to do.”

As the wagons continue rolling over historic trails, challenges come. Plans change, harnesses break, but every obstacle is met by helping hands.

During the closing ceremony, campers gather one last time to sing the same farewell song they’ve shared for years.

By the end of the week, Beckwith said the miles traveled matter less than the relationships made along the way.

“After you do that for a week, and maybe you’ve walked the trail for 60 or 70 miles with somebody, at the end of the week it’s amazing,” said Beckwith. “You’ve made a connection that you don’t find in casual gatherings because we’ve kind of had to fall together to make it work.”

In July 2027, the wagon train will be setting up camp at the Ochoco National Forest. The Washington County 4-H Wagon Train welcomes anyone from ages 9 to 99 to attend. Dates and sign-up details have yet to be confirmed and this section will be updated. Visit https://www.4hwagontrain.org/ for more information.